TBIXI3

partner in addition to ESA. The scientific expertise of these
institutions complement the start-ups’ technical
development in the fields of electronics, nanotechnology,
telecommunications, navigation systems, nuclear science,
bioengineering, radiology, life science and Earth
observation.
These two additions to ESA’s Technology Transfer
Programme Office’s Business Incubation Centres Initiative,
join a total of seven centres in Germany, Netherlands, UK,
Belgium and Italy, in which businesses are created that owe
their competitive advantage to the use of space solutions.
Whether start-ups or spin-offs from SMEs, ESA BICs help to
create viable businesses and new jobs by providing support
to 60 companies every year in Europe, and more than 180
start-up companies have received support to date. In the
next few years, the plan is to strengthen ESA’s business
incubation initiative as one of the many ways in which space
can contribute to economic growth and job creation.
The Dutch Incubator Association (DIA) has been established to
provide the Dutch incubators with a common platform for
professionalisation and positioning on a national, European,
and international level. The goals of this association are:
professionalisation of the incubator industry, and;
reinforcement of the incubator infrastructure and relations
(synergy) on both national and European level; and optimizing
the information about incubation towards start-ups.
www.dutchincubator.nl
Incubator E - Sustainability & New Energy: The
newest addition to the Dutch innovation ecosystem opened
in December in the Southern province of Limburg. The City
of Heerlen, a former coal-city, together with the Province
funded the incubation programme at the BIHTS (research
centre on Building Integrated High Tech Systems) to attract
and grow innovative start-ups that enable the global
transition. The incubator is considered the third specialised
program for sustainable innovations and new energy in The
Netherlands. It kicked off with 16 start-ups. It offers
knowledge and lab facilities from the research institute,
support from university students for market research,
professional advice from experienced entrepreneurs and
access to funding. But according to manager Elbert Jan
52 February - May 2013
Achterberg, the power is in bringing together people with a
variety of challenges but with the same drive under one roof.
Win your Start-up in three months: A remarkable
initiative was launched in December, in Amsterdam.
StartupPush offers a programme that looks at a thorough
selection procedure, a three-month intensive incubation
programme and is international from the start. If the team is
able to generate first sales in the three-month period, they
earn 70 percent of the ownership of the company. Initiator
Arie Boon, a seasoned entrepreneur in marketing analysis,
states: "Matching a talented entrepreneurial team with
validated scalable business concepts offers a better
opportunity of success". StartupPush is already initiating
similar programmes in Berlin, San Francisco and London.
DIA forms partnership with USA Remington
Business Group: This association also works to inform
promising start-ups of fitting incubators, and initiate
connections between both parties. In an effort to upgrade
globalization services for business incubators and their
clients, DIA cooperates with specialised organisations which
deliver high standards in internationalisation support to
start-ups and small companies, which are usually neglected
by foreign investment agencies. Remington Business Group
is a 'Business Operations' firm which offers support both in
the administrative and operational side of the business and
also in the 'first line customer interface', which is the support
of foreign companies with their communications with local
U.S. contacts. Together with DIA, the Dutch Chamber of
Commerce and the American Embassy, they will organise
the first ‘Go Global - Succeed in the USA’ seminar on April
17th in Rotterdam.
UK Business Incubation (UKBI) has been the UK’s and
increasingly the international principal and successful
authority on business incubation, business incubation
development and best practice since 1998. www.ukbi.co.uk
UKBI Annual Conference 2012: UKBI held it's annual
conference at the end of November in the English city of
Lincoln. In a departure from previous conferences the event
was held within one of the University of Lincoln Buildings
allowing interaction between conference delegates and