Financing
Need financing to start and position your business on the market? Looking to expand or support a research project, modernize your processes and equipment, improve the skills of your workforce or commercialize your products? The CQFA offers you a list of organizations with funding programs that can help you achieve your most ambitious projects.
- 2degrés – Incubator dedicated to startups and innovation projects in clean technologies in Quebec – Link
- ACET – Technology incubator-accelerator that helps entrepreneurs scale innovative technologies with a positive societal impact – Link
- Centech – Incubator driving high-potential technological innovation projects emerging from science and engineering – Link
- Québec Tech – Incubator driving technology solutions developed in Quebec – Link
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Superclusters Initiative – Clusters are areas of economic activity made up of companies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations that drive innovation and growth in a specific sector. Clusters are powerful economic tools used worldwide to build, develop, and transform industries. Funding flows into Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters through joint investment from government and industry, with a dollar-for-dollar matching requirement – Digital Technology Cluster: DIGITAL – Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing: NGen – AI-powered supply chain cluster: Scale AI
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Collaborations and Networks projects – Projects funded under the Strategic Response Fund (SRF) – Collaborations and Networks stream support large-scale, industry-led collaborative projects and innovation networks in areas where Canada has a clear competitive advantage – Link
- Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) – Appui au développement des secteurs stratégiques et des régions – The Economic Development Project Support Program – Structuring Projects by Organizations Supporting the Development of Strategic Sectors and Regions (PAPDE, Stream 2) aims to support the implementation of activities and projects that foster the economic development of strategic sectors, clusters and centers of excellence, innovation zones and hubs, as well as regions – Créneaux d’excellence: Link – Pôles d’excellence (grappes industrielles): Link – Innovation Zones: Distriq, Zone d’innovation quantique – Espace Aéro – Technum Québec – Vallée de la transition énergétique.
- Anges Québec – Investors who support innovative entrepreneurs in their projects and guide them toward success, helping their businesses shine on the local and international stage – Link
- BDC – Seed Venture Fund – Seed fund designed to help entrepreneurs build the foundations of world-class companies. The Fund acts as a lead investor across both software and hardware. Priority sectors include artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) / industrial companies, agricultural technologies, climate and sustainability, defense / dual-use technologies / deep tech, cloud computing, healthcare, and extended reality – Link
- BDC – Industrial Innovation Venture Fund – Fund targeting industries where the use of advanced technologies and cutting-edge innovation can help Canadian companies become globally significant players – Link
- EVOL – Funding for start-ups, growth-stage companies, and business acquisition or succession projects – Link
- Innovobot – Investment and innovation platform – Link
- Investissement Québec – Fonds Impulsion – Venture capital fund dedicated to high-growth, innovative early-stage companies at the pre-seed and seed stages – Link
- MicroEntreprendre – Offers a model combining personalized support and flexible funding – Link
- Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) – Fonds locaux d’investissement – Fund aimed at supporting local entrepreneurship by facilitating access to capital and accelerating the realization of start-up projects, improvement and transformation initiatives, growth and expansion, and business succession – Link
- Réseau Capital – Investment capital association bringing together all stakeholders across the investment value chain in Quebec – Link
- BDC – Growth & Transition Capital – Financial support for working capital, business transfer, and business acquisition – Link
- BDC – Growth Equity Partners – Equity investment in growing Canadian mid-market companies as a minority investor – Link
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Business Innovation and Growth projects – Growth projects: Projects must support the expansion or physical upgrading of existing industrial or technological facilities – Link
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Accelerated Growth Service – Service that helps well-established Canadian companies identify and access the government support they need to grow and expand—from funding and research and development to entering new markets – Link
- Investissement Québec – Capital de développement – Equity (or quasi-equity) financing for growing and established companies in Quebec – Link
- Investissement Québec – Programme ESSOR – Designed for Quebec businesses and entrepreneurs seeking funding to: accelerate the realization of an investment project; increase productivity through technological transition or the acquisition of new technologies; reduce the company’s environmental footprint, notably through the adoption of clean technologies or the implementation of a renewable energy or green hydrogen project; and strengthen the presence of Quebec companies in global supply chains – Link
- La Caisse – Offering access to funding and support to help high-potential companies reach the next stage of their growth – Link
- Canada Economic Development (CED) – Business scale-up and productivity – Financial support aimed at stimulating a company’s innovation and growth – Link
- Canada Economic Development (CED) – Regional defence investment initiative – Aims to support the development and integration of companies and regional ecosystems into national and international defense supply chains, and to enhance their industrial and innovation capacity – Link
- Canada Economic Development (CED) – Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative – Provides businesses with the tools they need to adopt AI, as well as to develop new technologies and processes that integrate AI across the country – Link
- Canada Revenue Agency – Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives – Tax incentives designed to encourage companies to carry out research and development activities in Canada – Link
- Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) – To support and promote excellence in research and the training of the next generation of researchers in the natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, social sciences and humanities, and arts and humanities – Link
- Government of Canada – Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP) – Helps Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) develop their technologies in collaboration with international partners – Link
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Strategic Response Fund (SRF) – Fund that helps Canadian industries innovate, adapt, and remain competitive in a changing global economy. Link
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Business Innovation and Growth projects – R&D Projects: Projects must include activities related to research and development (R&D) on innovative products, processes, or services, as well as their commercialization – Link
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Clean Growth Hub – Central source of information, resources, and guidance on federal clean technology support programs – Link
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) – Horizon Europe – Horizon Europe is the world’s largest research and innovation funding program. It gives Canadians access to even more opportunities to elevate their research and innovations through global partnerships – Link
- INSAT – The Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Technology – Funding for projects that accelerate the development of sustainable aerospace technologies, foster cross-sector collaboration, and drive innovation toward a more environmentally responsible future in the aerospace sector – Link
- Investissement Québec – Grand V – Aims to stimulate investment and accelerate the shift toward innovation and sustainable productivity to drive growth – Link
- Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) – Programme innovation – Program supporting businesses—primarily SMEs—in carrying out their innovation projects in Quebec or in collaboration with partners abroad. It also aims to provide financial support to private companies so they can pool their efforts (collaborative projects) to develop innovative products or processes, by engaging universities, public research centers, and SMEs – Link
- Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) – RSRI – Calls for proposals in collaborative R&D – CQRDA, CQDM, CRIAQ, CRIBIQ, CRITM, innovÉÉ, MEDTEQ+, PRIMA Québec, Prompt
- Mitacs – Funding provided through grants, strategic innovation funds, or business support programs – Link
- NGen – Funding for advanced manufacturing in Canada – Link
- National Research Council of Canada (NRC) – Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) – Helps Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises develop their technologies and bring them to market – Link
- National Research Council of Canada (NRC) – Eureka – Eureka brings together small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large companies, research centers, universities, and other innovators to collaborate on market-oriented research and development (R&D) projects, thereby enhancing their competitiveness in global markets – Link
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – Alliance Advantage – Grants that foster collaboration between university researchers and partner organizations from the private, public, or non-profit sectors. They support research projects led by strong, complementary teams working closely together to generate new knowledge and accelerate the application of research results to create benefits for Canada – Link
- Revenu Québec – Crédit d’impôt pour le design – Tax credit for carrying out design activities – Link
- Revenu Québec – Congé d’impôt sur le revenu pour une nouvelle société dédiée à la commercialisation d’une propriété intellectuelle – A corporation that holds a certificate of eligibility for an eligible commercialization business may benefit from a Quebec income tax holiday on income derived from that business for a period of up to ten years following its incorporation – Link
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council – New Frontiers in Research Fund – Fund supporting world-class, interdisciplinary, international, high-risk, high-reward, transformative research led by Canadians, with the potential to enable rapid action – Link
- Trottier Family Foundation – Grants and investments from the Trottier Family Foundation focus on organizations working systematically in the following areas: (1) advancing scientific research and science education; (2) promoting the importance of education in society, particularly in STEM fields; (3) mitigating threats caused by climate change, with a strong emphasis on the transition to a low-carbon economy; (4) advancing a healthy society; and (5) integrating the promotion of science, education, health, and the environment in grants awarded both within the Montreal community and internationally – Link
- Emploi Québec – Programme de formation de la main-d’œuvre – Technical or financial assistance to define training needs, carry out a training project, and evaluate the effectiveness of the training received – Link
- Export Development Canada (EDC) – Financial solutions and international trade expertise to help businesses enter new markets – Link
- Global Affairs Canada – Funding and financing for international business – Link
- Government of Canada – CanExport SMEs – Competitive funding to help eligible Canadian SMEs expand their activities into new international markets – Link
- Gouvernement du Québec – Incentive deduction for the commercialization of innovations (IDCI) – Encourages the retention and commercialization of Quebec innovations by allowing a corporation to benefit from a reduced tax rate on income derived from their commercialization in Quebec – Link
- Investissement Québec – PSCE: Programme de soutien à la commercialisation et à l’exportation – Offers non-repayable contributions to Quebec SMEs to develop markets outside Quebec, innovate, and integrate into supply chains – Link
- Investissement Québec – Panorama – Supports working capital needs to carry out projects aimed at increasing or diversifying sales in Canada and internationally – Link
- Investissement Québec – Fonds d’investissement Eurêka – For scientific entrepreneurs seeking to commercialize intellectual property arising from public research in Quebec – Link
- Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) – Appel de projets Primo-adoptants – Call for proposals aimed at accelerating the development and commercialization of a first technology proposed by a high-growth-potential innovative startup – Link
Need more information about these programs? Please contact us.