A support network tailored to helping cooperative businesses is ready to help develop a cooperative.

Explore the various financing programs that are available for co-op conversions.

Employees’ capital outlay

At first glance, you might assume that most employees don’t have access to the kind of capital outlay required to acquire a company. Collectively, however, workers have access to greater investing power as well as specific programs for financing. For instance, employees can obtain loans toward a capital outlay that can be repaid through salary deductions.

Financing programs

Grants
  • The Programme de soutien à la reprise collective s Quebec’s financing program intended for collective employee buyouts (up to $1 million over 3 years to support the costs of a feasibility study and the founding of worker cooperatives to undertake collective buyouts.
  • Employment subsidies from Emploi Québec (Subvention salariale)
  • Social economy investment funds
Loans and loan guarantees
  • Loans for technical support related to the feasibility study (not refundable if the co-op conversion is not undertaken for any reason)
  • Line of credit
  • Start-up loans
  • Patient capital (quasi-equity)
Financial benefits for the buyers/acquiring parties
  • Access to the cooperative investment plan (Régime d’investissement coopératif (RIC)), a Quebec government program allowing for 125% provincial tax deductions for employee co-op members towards their purchase of preferred shares in the acquired company.
  • Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) tax credits, both federal and provincial, equal to 100% of the amount invested in the company – can be added to the provincial benefits of the RIC (see above).
Financial backers for cooperatives