The OCE Market Readiness Program offers preliminary support and funding grants for small business to transfer academic based research into a new market-viable service or technology. Funding is intended to accelerate innovation and help Ontario-based SMEs bring a new product to market or to use the academic research as a basis for a new start-up business venture.
Available Grant Funding for Business Development and Commercialization
Funding through the OCE Market Readiness Program is provided through a three phase process; each phase provides applicants with investments ranging from $10k to $250k for knowledge transfer and product commercialization activities.
Phase 1 – Intake & Discovery
The initial phase of the program provides up to $75k for proof of concept and market readiness assessments. During this stage, businesses will also receive support for developing a business case and commercialization strategy for their new product or business venture.
Phase 2- Product Development and Validation
The second phase funding can be applied to either the development of production plans and marketing strategies or product validation and consumer testing. Applicants can receive up to $125k for marketing and production planning or up to $150k for product validation and testing. Both investments are provided on a matching funds basis, equal to a maximum of 50% in eligible cost coverage. Regardless of their choice, businesses are eligible to apply for an addition $50k in fully-repayable funding through the OCE Embedded Executive Program for engaging the services of an experienced executive to assist in the development and planning processes.
Phase 3 – Product Launch and Strategy Execution
The third and final phase of the program involves the implementation of strategies and plans developed in the previous phases. Funding investments can contribute up to $250k on a matching funds basis. During this phase, applicants will begin the process of marketing, manufacturing, and distributing their new products or services.
Applying for Canadian Government Grants
Funding is only applicable to Ontario-based SMEs and start-up ventures looking to commercialize a new technology or IP resulting from research conducted by an Ontario publicly funded research institution (Universities, Colleges, Hospitals, etc.). Start-up ventures are considered eligible if they are pre-revenue and have not received over $100k in outside investments. Each phase requires a separate application and review process, applications are reviewed every six weeks.
Advice and Application Support for Business Funding Grants
Those interested in learning more about the Canadian Government grants for research and product Development can begin by searching our preliminary Canadian Small Business Funding Grants and Loans Directory or by contacting our Team of Canadian Government Funding Experts. Our readers can follow the latest news and developments regarding Canadian Government funding for business by subscribing to our Weekly Canadian Government Funding E-Newsletter or by following us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.