Ready 4 Market fund

This program supports start-up businesses in Ontario with ambitions to scale the business through the Customer Creation and Company Building stages of the Customer Development Model. The business must market a product or service based on research from an Ontario-based academic institution.
  • Ontario Centre of Innovation
Overview of the Ready 4 Market fund program:

Ready 4 Market (R4M) is Ontario’s leading pre-seed investment fund. Through the fund, OCI co-invests with angel and other investors in early-stage Ontario-based start-ups with competitive IP commercializing transformative technologies to support their growth into scalable businesses. This investment de-risks the opportunity, helps the start-up become investor and customer ready, and attracts private sector co-investment and follow-on investment.

Benefits of the Ready 4 Market fund program:
  • Ready 4 Market supports Ontario-based early-stage technology companies that are raising pre-seed and seed investment rounds. Investments are up to $250,000 and total round sizes range from $500,000 to $2 million. R4M is a competitive co-investment fund, with hundreds of companies considered for funding closing around 20 investments each year. Investment criteria includes a minimum addressable market size of $100M, and private sector co-investment is required. Companies undergo a rigorous due diligence and selection process, and are evaluated on long-term competitiveness, strong IP, unique value proposition, and capacity to scale. To date, OCI has invested in 200+ companies.
Eligibility criteria of the Ready 4 Market fund program:
  • BEST SUITED FOR:
  • Intellectual Property from an Ontario-based academic institution or part of a Campus Incubator/accelerator at Academic Institutes (Companies with their team /IP origins at a university (university spin-out), college or research hospital are also eligible, even if not campus affiliated.)
  • Incorporated for no more than five years (Ontario or Canadian for-profit incorporation) and have principal operations in Ontario.
  • Companies that have raised less than $1 million in third-party capital are eligible for their first R4M investment.
  • OCI supports early-stage companies that are raising pre-seed and seed investments (total round sizes range from $500,000 to $2 million).
  • SECTORS
  • Agnostic across sectors* including (but not limited to) IT, Robotics, AI, Cleantech, and Advanced Manufacturing with a minimum addressable
  • Market size of $100M.
  • GEOGRAPHY
  • Companies that are headquartered and predominantly located
  • Within the Province of Ontario. The current company headcount must be
  • >50% located in Ontario (not projected).
  • Early-stage technology companies that are close to commercialization. Ideally, the product has been built, and there is some early market traction.
Request Funding Information

Related Funding Opportunities

Explore similar funding opportunities that match your goals.

Economic Opportunity Fund (EOF)OPEN
  • Kakivak Association
Altos VenturesOPEN
  • Altos Ventures
CleanBC Go Electric RebatesOPEN
  • Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation

Other Grants and Funding by Region

Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project FundingOPEN
  • Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Barrier-Free GrantOPEN
  • City of Grande Prairie
Sport Event Hosting GrantOPEN
  • City of Edmonton
CAI Capital PartnersOPEN
  • CAI Capital Partners
START program: hiring incentiveOPEN
  • Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education
GoPeerOPEN
  • GoPeer
SIEF Agricultural LoansOPEN
  • Saskatchewan Indian Equity Foundation Inc. (SIEF)
Research and Development Tax CreditOPEN
  • New Brunswick Department of Finance
Training Assistance Program (TAP)OPEN
  • Government of Nunavut

More Grants and Funding by Industry

Rhyze Up! ProgramOPEN
  • Rhyze®
Accelerate FundsOPEN
  • Accelerate Fund
Canada Growth FundOPEN
  • Canada Growth Fund
New Business Development GrantOPEN
  • City of Grand Prairie
Nova Scotia Child Care Subsidy program!OPEN
  • Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Business Plan AssistanceOPEN
  • First Peoples Economic Growth Fund
CBDC Social Enterprise LoanOPEN
  • Community Business Development Corporations (CBDC)
AVAC Ltd.OPEN
  • AVAC Ltd.