Commercialization and Investment Readiness Microgrant

No. Trade-show participation, conferences, travel, accommodation, entertainment, customer hospitality, gifts, promotional merchandise, sponsorships, and related event expenses are ineligible.

Applicant salaries, wages, benefits, bonuses, and permanent hiring costs are not eligible. Internal staff may help manage or implement the project, but their time cannot be reimbursed or counted toward the required cash contribution.

Qualified external contractors, specialists, and fractional executives may be eligible when the engagement has a defined, time-limited scope, clear deliverables, reasonable market rates, and a direct connection to the identified readiness barrier. Open-ended retainers, general management support, and services that substitute for an ongoing staff function are not eligible.

No. Paid advertising, digital media, broad marketing campaigns, routine content creation, public relations, outsourced selling, lead generation, appointment setting, sales commissions, and performance-based compensation are ineligible.

The Program may support underlying commercial strategy or infrastructure—such as pricing, market-entry planning, revenue-operations design, enterprise-sales processes, procurement readiness, CRM implementation, or targeted validation—when the work addresses a specific readiness decision and produces a defined deliverable.

No. Fundamental research, experimental development, product development, software engineering, prototyping, manufacturing, equipment, and infrastructure are ineligible.

The Program may support the professional planning and structuring required for a future collaborative R&D project—for example, developing the workplan and budget, identifying partners, defining governance and partner roles, or establishing intellectual-property, data-use, publication, and collaboration terms. It cannot fund execution of the underlying R&D work.

Other activities may be considered case by case where the applicant shows that the project addresses a material readiness barrier, requires specialized external expertise, has a defined scope and tangible deliverable, is appropriately sized for a grant of $30,000 or less, and is expected to unlock a credible commercial, investment, procurement, supply-chain, market-entry, regulatory, partnership, or research opportunity.

The Call Guide does not set a specific revenue, profitability, or years-in-market threshold. The key question is whether the company remains at an early commercialization stage and whether a focused project of up to $30,000 can materially improve its commercial or investment readiness. Companies that have raised Series A financing or achieved equivalent stages of revenue and product maturity or beyond are generally outside the Program’s target stage. A revenue-generating company may still be eligible where it can demonstrate a genuine readiness barrier and a credible milestone the project will unlock.

No. Pre-seed or seed-stage financing may strengthen evidence of readiness, but it is a prioritization factor rather than an eligibility requirement. Other evidence may include accelerator or incubator participation, IP training or development, successful delivery of previous funded projects, customer or partner interest, early revenue, or other commercial validation.

Where applicable, applicants are encouraged to include a letter of support from an accelerator or incubator partner.

No. The core eligibility criteria are not restricted to a single sector. Alignment with identified provincial growth sectors may be considered as a secondary prioritization factor, including energy, critical minerals, trade and logistics, maritime, AI and quantum computing, aerospace, life sciences, construction innovation, agriculture and food, and tourism.

The Call Guide does not set a fixed number of awards. Awards will depend on available Program funding, application quality, and the amount requested by each applicant. $1,000,000 has been made available for this intake. The previous intake received more than 800 applications, so applicants should submit a complete, focused application that clearly demonstrates project fit and readiness to execute.

Yes. Applicants must provide a quotation and scope of work for each proposed provider, along with a brief description of the provider’s relevant qualifications and experience. Provider quality, scope, market rates, and value for money are assessed. Providers should be arm’s length; any non-arm’s-length relationship must be disclosed and approved.

No. Costs incurred before written project approval and execution of a Funding Agreement are not eligible. Applicants should not begin funded work or commit to project costs until Innovate BC has provided written authorization.