US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 where the new commercial enterprise is in a targeted employment area or is a qualifying infrastructure project. Those figures are subject to statutory adjustment from 1 January 2027, so the applicable amount depends on the filing date and must be confirmed officially.
The reduced figure is earned by the project's location, not chosen
The lower threshold is available only where the enterprise is principally doing business in a targeted employment area — a rural area, or an area of high unemployment — or where the investment is in a qualifying infrastructure project. That designation attaches to the location and must be supported by evidence with a limited period of validity, so a project marketed as qualifying may have been designated on data that has since expired. Hélène should ask for the designation itself and its date rather than accepting a description.
Two further points affect the number she actually needs. Capital means more than cash: it can include equipment, inventory and other tangible property valued at fair market value, and indebtedness secured by assets she owns provided she is personally and primarily liable and the assets of the enterprise are not the security. And the amount must be at risk in its entirety, so arrangements promising redemption or guaranteed return undermine the very capital being counted.