Innovation program — Call for First-time Adopter Projects

• Completed financial assistance application form
• Supporting documents prepared according to the guide
• Letter of commitment from the incubator or accelerator

Who is eligible?

• Young innovative high-growth-potential startups.
• Quebec startups in the pre-commercialization phase.
• Startups accompanied by an eligible incubator or accelerator.

Who is not eligible

• Companies registered on the Register of Businesses Ineligible for Public Contracts (RENA)
• Companies that have defaulted on previous government financial assistance
• Portfolio or holding companies
• Companies in fossil fuel exploration, extraction, or refining
• Companies in gambling, violent games, or adult entertainment industries

Eligible expenses

• Salaries, wages, and employee benefits.
• Professional fees for specialized services, including subcontracting, as well as external testing, homologation, verification, compliance, and certification costs.
• Travel and accommodation expenses in accordance with applicable Quebec government rules.
• Direct costs for materials, inventory, equipment, equipment rental, and animal facility or platform fees.
• Intellectual property protection strategy costs, management fees charged by the accompanying organization up to 5% of total project cost, and project assembly or management fees up to 2% of eligible project expenses by an organization grouping innovative businesses.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Expenses incurred before the date of submission of the complete application
• Fees paid to the first-time adopter company
• Debt service, loan repayments, or capital replacement
• Operating expenses for regular business activities
• Intellectual property maintenance expenses
• Capital expenses, land acquisition, or real estate construction
• Transaction fees between related companies or partners
• Quebec sales taxes
• Mitacs internships

• Scientific or technological quality of the project
• Collaboration and expertise for project delivery
• Project feasibility, milestones, and financing structure
• Scientific, technological, and social benefits

• Read the Guide de présentation des demandes.
• For an email submission, save the application form to your computer, complete it with Adobe Reader version 10 or later, and do not fill it out in a web browser or modify the PDF.
• Complete the financial assistance application form and prepare the annex documents required by the guide, including the incubator or accelerator commitment letter using the provided template.
• Submit, in a single email, the electronic version and a scanned signed version of the completed form, together with the required documents, to startups-innovation@economie.gouv.qc.ca.
• Or submit online by logging in to clicSÉQUR – Entreprises and completing a Primo-adoptants form; for a first use, create a clicSÉQUR – Entreprises account and register for the ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie online services beforehand.

• Applications are reviewed against the program’s evaluation criteria
• Selected projects are determined after the review process
• A funding agreement is required before financial assistance is paid

• Projects must be completed within a maximum period of 18 months.
• The funding is conditional on the partner's financing and proper project execution.
• Companies must maintain their intellectual property in Quebec for five years following project completion.
• A final report on project implementation and objective achievement is required.