Submissions open for Ignition Fund (Canada)

The fund invests seed capital that will allow successful applicants to turn their ideas into a tangible and viable business.

Funding Information

• Innovation PEI will award up to $25,000 to each successful applicant. A matching contribution is not required.

Eligible Activities

• The fund can support activities associated with the start-up of the proposed business or product development costs. Some activities eligible for support under the Ignition Fund include, but are not limited to:
  • professional and consulting services (i.e. incorporation, legal services, etc.);
  • product development and refinement;
  • marketing and market research;
  • intellectual property;
  • business development; and
  • capital purchases.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to apply:
  • projects must be committed to establishing and operating on PEI;
  • the product or service developed must be innovative or unique and have strong export potential; and
  • the project must not have already received a PEI Labour rebate from Innovation PEI;

Ineligibility Criteria

• Ineligible applicants include:
  • Projects have received support from any of the following:
    • Food Xcel – Food Island Partnership;
    • Concours des Dragons – RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard;
    • Ignition Francophone – RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard;
    • Previous rounds of Innovation PEI’s Ignition Fund.
  • A business that has a defaulted outstanding debt obligation on file in the Province’s Central Default Registry.
  • New project submissions from an applicant in default on any reporting, project completion or financial obligation to Innovation PEI will not be reviewed until a resolution to the default is reached.

Evaluation Criteria

• Not all projects meeting the minimum criteria will receive funding. An application is considered to be complete and received when all required information has been submitted to Innovation PEI.
• Innovation PEI reserves the right to deny a grant application or request for payment if it suspects or detects fraudulent intent.
• Applications will be evaluated against a clear set of criteria using the information provided in the application and the following considerations:
  • experience of the founders and management team;
  • proposed product or service;
  • market value and potential uptake; and
  • business growth.

Application Process

• submit an application to Innovation PEI, by providing details from Sections 1 and 2 of the Application Guide including:
  • an overview of the proposed idea including competitive advantages and disadvantages, innovation, and market need;
  • a description of the founders and management team;
  • a market analysis that clearly defines your target market, sales and marketing strategy, level of competition and advantage in the market, and your revenue model;
  • statement of work outlining the development of work over the next year including milestones and timeline; and
• an evaluation committee will review your application.
• only those directly involved in the evaluation process will have access to your submission. Each reviewer is subject to non-disclosure and conflict-of-interest agreement.
• if your application moves to the next stage you will be invited to pitch your idea to the committee. Additional support will be available for those invited to pitch. A question and answer session will follow your fifteen-minute pitch.

For more information, visit Government of Prince Edward Island.