Entrepreneurial Investments: Micro Voucher Program
The Micro Voucher Program helps Alberta tech companies to design and/or develop innovative technology solutions by providing up to $10,000 in non-dilutive funding.
Offered by Alberta Innovates
Amount
Up to $10,000
Up to $10,000 in non-dilutive funding per project, with a minimum 25 percent applicant cash contribution to the total eligible project costs; total government assistance cannot exceed 75% of the eligible Project costs
Quick eligibility check
Who can apply
- You have fewer than 500 full-time employees and less than $50,000,000 in annual gross revenue.
- You can pay a minimum 25 per cent cash contribution of the total eligible project costs.
- You have a novel technology with an opportunity for intellectual property.
- Your digital technology could scaleup in one to two years, if successful.
- Your functional requirements and features are defined, and you can prove that the concept is technically feasible.
- You have or are working towards establishing a management team and foundational business agreements.
- You can identify target customer, customer segments and possible markets.
- You have completed an initial high-level competitive position analysis and understands any regulatory hurdles to entering the market.
- You can complete the proposed project within six months.
- Be a for-profit Corporation, General Partnership, Limited Partnership or Limited Liability Partnership and registered in Alberta.
- Companies must be Alberta-based with an Alberta footprint, which includes a significant physical and corporate operations in Alberta; appropriate Alberta ownership; and discernible intent that operational benefits will flow primarily within the Province of Alberta.
The Micro Voucher Program is open to:
- For-Profit Organizations In addition, to qualify for funding, the Applicant must:
- Meet the following definition of an SME: a company with fewer than 500 Full Time employees,
and less than $50,000,000 annual gross revenue;
- Be incorporated in Alberta AND/OR incorporated in another jurisdiction and extra provincially
registered in Alberta;
- Be a General Partnership, Limited Partnership, or Limited Liability Partnership and registered in
Alberta.
All Applicants must also:
- Exist as a corporate person, with up-to-date corporate filings;
- Be authorized to undertake the proposed project, and execute a grant with Alberta Innovates on
our standard terms;
- Not otherwise be prohibited from receiving Alberta Innovates funding, for instance due to a past
bad debt or otherwise not be in good financial standing with Alberta Innovates or its subsidiaries, InnoTech Alberta and C-FER Technologies;
- Be an Alberta-based company with an Albertan footprint, which is determined by the following:
significant physical and corporate operational presence in Alberta, appropriate Alberta ownership, and discernable intent that operational benefits will flow primarily within the province of Alberta.
- Clear our due diligence and risk screening as determined by Alberta Innovates in its sole
and unfettered discretion.
Please note: For Applicants not at post-secondary institutions, Alberta Innovates may perform corporate, bankruptcy and litigation searches, and conduct other forms of due diligence on the Applicant company and its principals.
Service Provider Eligibility
Service providers are required to:
- Be a registered corporate entity, partnership, sole proprietorship, or an institution in good
standing with the appropriate corporate registries.
- Be authorized to undertake the proposed project;
- Demonstrate the relationship between the Applicant and Service Provider does not create a
conflict of interest;
- Be at arm’s length from the Applicant (i.e., no legal relationship with the Applicant);
- Provide the service(s) and/or product(s) at reasonable market rates;
- Not otherwise be prohibited from receiving Alberta Innovates funding, for instance due to a past
bad debt or otherwise not be in good financial standing with Alberta Innovates or its subsidiaries, InnoTech Alberta and C-FER Technologies.
Note: For partners, collaborators and/or service providers not at post-secondary institutions, Alberta Innovates may perform corporate, bankruptcy and litigation searches, and other forms of due diligence.
Project Eligibility
To qualify for funding, all Projects must:
- Align with the objectives of the Micro Voucher Program
- Provide a current quotation for the work to be completed during the project
- Projects are eligible to receive only one Micro Voucher grant per innovation
- Be completed within the 6-month term
- Comply with other criteria that Alberta Innovates may develop from time to time
About the funding
The Micro Voucher Program helps Alberta tech companies to design and/or develop innovative technology solutions by providing up to $10,000 in non-dilutive funding.
The Program provides support for up to $10,000.
- The applicant must hire a service provider for a maximum six-month project to advance their
technology closer to commercialization
Show all funding details
- Funding is paid directly to the applicant and disbursed upon receipt and approval of a final
report
- The applicant is required to contribute a minimum 25 percent cash contribution to the total
eligible project costs at the project start date. If the Service Provider agrees, the Applicant contribution may be divided in half; one at the beginning of the Project and the final half at the end of the Project.
- Alberta Innovates encourages co-funding of Projects with other funding agencies but employs a
stacking limit to ensure there is sufficient financial commitment from the Applicant. The stacking limit is employed as follows: the maximum level of total government assistance, whether from federal, provincial/territorial, or municipal sources, cannot exceed 75% of the eligible Project costs.
Qualified activity includes:
- Design, engineering, and prototype development.
- Product testing and refinement.
- Patent development; (excluding patent maintenance fees).
- Advanced market assessment or segmentation analysis.
- Certifications.
- Advanced business and/or marketing strategies.
Other technology development activities that will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Examples of eligible activities can be found below under Resources.
Alberta Innovates only funds reasonable costs incurred after an Investment Agreement is signed by Alberta Innovates and the Applicant.
Costs must be incurred between arm's length- entities.
Design, engineering and prototype development;
- Early prototype product build
- Product modelling
- Injection mould design and prototype
- Detailed engineering design to create a procurement list and cost estimate for
fabrication of large items, typically for pilot testing of a process technology. TRL would be ~ TRL 5
- CAD designs provided by qualified drafters/engineering experts
- Initial builds of proposed designs including using technologies such as 3D
printed initial builds, scaled down versions of full design Product testing and refinement;
- Certifications (e.g. CSA approvals)
- Bench testing/simulations or early field trials.
- Product Certifications, CSA, UL, etc.
- Third party verification of product/process performance to a standard (but not
necessarily certified)
- Component testing to select for optimal performance (e.g. catalyst)
- Destructive testing of prototype, scale model or key elements of the product
being designed/built
- BETA tests/trials of digital products
Patent development; (excluding patent maintenance fees)
- Preparation and Initial patent filing in Canada or USA
- Convert provisional to a PCT and file in International jurisdictions
- Initial exploratory work
Advanced market assessment or segmentation analysis;
- Go to market strategy
- In-depth market assessment work such as geographic specific, sector
specific or customer specific investigative work Advanced business and/or marketing strategies
- Data privacy/cyber security development
- Price model Development through market testing
- Marketing and Digital marketing strategies to inform
data-based decision making Other technology development activities that will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Similar programs
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|---|---|---|---|
| Health Innovation: Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE) — Validate | Grant | Up to $300,000 | Open |
| Health Innovation: Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE) – Market Access | Grant | Up to 75% of total eligible Project Costs, up to $300,000-600,000* from Alberta Innovates for the AICE-Market Access stream (more than $300,000 per the Program Guide) | Open |
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