This is one of the main findings of an annual report on entrepreneurship produced by the SME Research Institute of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR).
In 2024, just over 27% of Quebecers intended to start a business in the next three years.
- It was the highest rate since 2013.
Étienne St-Jean, professor at UQTR and co-author of the report, told InfoBref that he saw several encouraging signals in the report.
Among other things, nearly 20% of the population has taken steps to create a business.
This proportion places Quebec in 2e world rank, among comparable economies, with regard to the rate of entrepreneurial initiatives.
Among Quebecers who have taken such steps, around 58% have kept a job at the same time.
- The proportion has been gradually declining for several years, underlines the researcher.
- He sees this as an indicator that entrepreneurs have more and more confidence that their efforts to create a business will bear fruit.
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Takeover procedureswhich aim to purchase an already established business, remain frequent, although in slight decline.
The researcher does not see any alarming signal there.
He believes that the number of emerging entrepreneurs, which is increasing, will be sufficient to take over the companies that will soon be put up for sale.
“Many new entrepreneurs discover after trying to launch a new business that they do not have the financing capacity necessary to take it to profitability,” he explains.
“Some then prefer to buy an established company because this type of acquisition is easier to finance.”
Business closures however, tainted the entrepreneurial record.
In 2024, 5.7% of businesses that were active in Quebec the previous year will have closed.
- This was the highest proportion in 10 years.
In return, underlines the researcher, 7.4% of companies have reached the stage of “established company”, a positive signal which, according to him, compensates for the closures.
