Fund your commercialization
A trade show abroad, a certification a buyer demands, packaging adapted to a market, a first sales presence outside the province: winning a market is fundable, provided you file before the costs are incurred.
- Trade show abroad
- Trade mission and prospecting
- Certification required by a new market
- Adapting the product to a foreign market
- Translation and packaging compliance
- Market study and territory selection
- In-market representation and agents
- Go-to-market tools and online store
Programs for commercialization
The right program depends first on the destination — outside Quebec or outside Canada — and then on the sector. An agri-food project does not trigger the same programs as a manufacturing one.
- Federal · Global Affairs Canada
CanExport SME
Open$10,000 to $50,000 - Provincial · Investissement Québec, on behalf of the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie
PSCE stream 2
UpcomingUp to $60,000 per year - Provincial · Groupe Export agroalimentaire Québec-Canada, with financial support from MAPAQ
SEB
ClosedUp to $100,000 - Provincial · Aliments du Québec, supported by MAPAQ
SIAM
Closed$10,000 to $100,000
Planning a project like this?
How funding works for commercialization
That is what sets this project type apart: the decisive question is not what you sell but where. The same trade show falls under one program if it is held abroad, another if it is held in Canada outside Quebec, and neither if it is held in your own province. Sector comes second: agri-food has its own set of programs, distinct from manufacturing.
The second particularity is that these are envelope-based programs, often open in windows of a few weeks and closed as soon as the budget runs out, regardless of the published deadline. A trade show spotted three months ahead is fundable; the same show spotted three weeks ahead rarely is. Since commercialization spending is by nature decided quickly, this is the project type where planning ahead pays the most.
- 01
Trade show participation
Registration, booth, shipping of materials, travel and accommodation for the team, within each program's own caps.
- 02
Adapting the product to the market
Packaging, labelling, translation, regulatory compliance and certifications required by the buyer or the target country.
- 03
Prospecting and representation
Trade missions, agents and distributors, market studies, and legal fees tied to entering a market.
- 04
Go-to-market tools
Transactional website, search visibility in the target market, content and promotional material adapted to the destination.
Frequently asked questions about commercialization
CanExport SMEs, from Global Affairs Canada, funds international market development — trade shows, missions, product adaptation, certifications. PSCE Component 2, from Investissement Québec, targets sales outside Quebec but within Canada, often an SME's first export market. In agri-food, the SEB program supports exports and SIAM supports the commercialization of local products. The right program is determined by destination above all: the same expense may or may not qualify depending on the country or province targeted.
Yes, but not through the same programs as a show abroad. International export programs target markets outside Canada; a show in Toronto or Calgary falls instead under out-of-province market development programs such as PSCE Component 2 for a Quebec company. A show held in your own province, by contrast, generally does not qualify, since the logic of these programs is to fund access to a new market, not routine commercial activity.
Often yes, and it is one of the most worthwhile items in the file. Where a buyer or a regulation imposes a certification, an approval or a compliance upgrade to access the market, the related costs — audit, laboratory testing, certifying body fees, product or labelling adaptation — fall within the eligible costs of several export programs. The usual condition is demonstrating that the certification conditions access to the target market, which a written requirement from the buyer is generally enough to establish.
Yes, but rarely through a single application. Several export programs reason by target market and cap the funding per project and per fiscal year; aiming at three countries in one file often leads to a refusal for lack of focus. The practice is to sequence: one priority market per application, possibly complemented by a provincial program for a second market. That sequence is planned at the start of the year, because envelopes close during it.
Hubvention first determines which program applies to which destination, then builds the filing calendar around the opening windows — these are envelope-based programs that close as soon as the budget is exhausted. The firm then drafts the file, files it, defends it with the agency and follows through until payment, including the expense reports required after the show or mission. The initial assessment is free and without obligation; mandate fees are set case by case in the engagement letter, before work begins.