First, in the case of a startup company, the government supports several accelerators throughout Canada. The BDC supports 13 in certain specific sectors. In the case of green technologies, there is Foresight, and we have another accelerator in Montreal. So that is a good place to obtain financing in the initial stages of starting up a business.
These companies can spend 6 to 18 months in incubation. They have access to services, professionals, and also to other venture capital firms. They are introduced to the venture capital firms and a dialogue begins. We measure the interest investors have and the capacity of the team to deliver the technology. A first investment is made at the very beginning. That can be a cheque of $500,000 or $1 million. This helps the company to develop the technology and accelerate its development and sales. Afterward, other investors answer the call.
So there are funds, accelerators, specialists in these sectors. What we want to do is bring together the skills of the fund managers and the needs of the entrepreneur. In our portfolio we support more than 700 companies through these accelerators, our funds and our direct investments.