Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur
Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur provides early-stage support to postdoctoral fellows (PDF) and graduate student entrepreneurs. Accelerate Entrepreneur funds student entrepreneurs to further develop the research or technology at the core of their business when hosted by an incubator facility. This helps student entrepreneurs to take real, meaningful advantage of the supports provided by the incubator, with the goal of commercializing the technology, product, or service rapidly. In a nutshell, they get paid to grow their company and get to market faster.
Offered by Mitacs
Amount
$15,000 per internship unit (4 to 6 months), half from the partner organization and half from Mitacs; $20,000 units for postdoctoral fellows
Quick eligibility check
Who can apply
- Full-time students and post-doctoral fellows at Mitacs partner colleges and universities in Canada.
- Full-time graduate students in select Mitacs partner countries.
- Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and international students over the age of 18.
- Eligible intern-owned start-ups at approved incubators. Contact accelerate@mitacs.ca to confirm their start-up’s eligibility.
- All academic disciplines.
About the funding
Mitacs matches the start-up’s investment by 50% and releases a research award to student or post-doctoral entrepreneurs through four-month internships, valued at $15,000 per internship. Students or postdoctoral entrepreneurs receive a minimum $10,000 stipend per internship, with up to $5,000 in flexible funding that can be used to support research costs.
Similar programs
| Program | Type | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program: Access to Capital | Grant | Individual Indigenous entrepreneurs may receive up to $99,999 in funding assistance and eligible Indigenous community businesses may receive up to $250,000 (non-repayable equity contribution | Open |
| Accelerate | Grant | no fixed amount | Open |
| Accelerate Fellowship | Grant | $10,000 or $15,000 Standard Award (1:1), or $13,333 Cluster Funding (1:1.2), per internship unit | Open |
| AgriScience Program – Projects | Grant, In-Kind Support | Up to $5 million per project and $10 million per applicant over the program's duration (2023 to 2028) | Open |
