To know everything about our new mandate

FAQ — To know everything about our new mandate

Why change the mandate?

On May 15, 2024, the Government of Quebec announced that it was providing financial assistance of $7 million over three years to Startup Montréal as part of the Quebec Strategy for Research and Investment in Innovation 2022—2027 (SQRI2). This sum will be used to support the deployment of the service offer to promote the expansion and commercial success of technological startups with high growth potential by offering them visibility and opportunities both locally and internationally.

What is Startup Montreal becoming as a result of this transition to a new mandate?

In general, we remain a support organization for entrepreneurs, but we will focus on technology startups with high growth potential for all of Quebec. Our ambition is to establish ourselves as a catalyst and an essential pillar in the development and commercial success of startups, by offering them visibility and opportunities both locally and internationally.

What will Startup Montreal's new mission be?

In its new role, Startup Montréal, as a catalyst for Quebec's technological entrepreneurial ecosystem and with the support of its partners, aims to propel technological startups with high potential internationally. Its ambition is to position the province as a global reference as a generator of innovative technology companies.

Are Startup Montreal programs going to be transferred to other organizations? Will the programs, services and resources offered by Startup Montreal change as part of this mandate?

Thanks to funding received from the Quebec Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE), Startup Montréal will develop services and resources in collaboration with several partners that startups will benefit from for their international growth. This strategic direction means that we will review our operations to ensure that they best serve this mission. As part of this realignment, we are working to review our comprehensive service offering, which means that some of our current activities will be transferred to partners to avoid any gaps in this ecosystem.We have already begun to transfer some files relating to ecosystem mobilization to the Quebec Innovation Accelerator Movement (MAIN), which was already assuming this role at the provincial level. The Ecosystem Partners' Rendezvous as well as our email newsletter and LinkedIn have been transferred to them.

Will Startup Montreal be responsible for the Ax-C space? What is the link between Startup Montreal and the Ax-C space?

The École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) is responsible for the development of the Ax-C space. However, our vocations are closely linked, both resulting from the Quebec Strategy for Research and Investment in Innovation 2022—2027 (SQRI2) and whose objectives include supporting innovative technological entrepreneurship and stimulating the investment and commercialization of innovations. As the Ax-C space is a central element of Quebec's entrepreneurial ecosystem, where we will also establish our offices as soon as we open in the spring of 2025, it is essential that some of our activities take place there, but not limited to them.

I am a startup and I want to benefit from your services and resources in connection with international marketing. How do I go about it?

To achieve our mission, we will prioritize technology companies with high growth potential including, among others, the following elements (but not limited to):

• Have a product, process or technological solution derived from engineering or science.
• Adopt responsible and sustainable practices.
• Have a scalable business model.

The startups that we will support as part of our new functions will be selected by referencing only, starting in autumn 2024. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date with news in this regard.

How does your new mandate fit into the realities of entrepreneurship in the regions?

Regional accelerators and incubators (BAIs) play a key role in decision-making, as they will be critical partners in deploying our new mission. This consists in helping innovative technology companies market their products locally and internationally. We will work with regional BAIs to prepare these businesses to access our services, taking them to another stage in their growth. Our services will therefore be complementary. We will also organize an annual Quebec Startup Tour in 10 regions, aimed at facilitating the adoption of emerging technologies throughout Quebec by connecting manufacturing companies to local startups promoting the growth of both parties. Our first Tour will start in the fall of 2024.

Are you going to focus on specific sectors in your selection criteria? If yes, which ones?

We will focus our efforts on the industrial sectors and the most strategic vectors for Quebec. Our objective is to increase the traction power of our initiatives and to maximize the sales of our startups internationally. Rather than promoting Quebec as a whole, we aim to promote our region for certain key sectors for which the impact of making our mark will be exponential. The determination of these priority sectors will be done in collaboration with all stakeholders, thus ensuring that the ecosystem is mobilized throughout the innovation chain, to make these sectors internationally recognized Quebec successes.

How are you going to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion into your selection process?

Our job is to support startups whose potential is already confirmed, and this will be established well after the creation phase. We do not have specific quotas, as our assessment process is designed to be unbiased and is based on methodical evaluation grids. However, we work with the ecosystem beforehand to ensure that the world of Quebec startups is diverse and inclusive. We are committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, by ensuring that women and minorities are well represented in the startup ecosystem in Quebec, from the moment of ideation.