Technological and Design Innovation

With the SMB Financial program, you can obtain a loan or loan guarantee.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA*   Eligible Businesses Your business is eligible if it carries on one or more of the following activities: Technological innovation: R&D; activities conducted for the purpose of discovering new processes or materials or upgrading existing processes or materials, where such discovery or upgrading is characterized by uncertainty as to the means to be used to achieve the targeted objectives; New economy: R&D; activities for the purpose of discovering new processes or products in the following sectors: biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry, information technology, aeronautics and aerospace, materials engineering and instrumentation; Design innovation: R&D; activities for the purpose of upgrading industrial design products or existing fashion design or of developing innovative products or products that are competitive by their design.   Eligible Projects Technological innovation: investigation, development and verification of research hypotheses; development of equipment, production of prototypes, technical testing, beta testing, development of technical documentation, registration of patents, certification costs; New economy: research and development, pre-commercial or commercial development of processes and products, or development of markets; Design innovation: development, pre-commercialization and commercialization.   Special Requirements Your business must have a sound financial structure, adequate management, qualified staff and a solid organization.   If your business comes under the new economy, it must meet the following requirements to obtain a loan guarantee: It must have less than 100 employees on payroll; Its annual sales may not exceed $10 million.   *Special conditions may apply. Consult one of our advisors to learn more.

FINANCING DETAILS   We can provide a loan or loan guarantee. Our loan guarantee is a repayment guarantee on the net loss of a loan granted by a financial institution.   Terms and Conditions The minimum amount of the loan guarantee or loan provided by Investissement Québec is $50,000. The maximum duration for financial assistance is 10 years. The loan guarantee can cover up to 80% of the net loss. The maximum loan amount provided by the financial institution may cover up to 100% of the expenditures related to a technological or design innovation project (up to 90% for new-economy businesses). For loans directly granted by Investissement Québec, the amount provided can cover up to 75% of the total project costs. The interest rate on the loan is set by the financial institution. Interest is payable to the financial institution starting from the first loan disbursement. It is possible to defer repayment of the capital amount until after project completion. The usual securities are required based on the financing granted.   Fees Commitment and guarantee fees depend on the nature of the project. To find out more about the cost of financing your project, talk to an Investissement Québec advisor.

PROCEDURE   Step 1 Contact an Investissement Québec advisor , who will answer your questions and recommend the product that best suits your needs.   Step 2 The advisor will help you draw up a list of the information you must provide: business plan, nature of the project, financing sought, planned expenses, marketing plan, guarantees, etc.   Step 3 For loan guarantees, submit your application to the financial institution of your choice. The institution will consult us to review your file; we will then contact you. For direct loans, submit your application to an Investissement Québec advisor.         August 2006