Maple Program & Canadian Startup Visa

Canada is a perfect landing pad for many businesses around the world who are looking to expand their businesses to North America. Launch is a designated organization of the Canadian Government’s Startup Visa Program and a designated referral partner for the Global Talent Stream program.

Launch’s Maple Program is designed to help emerging tech companies expand their business to North America. We help tech companies identify the best path for immigration for their team and their families through Startup Visa, Express Entry, Provincial Nomination, or Global Talent Stream.

100% PR Success rate

Requirements

We work with companies that already have a product in the market, are financially stable, have already raised funding either internally or externally, and/or already have revenues. We primarily work with companies in the following tech sectors:

Technology Sectors Launch

We are currently accepting applications for our 23rd Maple cohort. 

Applicants must fulfil the following initial requirements before applying. 

  • Each applicant must individually hold at least 10% of the company’s voting rights and applicants altogether hold at least 50% of the company’s voting rights
  • Applicants must have a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 5 in English
  • Must be willing to integrate their business into the Canadian market within 12 months of application
Apply Now »

Note: This is an initial application and doesn’t guarantee your acceptance. The full list of requirements can be found here.

Non-Profit, taking
0% equity

Located in
Downtown Vancouver

Created for entrepreneurs, by entrepeneurs

Details, Fees & Features

Our Maple Program was created to aid international companies currently at Seed, Series A or higher with their growth and expansion to North America by providing a landing pad with resources, mentorship, networking, and business matchmaking to overcome the challenges that occur when moving a business and family to Canada. Please visit our FAQ page for all the information about our Startup Visa Canada & Maple Program.

The Maple Program is a 24-month program broken down into multiple modules, each designed to provide you with information, resources and tools to help support your current business and to prepare your company to establish itself within Canada. By the end of the program, your team will be part of a 200+ community of entrepreneurs from all over the world, established your company in Canada, participated in various Launch programming, and land in Canada as a Permanent Resident. There will be three main sections of the Maple Program.

  • Ignition, 4 weeks – Familiarise yourself with the program structure, with introduction, immigration, incorporation webinars and office hours.
  • Acceleration, 48 weeks – This core acceleration program will cover your roadmap deliverables, issue of Letter of Support, Permanent Residency application and Work Permit application if applicable.
  • Momentum, 52 weeks – This part of the program will provide momentum to scale your startup in North America, with a family support package, housing and accounting support for your company as well as access to our exclusive non-dilutive funding and Traction modules.

Unlike other accelerator programs, Launch takes 0% equity in your company. Instead, there is a program fee starting at $42,000* CAD over 12 months (plus applicable taxes, legal, immigration and settlement fees that are incurred outside of our program. Note, for companies outside of Canada, all local non-Canadian taxes will be the sole responsibility of the international company). Fees are broken down into 12 equal monthly payments of $3,500 payable during the 1st year of the program. At the end of the 12-month subscription period, your company will transition into the MOMENTUM portion of the Maple Program in which you receive an additional 12 months of program access at no additional cost. 

As Launch is a not-for-profit organization, all program proceeds will be reinvested back into building the Canadian tech and talent ecosystem.

Please note that the Maple Program fees are not correlated to the success and failure of the company’s immigration status, but rather for the programming and services provided to help companies acclimate to the North America Market.

  • Letter of Support – issued upon submission of all required documents and roadmap approval
  • Private workshops on immigration, incorporation in Canada, transferring IP to Canada, accounting and tax implications, and more
  • Lifestyle and landing pad support for your team members and families, including banking, insurance, and housing information
  • Guidance and support through your company’s immigration needs
  • Office hours with some of the brightest minds in Startups and mentorship from Launch’s seasoned startup mentors and industry experts.
  • Access to Launch’s unique community of over 250 founders from more than 60 countries
  • Business matchmaking for your company’s needs
  • Fundraising workshops and courses (Non-dilutive sources of funding in Canada and Fundraising in North America).
  • Exclusive access to Launchhub, featuring:
    • Access to up to $400,000 CAD of start-up perks
    • Monthly AMAs (Live sessions to ask questions to seasoned start-up mentors)
    • Monthly Webinars (Live Learning Sessions with mentors and partners)
    • Monthly Standups (Group discussions to meet your fellow members and build strategic connections)
    • Monthly Pitch Sessions (Monthly sessions for members to participate in honing their pitches)
    • Reverse Pitch Sessions (Live sessions to ask all your burning questions to investors and request introductions to them.)
    • Traction webinars bringing leaders from Google, Shopify, Uber and top-tier VCs
  • Exclusive invitations to CxO Summits, gatherings of high-level executives from the best startups in North America
Scott Hirsch
Launch Academy is a great place for startups to get their feet on the ground. They can connect you with hundreds of other entrepreneurs, funding opportunities and resources to get started. The team is super friendly, helpful and kind with their assistance. I highly recommend working with Launch!
Scott Hirsch, Co-founder & CTO, TalentMarketplace
Khurram Virani

Hands down, Launch Academy is THE tech startup hub of Western Canada, if not all of Canada. Space, mentorship, entrepreneurship education, tech education, and accelerators are just some of the offerings and benefits of being in the space. Happy to be a part of it!

Khurram Virani , Co-founder, Lighthouse Labs
Jacqueline Kim Perez

This is where my journey all began in the tech space. I am so grateful to Ray Walia, Alex Chuang, and the team at Launch for helping me become the leader I am today. The warm welcomes and people that I met there are the closest gang I’ve known for 6 years now. 

Jacqueline Kim Perez, Head of Operations & Token Marketing, Covalent
sean languedoc

If those bricks could talk! SOOOO many great companies started there thanks to you Alex Chuang Ray Walia Boris Wertz. You transformed the economy of BC, not just Vancouver/Gastown.

Sean Languedoc, Founder, CEO Global Talent Accelerator
Hussein Hallak

I was in a new country, I had a family, and money was running out fast. So the last thing on my mind was doing something as risky as pursuing an idea and building a company. Then everything changed the moment I walked through Launch Academy’s doors in June of 2014…from the moment you were in, you became a part of the Launch crew. Everything done at Launch is dedicated to supporting the Vancouver startup community.

Hussein Hallak, Founder & CEO, Next Decentrum
Charlyne Fothergill

So so proud to be part of those early days. Those were some times! So happy to see Launch still making an impact. 

Charlyne Fothergill , Senior HR Business Partner, CTO.AI
eagle chan

Thanks Launch Academy crew for your warm welcome and gift basket. We’re beyond excited to join Launch Academy family in Vancouver.

Eagle Chan, Founder, iSTEM AI

ARE YOU READY TO GO GLOBAL?

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Startup Visa Canada

Launch is western Canada’s premier technology hub located in Vancouver, BC. We help entrepreneurs execute on their businesses through industry expertise, mentorship, lean metrics and networking opportunities. Launch’s rich alumni network consists of businesses such as Koho, FansUnite, Klue, Victory Square, Later, Thinkific, Lighthouse Labs, Picatic and more!

You can partner with Launch if you are a VC or investor looking for a trusted partner with immigration options for your portfolio companies or an immigration consultant looking for solutions for your startup clients. 

Explore Partnerships »
Startup Visa and Maple Program Canada

Launch is western Canada’s premier technology hub located in Vancouver, BC. We help entrepreneurs execute on their businesses through industry expertise, mentorship, lean metrics and networking opportunities. Launch’s rich alumni network consists of businesses such as Koho, FansUnite, Klue, Victory Square, Later, Thinkific, Lighthouse Labs, Picatic and more!

You can partner with Launch if you are a VC or investor looking for a trusted partner with immigration options for your portfolio companies or an immigration consultant looking for solutions for your startup clients. 

Explore Partnerships »

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