Investments made by immigrant investors generate revenues that your company may benefit from through a program managed by our affiliate, IQ Immigrants Investisseurs inc., in collaboration with financial intermediaries. A unique and advantageous formula, this product uses foreign funds to invest in Quebec businesses as a non-repayable contribution.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Eligible Businesses

Your business is eligible if it obtains a favorable recommandation from an accredited financial intermediary and operates in one of the following sectors:

• Manufacturing;
• New economy (biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry, aeronautics and aerospace);
• High-value-added information technology;
• Tourism;
• Environmental restoration;
• Recycling, waste recovery and processing;
• Call centres;
• Aquaculture, sea farming and marine biotechnology;
• Horticultural specialties.

Under certain circumstances, cooperatives and non-profit organizations that carry out activities in sectors other than those mentioned above may also be eligible.

Eligible Projects

• Investment: business start-up, growth, modernization, or production improvement, obtaining standards-related certification, technological or design innovation.
• Market development: commercial development of products outside Quebec.

Special Requirements

• Project costs must be at least $300,000, or $270,000 for business start-ups.
• Total consolidated assets must be less than $35 million.
• The project's duration must not exceed two years.
• Your project may be under way when the financial intermediary submits your file to IQ Immigrants Investisseurs inc., but it must not yet be completed. If your project has begun, only those expenditures incurred during the 12 months preceding the date of submission by the financial intermediary are eligible.
• Your business must be competitive and your project must be profitable.

FINANCING DETAILS

Financing consists of a non-repayable financial contribution.

Terms and Conditions

• The minimum contribution amount is $40,000.
• The maximum contribution amount must not exceed 10% of total project costs, or 15% in the case of business start-ups. However, for projects costing between $300,000 and $400,000, the amount of financial assistance is set at $40,000.
• The contribution cannot exceed $250,000 per three-year period, per business.
• The contribution is disbursed over four years.

Fees

There are no fees to be paid to IQ Immigrants Investisseurs inc., to the financial intermediary or to financing consultants for processing your file.

PROCEDURE

Step 1

Contact a financial intermediary  accredited with the program to submit your application, or contact an Investissement Québec advisor who will answer your questions.

Step 2

The financial intermediary or advisor will help you draw up a list of the information required: business plan or application for a non-refundable financial contribution, nature of the project, financing sought, planned expenses, marketing plan, guarantees, etc.

Step 3

The financial intermediary will submit your application to IQ Immigrants Investisseurs inc. We will review your file and then contact you.

January 2012