CFIR · What we fund
CFIR funds the scholarships that make business education free, the seed grants that help new ventures grow, and the applied research we share openly with Canada’s entrepreneurial community.
CFIR · Education
The knowledge an entrepreneur gets before the capital — practical entrepreneurship education, funded by CFIR and delivered through YEDI, our designated institution.
These are the scholarships we fund — each covers its programme in full. Everything about applying lives with the institution that runs the programmes.
Diploma
For entrepreneurs, small-business owners and their teams — covers the Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management diploma in full: the modern tools and skills to build and run a business.
Vocational diploma · Ontario Career Colleges Act
Details ↗
Certificate
For startup founders — covers the Incubator certificate in full: from a raw idea to a business plan and an investor pitch, ending at the Venture Fair.
Selective · cohort-based · any sector
Details ↗
Certificate
For executive directors and founders of not-for-profits — covers the Not-for-Profit certificate in full: how an organisation runs, funds and grows, and how it pitches to funders.
Cohort of organisations · pitch at the Venture Fair
Details ↗
How it fits together
01
ApplyTo the programme that fits — applications are at yedi.ca↗02
StudyOn a full scholarship, funded by CFIR.03
GraduateWith a diploma or a certificate.04
PitchIncubator ventures present at the Venture Fair.05
GrowA seed grant can follow the pitch — and the company is theirs.CFIR · Seed grants
Entrepreneurs who finish the Incubator can apply for a seed grant — capital to build what they planned. Ventures pitch at the Venture Fair, and grants are awarded in varying amounts to those ready to incorporate and build.
Recipients
CFIR · Research
Funded by CFIR and published open-access for the Canadian entrepreneurial community.
CFIR funds applied research into entrepreneurship and publishes it open-access — free for anyone to read.
Virtual Economics
2026
A survey of 68 Canadian startups building on artificial intelligence, alongside national research-spending data from 2010 to 2024.
About this research
Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education
May 2026
A study of 148 YEDI graduates, examining which factors track how their ventures go on to perform.
About this research
Journal of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
August 2025
How the concentration of venture capital across the provinces co-moves with firm survival and patent activity.
About this research