I really appreciate that question, because small business really is the backbone of our economy. Nine out of ten jobs are in small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, and those same companies create three out of every four new jobs, so it's really important to us that we support them. In fact, some 39% of all the procurement that Public Works does for the government is done with small business. I'm really proud of that, because there was a day when it wasn't that high a number, but we respect small businesses and we try to make sure that we include them. In fact, that's why we set up the office of small and medium enterprises, OSME.
It's OSME that actually administers the build in Canada innovation program, BCIP, to which you referred. This is an exciting program that was trialled a couple of years ago. We've since made it permanent and doubled the funding for it so it's now $40 million a year. There's a $20 million component just for the military.
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, this is a program, not a subsidy, in which we identify companies that have really interesting products or services that are then procured, purchased, by a government department to match real business needs. These are products that probably aren't quite ready for prime time yet, but when companies work with the department, the department trials these products or services and identifies where they could be improved. It goes back to the company and says, “Okay, here you go. This is what we see as opportunities for improvement.” The company fixes things up, goes back to the department, and the department tries it again. At least nine times out of ten there's success. The company benefits by getting that real-world exposure and the trial to perfect its product or service. The government department gets a real business need met with something that's brand new. The company gets the benefit and the cachet, if you like, of having the Government of Canada as a customer, which adds a lot of credibility, especially when they're trying to sell worldwide.
I met with a number of the owners of these companies that have come up with these products. Some of them truly are innovative. Some of them are world-leading in their field, so it really feels good to be able to support companies that are now receiving perhaps 80% of their revenue from offshore. It's a real kick-start program and it's a win-win all the way around.
I would point out that the next call for proposals on this will be this summer, so people can check it out on the website.