Laval Économique — Fonds créateur d'entreprise (Business Launch Fund)

Program Description

The Fonds créateur d'entreprise (Business Launch Fund) is a non-repayable grant of up to $25,000 offered by Laval Économique to support entrepreneurs creating or acquiring businesses within the city of Laval, Québec. Designed for enterprises in their first two years of operation, the program aims to create or maintain local employment. Funds are available on a rolling basis until exhausted, making early application advisable in each fiscal cycle. The program is distinct from Laval Économique's manufacturing subsidy (which targets established businesses for automation) and serves early-stage and acquisition-stage businesses across sectors.

Eligibility Requirements

• The business's head office and the project's principal activities must be, or be planned to be, in Laval
• Either a business created within the last two years, or the acquisition of ALL the shares of a business that was itself started less than two years ago — and in an acquisition the buyer must not already be a shareholder of the target (arm's-length rule)
• Business must be in operation for fewer than 2 years at time of application
• The business must create, or commit to create, the equivalent of two full-time jobs within 12 months of signing the funding agreement (for an acquisition, it must also maintain or create jobs over the following two years)
• Must be a private for-profit business, registered or incorporated at the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (social-economy enterprises are served by Laval économique's separate Fonds entrepreneuriat collectif)
• The business and the project must also qualify for a repayable Fonds locaux d'investissement (FLI) loan equal to the grant amount — the project's financing must include both the grant and the FLI loan, so a business that cannot take on debt cannot access this grant
• Excluded sectors and project types (funder's own table): bars, nightclubs, mobile discos, ice-cream bars and restaurants; retail and food service except where offering a proximity service; travel agencies; business centres; insurance brokers, real-estate brokers and property management; franchises; artistic management, authors, composers, performers, musicians, impresarios and screenwriters; automotive specialities including car washes, mechanics and bodywork; construction and renovation; goods-and-services brokers and agencies; private financial-sector businesses and financial co-operatives; controversial, speculative, sexual or religious projects; projects where an ex-employer/employee relationship is maintained; liberal professions (accountant, lawyer, notary, engineer, architect); seasonal projects; manufacturers' agents; transport services (road, taxi, adapted); personal care including hairdressing, aesthetics and specialised make-up; service stations; childcare services; gaming houses and billiard halls; import-export; and the self-employed / sole-proprietor individual enterprise
• One grant per business, ever — and the business must not have received any non-repayable Ville de Laval contribution in the two years before applying