Regional Economic Growth through Innovation

The REGI program offers two options for funding:

• Business Scale-up and Productivity
• Regional Innovation Ecosystems

Business Scale-up and Productivity

We help businesses speed up their growth so they can be more productive, compete on the world stage and reach new markets.

REGI can help you reach the next level! Our repayment contributions are unsecured and interest-free. Your agreement will explain all the details including the schedule and conditions for repayment.

You can use this funding to:

• scale up and expand
• make the most of new technologies
• improve productivity
• create new products and find new markets

Regional Innovation Ecosystems

ACOA funds non-profit organizations that support businesses at each stage of development. By doing this, we create strong and inclusive regional networks to fuel growth and innovation.

We also focus on making business support networks stronger for under-represented groups. These include women, Indigenous peoples and young entrepreneurs, among others.

We provide non-repayable contributions for organizations such as:

• strategic clusters and groups that help businesses build on regional strengths to scale up and bring new ideas to market
• business accelerators and incubators and others that support entrepreneurs, start-ups and innovative companies with high-growth potential
• other innovation-oriented organizations that help businesses be more productive, compete globally, attract new investments and recruit talent

Who can apply?

Business Scale Up

This option funds businesses, including:

• sole proprietorships
• partnerships
• social enterprises
• incorporated companies
• corporations or co-operatives
• Indigenous-owned businesses
• all other types of enterprises

It also funds non-profit organizations that offer services to businesses.

Regional Innovation Ecosystems

This option funds non-profit organizations such as:

• post-secondary educational institutions
• accelerators and business incubators
• angel networks
• social enterprises
• a group of eligible recipients such as an industry association or consortium
• a municipality and all other municipal-type organizations
• community-owned Indigenous businesses

We know it can be harder for Indigenous businesses to succeed. If you're an Indigenous youth or woman, or if you lead a community-owned Indigenous business, you could get extra support. Contact us to see if you qualify for more funding or flexible repayment options.

How to apply

Contact your nearest ACOA office to discuss your project and then complete and submit the Application for financial assistance.