Quebec Programme Innovation — Volet Primo-Adoptants (First Adopter Call)
Compared with the 241 other application forms we have read
- Scored mainly on how novel the work is. Only 10 lead with that.
- Winning means you must produce audited accounts. 13 ask that.
- Publishes the score sheet reviewers actually use. Only 30 do.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
The Volet Primo-Adoptants (First Adopter) is a Quebec grant that funds early-stage startups up to $75,000 to pilot and refine their technology inside an established adopter company's real operating environment. Covering up to 60% of eligible expenses over an 18-month project, it bridges the gap between prototype and commercialization by pairing a young innovative company with a Quebec business willing to test the technology — with three annual intake deadlines making it one of Quebec's most accessible early-stage funding mechanisms.
Eligibility Requirements
- Young innovative company: legally constituted under federal or Quebec law, headquartered in Quebec with primary operations in the province
- Startup must be incorporated as a joint-stock company for less than 5 years, except a life-sciences or highly technological/R&D-intensive company over 5 years old may still qualify with an appropriate justification
- Must be in the pre-commercialization phase — developing its first product/service with no recurring commercial sales
- Less than 50% owned by other entities; founders must hold majority shares
- At least one founder must dedicate at least 35 hours per week (full time) to the company — the other founders need not
- Must be accompanied by an approved Quebec incubator or accelerator (letter of commitment required)
- Must hold the intellectual-property USAGE rights for the product or innovation (outright ownership of the IP is not required)
- Cannot have previously received MEIE funding for a primo-adopter project
- Primo-adopter (established company): must be legally constituted and registered in Quebec, currently selling products/services, and have no shareholding in the startup or board overlap with its founders
- Primo-adopter must contribute at least 20% of project costs in cash
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to $75,000 per project; MEIE funds up to 60% of eligible expenses with a private first adopter, or up to 55% with a public one; project duration up to 18 months. Total combined government assistance (the "cumul" of all sources) may not exceed 60%, rising to 75% only when the first adopter is a public body.
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Provincial
- Co-Funding
- Up to 60% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Three intakes in 2026 — next deadline November 4, 2026 (5:00 PM)
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Difficult — significant preparation needed
Moderate competition — prepare a strong application
Moderate — standard requirements
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipThe incubator sponsorship is not optional — if you are not already in a recognized Quebec incubator or accelerator program, secure this before applying, as they can take weeks to onboard.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Quebec Programme Innovation — Volet Primo-... judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-11.
6 of the sources
- Appel de projets Primo-adoptants quebec.ca
- PROGRAMME INNOVATION – VOLET 1 — APPEL DE PROJETS – PRIMO-ADOPTANTS… cdn-contenu.quebec.ca
- Formulaire de demande d'aide financière — Programme Innovation… cdn-contenu.quebec.ca
- Gabarit de lettre d'engagement de l'incubateur ou de l'accélérateur cdn-contenu.quebec.ca
- Incubateurs et accélérateurs pour les entreprises innovantes quebec.ca
- Appels de projets en recherche et en innovation quebec.ca
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What Quebec Programme Innovation — Volet Primo-... favours
Montrer excellence, innovation et croissance◦
“Présenter tous les éléments qui permettront de juger de l’excellence de l’entreprise et de son potentiel d’innovation et de croissance.”
The form
Self-check
- 1Eligibility self-check (front page of the form)checkboxno limit
Startup
- Section 1Section 1 – Renseignements sur la startup (identification)tableno limit
- 3Brève description de l’entreprise et de sa technologiewritten answerno limit
Brève description de l’entreprise et de sa technologie (de 5 à 10 lignes)
- 4Répondant de la startuptableno limit
- 5Renseignement sur l’incubateurtableno limit
First adopter
- Section 2Section 2 – Renseignements sur l’entreprise primo-adoptante (identification)tableno limit
- 7Brève description de l’entreprise primo-adoptantewritten answer · 100 words
Brève description de l’entreprise (environ 100 mots)
Project
- Section 3Section 3 – Renseignements sur le projet (title and dates)tableno limit
- 9Brève description du projetwritten answer · 250 words
- 10Étapes de réalisation du projet et échéancierswritten answerno limit
- 11Problématique et opportunité à l’origine de l’entreprisewritten answer · 300 words
- 12Solution apportée (technologie, innovation, maturité technologique)written answer · 300 words
- 13Équipe fondatricewritten answer · 300 words
- 14Marché et modèle d’affaireswritten answer · 300 words
- 15Retombées potentielles de la technologie pour le Québecwritten answer · 300 words
- 16Besoins spécifiques pour poursuivre le développementwritten answer · 300 words
- 17Objectifs du projetlistno limit
- 18Caractère innovant du projetwritten answer · 300 words
- 19Nécessité de poursuivre la recherche avec le primo-adoptantwritten answer · 300 words
- 20Livrables prévuswritten answer · 300 words
- 21Retombées potentielles pour l’entreprisewritten answer · 300 words
Budget
- Section 4Section 4 – Montage financierspreadsheetno limit
- 23Declaration: no other public funding for this projectcheckboxno limit
- Section 5Section 5 – Justificatifs de certaines dépenses du projetspreadsheetno limit
Attachments and declaration
- Section 6Section 6 – Documents supplémentaires à annexer à la demandecheckboxesno limit
- Section 7Section 7 – Déclaration de la startupcheckboxno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
Quebec Programme Innovation — Volet Primo-... publishes its score sheet. in Premium
- 1
Is the science and technology strong enough?
Show them State the technological uncertainty the pilot resolves and what is genuinely new versus the state of the art, at the technology's current readiness level.◦
In the funder’s words · 1
- A – Qualité scientifique et/ou technologique du projet — Sous-total: /30 /30
- 2
Do the partners really collaborate and add expertise?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 3
Can this project actually be delivered and financed?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 4
What does Québec get out of it?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
5 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“Les demandes incomplètes ne seront pas analysées.”
“Aucun autre document joint à la demande ne sera pris en compte par le comité d’évaluation.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 28 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
26 more rules that can reject you · 3 more criteria · 18 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
Registered in Québec
Être légalement constituées selon les lois fédérales ou québécoises en vigueur et inscrites au Registraire des entreprises du Québec.
Head office in Québec
Avoir leur siège social au Québec et des employés ou des sous-traitants qui travaillent principalement au Québec.
2 things this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Adopter cash minimum20% minimum, cash only
Les entreprises primo-adoptantes doivent contribuer à au moins 20 % des dépenses admissibles du projet et leur participation financière doit être réalisée en espèces seulement.
Incubator fee cap5% max of eligible costs
Frais de gestion de l’incubateur (5 % maximum calculé sur le coût total des dépenses admissibles, excluant les frais de gestion et les frais de montage, le cas échéant)
Assembly fee cap2% max of eligible costs
Frais de montage et de gestion du projet par un organisme regroupant des entreprises innovantes (maximum de 2 % du coût total des dépenses admissibles du projet)
Your share60% max of eligible costs
Le taux d’aide financière ne peut excéder 60 % du total des dépenses admissibles pour la réalisation du projet.
Stacking60% max, 75% if public adopter
Le cumul des aides gouvernementales maximal est de 60 %. Il peut toutefois atteindre 75 % lorsque l’entreprise primo-adoptante est un organisme public
Costs before approvalExpenses before complete application deposit
les dépenses effectuées avant la date du dépôt du dossier complet et jugé recevable
What it pays for · 7
- Les salaires, traitements et avantages sociaux.
- Les honoraires pour des services spécialisés, y compris les services en sous-traitance.
- Les frais de déplacement et de séjour, conformément aux normes gouvernementales en vigueur énoncées dans le Recueil des politiques de gestion du gouvernement du Québec.
- Les coûts directs des équipements, calculés selon la proportion entre la durée du projet et la vie utile de l’équipement.
- Les frais de location d’équipements et de terrain.
- Les coûts externes d’essais et d’homologation.
- Les frais de gestion par l’organisme d’accompagnement (maximum 5 % des dépenses admissibles du projet).
What it does not pay for · 9
- les dépenses effectuées avant la date du dépôt du dossier complet et jugé recevable, y compris les dépenses pour lesquelles l’entreprise a pris des engagements contractuels;
- les honoraires payés à une entreprise dont un actionnaire est aussi actionnaire de l’entreprise primo-adoptante ou de la jeune entreprise innovante à fort potentiel de croissance;
- le service de la dette, le remboursement des emprunts à venir, une perte en capital ou un remplacement de capital, un paiement ou un montant déboursé à titre de capital;
- les dépenses de fonctionnement de l’entreprise dans le cadre d’activités courantes;
- les dépenses de maintien de propriété intellectuelle;
- les dépenses d’immobilisation;
- les taxes de vente applicables au Québec;
- les stages Mitacs.
- les honoraires payés à l’entreprise primo-adoptante;
From application to money
- Get an incubatorIncubator mandatory, sponsors request
- Submit by 17:00Submit by 17:00 on deadline
- Committee meetsCommittee scores project within a month
- Sign the agreementSign financial aid agreement with IQ
- Money releasedPayments conditional on partner funding
In the funder’s words · 5
- Get an incubator
- The accompaniment is mandatory and the incubator sponsors you through preparing the request, including the plan and cost of the project activities.
- Submit by 17:00
- Send the signed form and every mandatory attachment in a single email transmission, or file the online Primo-adoptants form in clicSÉQUR. (le 3 avril 2026, à 17 h; le 17 juillet 2026, à 17 h; le 4 novembre 2026, à 17 h)
- Committee meets
- An electronic acknowledgement is promised within two business days, then the sector evaluation committee scores the project out of 100. (environ un mois suivant la date limite de dépôt des demandes)
- Sign the agreement
- A convention d’aide financière is concluded with Investissement Québec, which sets the project schedule and the reporting.
- Money released
- L’engagement qui consiste à verser les sommes accordées est conditionnel au financement assuré par les partenaires, au bon déroulement du projet et, conformément au budget établi, à l’entente de financement.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win Quebec Programme Innovation — Volet Primo-...
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 9-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 5-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 3-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 9
Eligible Expenses 13
Ineligible Expenses 5
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow Quebec Programme Innovation — Volet Primo-... Compares
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about Quebec Programme Innovation — Volet Primo-...