Go-To-Market Microgrant

Applicant Eligibility

Applicants must: 

• Be a for-profit company headquartered in British Columbia
• Be incorporated and in good standing in B.C. or federally
• Have a product or service in-market or ready to sell
• Be able to demonstrate:
  • A clear market opportunity
  • A plan to reach early customers or channels
  • Capacity to execute the proposed activities
  • Established product market fit
  • Secured funding or early revenue: 
    • Tip: From a venture capital perspective, your company has secured Pre-Seed or Seed Funding, great! If your company is post-Series A, you’re probably too late, and if you haven’t needed private capital, tell us why! Also, if this is a completely new line of business, almost like an incubated business within a business, that can be considered on a case-by-case basis.  

Priority may be given to: 

• Companies who have completed additional ecosystem programming
• Companies with export potential

Eligible Costs

The call supports a wide range of early sales and marketing costs, including but not limited to: 

• Marketing & Communications: 
  • Salaries for marketing staff (including fractional or advisory roles) 
  • Paid advertising and digital marketing campaigns 
  • Marketing Tools 
    
    
• Sales Enablement: 
  • Salaries for sales staff or consultants (including fractional or advisory roles) 
  • Sales management tools (first-year only); 
  • Legal costs associated with Contract Development/Review / Retention/Licensing.  
    
    
• Market Development Activities: 
  • Customer validation and pilot demonstrations to secure first customers or test adoption in new markets. 
  • Advanced market assessments including segmentation, competitor analysis, and pricing studies. 
  • Channel and partnership development, including distributors, resellers, or key strategic alliances. 
  • Export readiness and market entry activities such as certifications, localization, or compliance reviews. 
  • Development of go-to-market playbooks or launch campaigns that accelerate customer acquisition. 
  • Regulatory or standards alignment required for entering specific industry markets (e.g., safety, data, or environmental). 
  • Third-party consulting services to refine value propositions, pricing, or positioning in target markets. 
  • Marketing asset localization (translation, packaging, or region-specific adaptation). 
    
    
• Other Activities: 
  • Legal costs associated with the creation or review of standardized master service agreements, licensing terms, or other commercialization-related contracts required for market development, that are designed to streamline customer onboarding and ensure consistent, optimal terms for market entry and growth. 
  • IP protection and brand strengthening, including new trademark and patent filings tied to commercialization, or new foreign filing extensions tied to an expansion strategy. 

If there are activities not included above, they will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.  

Ineligible Expenses 

Funding cannot be used for: 

• Retrospective costs (expenses incurred before approval) 
• Ongoing activities and expenses not tied to the project 
• Capital equipment purchases 
• R&D, product development, or manufacturing 
• Legal costs beyond IP filing and contract development. (ongoing prosecution costs are ineligible) 
• Office rent, depreciation, or internal overhead 
• In-kind contributions (only cash expenses are eligible for matching) 

• Non-repayable grants of up to $50,000 per company.
• Covers up to 75% of total project costs.
• Requires a minimum 25% cash contribution from the applicant.
• All funded activities must be completed by March 20, 2026.
• Reimbursement-based funding: applicants must submit proof of payment for eligible activities. 

• November 17, 2025: Application intake opens. 
• November 30, 2025: Application intake closes.  
• December 15, 2025: Award decisions to be shared with applicants. 
• March 20, 2026: All technologies projects must have incurred all costs and submitted claims.  
• March 20, 2027: Results reporting on first year of traction follow-up.  

Applications will be evaluated based on: 

• Clarity of market opportunity and proposed activities (25%)
• Readiness to execute (team, product, timing) (25%)
• Potential impact on sales, partnerships, or visibility (25%)
• Budget realism and alignment with eligible costs (25%) 

To learn more about the Go-To-Market Microgrant, email Microgrant@innovatebc.ca