Funding Opportunities

RBC Venture Accelerator Program

The RBC Venture Accelerator Program provides an opportunity for students at Wilfrid Laurier University to gain entrepreneurial experience. The program will fund a total of five students per semester who have the option of working on their own venture or working for a startup in their field.

Currently this opportunity is open to undergraduate students only. Undergraduate students in all faculties are welcome to apply.

RBC Venture Accelerator Program Application Form

RBC Experience Program

The RBC Experience program exists to allow students to take advantage of opportunities in competitions and conferences that will help them gain exposure to entrepreneurship, grow their network, and gain new skills. This program provides funding to help subsidize the costs of travel, accommodation, and event registration fees. Students are required to apply with their expenses.

RBC Experience Program Application From

AC JumpStart

Funded by FedDev Ontario and delivered through the Accelerator Centre in partnership with Laurier’s Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, AC JumpStart provides early-stage startups with the seed capital, mentorship and market-readiness tools needed to build their ventures. A select number of grants are reserved exclusively for members of the Laurier community.

Entrepreneurial Advantage

The program delivers substantial entrepreneurial advantage through:

$30,000 in seed capital (grant);
Mentorship from experts in areas relevant to their venture;
Access to market research; and
Invaluable connections to prospective investors.

Terms and Conditions

A limited number of grants are available in each round.
Applications are evaluated on a competitive basis.
If you are not approved, you may apply again in the next round.
SmartStart funding and JumpStart funding cannot both be awarded to a company.
Employees and their families including individuals with a contractual work arrangement with any of the educational institutions involved are not eligible.

Laurier’s Past JumpStart Recipients

LaunchPad National Bank Grant

Through generous support provided by the National Bank of Canada, the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation awards up to thirty National Bank Grants to LaunchPad ventures each year. National Bank Grants provide qualifying LaunchPad ventures with financial support to help with costs related to startup and/or scaling.

LaunchPad National Bank Grant Application Form

Eligible Expenses

professional services (e.g., legal, accounting, marketing, graphic design, etc.)
marketing materials (e.g., print materials, swag, etc.)
business development (e.g., trade show/conference participation, customer survey costs, etc.)
product development (e.g., prototyping, equipment, software, etc.)

Terms and Conditions

Applicants who have been previously awarded a National Bank Grant are not eligible.
Applicants must be willing/available to attend the annual National Bank sponsorship appreciation event to be held in winter 2019 (exact date TBD).

National Bank Grant Recipients

LaunchPad Funding

Current members of Laurier's LaunchPad are eligible to receive financial support to supplement specific expenses related to their startup.

LaunchPad Funding Request Form

Eligible Expenses

Expenses typically associated with early stage ventures are eligible, examples include:

legal services (e.g., incorporation, shareholder agreements, IP protection, etc.)
accounting services
marketing services
business development (e.g. conference fees)

Terms and Conditions

Funding is only available to current LaunchPad members.
A limited amount of funding is available.
The submission of an application does not guarantee approval.