Funding alert: $350,000 through the Prompt Innovation Cybersecurity Program

The Prompt Innovation Cybersecurity Program (PICQ) aims to help Quebec companies obtain certification, accreditation or licensing of their products, solutions and processes. The ultimate goal of this component is to facilitate the commercialization of technologies and the reaching of new markets.

The PICQ is a non-repayable and non-recurring financial contribution of $350,000 per project (maximum), up to 50% of eligible expenses, with a minimum private contribution of 25%, for a maximum project duration of 2 years.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the QCIP – Component 2, the recipient company must:

Be a private, for-profit company, have an active establishment in Quebec, and be legally incorporated under Quebec federal law (and be registered with the Quebec Enterprise Registrar).
Have its head office in Quebec and have its employees or subcontractors in Quebec.
Aim to have products, solutions, and processes already developed certified for the first time to facilitate commercialization and reach new markets.

Eligible projects – main certifications and accreditations

This component aims to support companies that want or need to demonstrate the compliance and interoperability of their products/solutions/processes with respect to cybersecurity. The following certifications may be eligible (all relevant certifications and accreditations outside of Canadian, US and European jurisdictions will be considered)

Digital identity and access management certifications such as NIST 863-3, Voila Verified, eIDAS, WebTrust, AATL.
Privacy, personal and health information protection certifications such as GDPR, PIPEDA, provincial laws and laws specific to the health field.
Information security certifications such as ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and IS0 27 018, ISO 27034, SOC 2 Types 1-2-3, OWASP, SOX, Cyber Security, Cyberessential PLUS, CMMC, Cloud Security Alliance
Payment certifications such as PCI-DSS Alliance.
Healthcare certifications such as HiTrust, HIPAA, SafeBioPharma Alliance.

Eligible expenses

Eligible expenses relate only to activities carried out within the framework of the QCIP project – Component 2, such as

Salaries of Quebec-resident and Ontario-resident labour working in Quebec, plus 43% (to cover benefits and general administration costs).
Professional fees for specialized services, which must be provided by Quebec companies and professionals whenever possible. This expense is limited to 20% of the total value of the project.
Travel and living expenses for the project, up to 5% of the total value of the project.
Costs related to a study including the evaluation of various aspects such as the market, processes, technology, etc., up to 5% of the total value of the project.
Costs of foreign experts coming to Quebec, up to 5% of the total value of the project.
Acquisition of equipment from non-affiliated companies, up to 25% of the total value of the project.
Equipment rental and transportation costs.
Costs for the preparation of a strategy and acquisition of intellectual property protection.
License fee costs that are required by an unaffiliated company or organization.
External costs of registration testing, leading to certification required for commercialization.
Costs of auditing sub-projects for compliance with standards by an external auditor.

Thinking of applying for financing? These funds are highly competitive, contact us today to get started!

Why Ayming?

Our team of experts will take the time to understand your current and future planned projects. We will then align these initiatives to the program in order to provide you with the highest ROI and the highest chance of approval.

We have extensive experience working with Canadian SMEs and have the expertise to properly position and maximize your application to secure your business funding.
We are the first Canadian company to establish a national grants practice.
Our proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) driven database of grants provides live access to thousands of programs, including a custom snapshot of all federal and provincial grants currently available to each company specifically.
Our highly experienced delivery teams boast over 50 + years of combined grants experience and over 200+ years of combined SR&ED experience, meaning you partner with true subject matter experts who are invested in your success.
No risk success-fee remuneration.