Défi-Québec, an entrepreneurial city

• The applicant must be a private incorporated business, or a social economy enterprise (non-profit or cooperative) carrying out mainly commercial activities.
• The business must be in its start-up phase: eligible from 12 months before its first significant sale up to 36 months after that sale; or be a structured business succession project eligible within 12 months after acquiring at least 25% of voting shares.
• The project must support the start-up and growth of an innovative business with a responsible business model and a strong, novel entrepreneurial project.
• The project must take place in the Québec City agglomeration (Québec City, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, L’Ancienne-Lorette) or Wendake, and the head office must be located in that same territory.
• The business must operate in an eligible priority or strategic sector; social economy enterprises are eligible in all sectors if they generate more than 40% of their revenue from own-source income.

Who is eligible?

• Incorporated private businesses (eligible in priority and strategic sectors)
• Social economy enterprises (non-profits and cooperatives) carrying out mainly commercial activities
• Agri-food, food processing and health foods
• Digital technologies (e.g., digital arts & interactive entertainment, fintech, artificial intelligence, smart city, and other digital products/technologies—excluding services and consulting)
• Clean technologies (e.g., water, air, soil treatment, eco-mobility, energy efficiency, renewable energy, green chemistry, residual materials, enabling technologies, sustainable development)

Who is not eligible

• Social economy enterprises (non-profits and cooperatives) that cannot demonstrate sound democratic governance.
• Applicants that are not discharged from a bankruptcy judgment.
• Applicants with overdue amounts owed to the City of Québec.
• Companies listed on the Register of Enterprises Ineligible for Public Contracts.
• Businesses whose main activity is retail trade, restaurants, or tourist services (including tourist accommodation) — these are only eligible under “Défi–Québec ville commerciale,” not this program.

Eligible expenses

• Professional fees, consulting services, and studies.
• Pre-startup and startup costs required to implement the project.
• Salaries for staff assigned to the project (at the beneficiary’s regular hourly rate, with supporting documentation as required).
• Purchase or rental of goods, equipment, and assets related to the project.
• Marketing, promotion, and advertising activities and costs.
• Leasehold improvements and building work (refurbishment, expansion, renovation, or construction), including the acquisition of land or a building.
• General and administrative overhead costs necessary to carry out the project.

Eligible geographic areas

• Québec City Agglomeration (Québec City, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures and L’Ancienne-Lorette).
• Wendake.

• Quality and strength of the responsible business model.
• Applicant’s financial capacity to complete the project and achieve its objectives.
• Project viability and coherence (project relevance, realism of the financial plan, and involved partners).
• Distinctive and innovative nature of the project.
• Economic, social, and environmental benefits within the Québec agglomeration.

• For the 2025 edition, the date is not yet confirmed.
• In the context of the final year of the Capitale-Nationale Region Fund delegation agreement (ending March 31, 2025) and the high volume of files submitted, project eligibility does not guarantee funding.