Mitacs helps you take innovation
from concept to commerce

Maximizing your potential and capitalizing
your research and development are the keys
to succeeding in the global marketplace

Corner the market

Canadian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are driving innovation across every industry, but having a groundbreaking new technology or product is only half the battle — taking it to market and connecting with buyers are essential for growth and success. And your market should be top of mind from the research and development (R&D) phase onwards.

What does your customer want or need? Where does your product or service fit into the Canadian and global marketplaces? And how will you get it there? SMEs need to be nimble and well equipped enough to tackle these challenges, but many lack the resources, know-how and experience to take innovation from concept to commerce.

38 percent of SME leaders say that insufficient knowledge of the market and their competition is impeding their company’s growth.

Get a leg up with Mitacs

Mitacs has more than 20 years of experience facilitating successful and profitable collaborations between industry and academia. Investing in highly skilled graduate and postdoctoral students from Canadian universities is an invaluable tool in building the R&D resources your company needs. Top-tier research interns can fill critical gaps in your team, boost productivity, and provide fresh perspectives that will help your innovative concepts — and your business — achieve success in your markets.

How we help you achieve your goals

A Business Development team of 80, embedded at Canadian post-secondary institutions, identifies the right expertise to address your business challenges
Help you recruit highly skilled talent
Leverage your budget: because you pay only 50% of the project cost, your money goes further
Tap into national research networks

Your key benefits

Leverage your R+D/Innovation budgets

We work with you to develop the scope and the roadmap of the project to achieve your goals

We provide you with access to expertise not available in-house

Success stories

Mitacs-funded postdoctoral fellow Mahsa Kalantari helps workwear-entrepreneur Jess Black develop a fire-retardant, stretchable fabric that will fill a critical gap in the market for protective gear for women.
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E-book retailer Rakuten Kobo Inc. gains a competitive edge from Mitacs R&D interns, who are working on enhancing the company’s interactive book recommendation platform for users.
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