Startupfest announced today that they are launching a new initiative, StartupExperience.CA, which will give entrepreneurs from around the world the opportunity to live and work in one of Canada’s top startup cities for three months this year.

The program will give 100 international startups the opportunity to work in a top Canadian accelerator or co-working space for three months, from May-July 2017. They will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Canadian market, build their businesses in a top startup city, and spend their summer in Canada.

“To build our strong entrepreneurial community we must continue to nurture home grown talent, and at the same time inspire newcomers to join our cities. The StartupExperience project is our way of welcoming entrepreneurs from around the world to experience building a startup in Canada,” Phillipe Telio, founder of Startupfest told MTLinTECH.

StartupExperience.CA follows the success of EchangeStartup in 2016, a program that brought six Parisian startups startups to Montreal, four of which decided to open offices here once the exchange was complete. The new program will continue to grow new relationships between startup communities on a global scale.

“Whether they apply to stay in Canada or not, we’re sure they’ll love the experience. At the very least, we will build stronger international bridges to our great Canadian Startup community.”

Applications are now open to any startup in the tech sector that is less than five years old and has raised less than $1.5 million CAD or foreign equivalent. Applications are due by March 24th, and selected startups will be notified in the last week of March.

Current partners include DMZ, Notman House, Wavefront, District 3 and more.

If you’d like to offer up space or get involved, send an email to [email protected].

To apply to the program, click here.