About usSupporting Innovation

A mission at the heart of the entrepreneurial community

MAIN brings entrepreneurs together and supports them through a catalog of services and an extensive mutual aid network.

Our mission

Empower entrepreneurs the courage to take risks

We believe that entrepreneurship should never be a solitary journey. MAIN builds connections between entrepreneurs, mentors, researchers, and funders—and provides them with the resources, training, and community needed to turn an idea into a sustainable and resilient business.

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Supporting Business Growth

We are working to ensure optimal coverage and continuity of support throughout the entire development of an entrepreneurial project.

Create services to enhance the service offering throughout Québec.
Improve the alignment and coordination of support programs.
Pool the resources and efforts of organizations within the ecosystem for the benefit of businesses.

Supporting Support Providers

We amplify the voices of those who support innovative startups in Québec in a spirit of collaboration and co-creation.

Launch research initiatives.
Enhance organizations' knowledge by offering customized training and networking opportunities.
Strengthen ties among organizations in the ecosystem to foster fruitful collaborations.

HistoryWhere We Come From

It all began in 2015

It all began in 2015 with the desire to unite the efforts of those who support innovative startups and to be more effective, at Québec, in fostering the development of the future flagships of innovation. Behind the story of the creation of the first network of innovation accelerators lie the major milestones in the development of a thriving ecosystem.

2015 — 2016

In the fall of 2015, at the Notman House in Montreal, key players in Quebec’s business support system pooled their talent and expertise to bring greater consistency to the services offered to businesses. This marked the birth of the Montréal Accelerator & Incubator Network (MAIN)—a nod to Saint-Laurent Boulevard, nicknamed “La MAIN,” just a stone’s throw from the Notman House—which would become the Québec Innovation Accelerator Movement in 2016.

2017

MAIN publishes the white paper Quebec Incubators and Accelerators: Definition, Relevance, Legitimacy, Opportunities, and Challenges, the result of a discussion led by the administrators of MAIN and a few contributors.

2018

The Ministry of Economy and Innovation invites MAIN to design a transformative project for Quebec’s business support ecosystem. This will give rise to PMEIT, an innovative support model in the form of a shared pathway between incubators and accelerators. This pathway is tailor-made to support innovative technology companies within the Québec.

2020

PMEIT is transforming into Momentum, with the ambitious goal of helping up to 375 of Quebec’s most promising startups quickly transition from the commercialization phase to the growth phase between 2020 et 2023. MAIN is holding its very first Sommet accelerator program at the Le Camp technology incubator-accelerator in the Capitale-Nationale region.

2021

MAIN publishes Exploring the corporate ecosystem in the Québec regions. The findings from these studies, conducted between 2020 et 2021, are presented in three categories: companies, support providers, and the ecosystem as a whole.

2022

MAIN is developing the Continuum startup, an initiative designed to support innovative companies throughout their business cycle, from inception to growth.

2023

MAIN is organizing a large-scale intellectual property project, momentumPI. The initiative, launched by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISDE), brings together several Quebec-based accelerators.

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