Financial assistance application

You must contact an advisor at the Business Office serving your region to discuss your project, verify your eligibility for assistance and identify what information needs to be provided for your financial assistance application.

Once your project has been deemed eligible, the advisor assigned to your file will send you a form. The advisor may also ask you for additional information to ensure that your application is complete for analysis purposes.

Your application will be evaluated on the basis of new programs, as of April 1st 2012. When your request will be considered complete, we will be able to process it as soon as possible.

Before undertaking to provide financial assistance, the Agency will, if necessary, conduct an examination of the project’s potential environmental impact under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Your participation will be required, if applicable.

The information you provide will be handled in accordance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Information to be provided in order to submit your financial assistance application*

* generally contained in a business plan

Essential information to be submitted with your financial assistance application

  • Your enterprise or organization
    • provide a brief background of the enterprise/organization;
    • provide a list of shareholders and the allocation of shares (%);
    • provide a list of members of the Board of Directors and the resumes of senior officers;
    • provide a list of affiliated companies and partners with their percentage of ownership;
    • describe the enterprise’s products and services or the organization’s activities (including production capacity and percentage use, if applicable).
  • Your project
    • describe the project, including the area served (for non-profit organizations), target objectives, anticipated socio-economic spinoffs, schedule of work and the risks (financial, commercial, technological, etc.), if any, associated with your project;
    • specify the equipment to be acquired (type, purpose, size on the ground (length and width), installed or mobile equipment, etc.);
    • specify the number of jobs created, maintained or lost by the project (full-time, part-time and seasonal);
    • introduce the team or individual responsible for managing the project.
  • Costs and funding for your project
    • detail project costs;
    • project funding: indicate any confirmed or unconfirmed federal, provincial or municipal assistance to carry out the project (source, nature and amount);
    • demonstrate the need for financial assistance.
  • Financial situation of the enterprise or organization
    • enclose financial statements for the two previous years and the most recent interim financial statements;
    • enclose the financial statements of any parent and affiliated companies;
    • enclose forecast financial statements for the next three years (income statement, statement of financial position, domestic and export sales, working capital, internally generated funds, etc).
  • Clientele
    • identify current and target clienteles (domestic sales, sales outside Quebec, sales outside Canada);
    • describe your main competition, your product’s position on markets and your competitive advantages;
    • describe your marketing strategy.
  • Environmental impact
    • is there a watercourse within 30 metres of the project site?
    • is the project site connected to water and sewer services?
    • does the enterprise have a certificate of authorization from the Quebec Department of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks for its industrial operations?
    • does the project include the enlargement or construction of a building?

Supplementary information based on the nature of the project

  • Innovation/testing and experimentation
    • intellectual property rights owned (and/or in the process of being acquired) and tax credit application;
    • progress made in product development or research and development;
    • next phase of product development prior to commercialization;
    • describe the product’s innovative features;
    • describe the product’s commercial potential;
    • comparable products in the industry.
  • Market development
    • identify target markets;
    • identify the distribution network;
    • provide relevant market studies;
    • submit product patents and registrations;
    • export objectives (sales figures, market share, etc).
  • Productivity/modernization
    • productivity diagnosis (information on production capacity, productivity gain, equipment, etc.);
    • main clients, suppliers and subcontractors;
    • impact of the project on the enterprise’s competitiveness and growth.

Other useful elements – if relevant to your project

  •   Submit studies, diagnoses or consultants’ recommendations.
  •   Attach market studies recently produced in your sector.
  •   Submit technological opinions for validating product feasibility.
  •   Provide expert opinions for validating product patentability.