Quebec’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

In Quebec, 99% of companies are SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), which means that they have up to 99 employees; moreover, 45% of SMEs have 1 to 4 employees. 

To support these SMEs, either in their creation or growth, it is estimated that the province has more than 600 organizations, both public and private. With a specific role each, these organizations interact and complement each other to help entrepreneurs, creating one of the most dynamic ecosystems in the world.

To understand this entrepreneurial ecosystem in a nutshell, let's divide it into 4 groups:

- Technical support: these organizations provide the support you need if you are considering entrepreneurship, to improve entrepreneurial skills, to expand knowledge on specific topics, develop the business plan or manage the growth of your company if you are in the growth stage. Organizations that provide business training, coaching, mentoring, business incubators or business accelerators are part of this group. 

- Financial support: this group includes organizations that provide alternative sources of financing to traditional banks. These organizations have funds dedicated to covering diverse needs of entrepreneurs, as well as guiding people in presenting their project to obtain a grant, a subsidy, a loan, or a credit.   

- Partner network: we group here the organizations that help entrepreneurs create business networks. These include regional or ethnic chambers of commerce or sectoral associations. 

- Information network: There are online resources for finding information. Start with the Quebec government’s website Entreprises Quebec, which contains information based on the stage of development of the business. To find organizations in the ecosystem, you can use one of these resources: Infoentrepreneurs, Startup Montreal, Entreprendre Ici. 

Finally, for people who are just starting out in entrepreneurship or for those who have a business and are looking for help, the recommendation is to be clear about what you are looking for and identify the stage of your project; this will simplify the search for the organization that can best help you, according to your needs.