From Business Incubator to Business Innovation Centre (Coastal Karst region, Slovenia)

GOOD PRACTICE in ECO-INNOVATION SUPPORT
From Business Incubator to Business Innovation Centre

DESCIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION
Inkubator is a small-sized enterprise registered as a limited liability company. It is a public equivalent body with the Municipality of Sežana as the main shareholder. Inkubator is working mainly at a sub-reginal level and partly at regional and cross-border level. It was established in 1991 by the Municipality of Sežana and Sloveneta d.o.o. consulting company.
Inkubator is founder and member of Association of incubators and technology parks of Slovenia. It is also associate member of EBN - European BIC network and in 2009 it also adjoined to the “Achieve More” partnership within Europe Innova programme. In 2006, the 3.000 m2 Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) was constructed and was cofinanced by EU and the Government.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
The mission of Inkubator in a few words: a regional innovative instrument for economic development in the Coastal-Karst region with a vision to become a recognised and reputable full member of EBN.

Main objectives of business incubator establishment are as follows:

• to procure business space for new entrepreneurs and small enterprises,
• to provide basic counselling to entrepreneurs,
• to create new jobs for unemployed persons in the region and for envisaged newly unemployed staff after the abolition of border with the EU.

The initial objectives were expanded to the procurement of industrial land for incubatees that “matured” in business incubator. A couple of years ago, after the construction of BIC, the innovation content was added to the incubator’s activities.

ORGANIZATION’S ACTIVITIES
The main purpose of a business incubator is to help new companies towards success and consequently towards creating wealth and possibilities for new jobs. In accordance with the purpose the incubator offers services that entrepreneurs cannot handle themselves, especially in the initial phase. By establishing the business innovation centre it upgraded the package of services and expanded processes of incubation on procedures of innovation.
Along with new production units, laboratories, offices and common premises for meetings and training, BIC offers a system of services which cover the following fields:

• analysis and evaluation of technological, market and financial aspects of a project,
• package of services for developing entrepreneurial skills,
• assistance in preparation of business plans,
• raising financial resources,
• coaching of companies in first years of development,
• establishing connections between companies and centres of knowledge,
• cross-border cooperation in the field of internationalistion of small and middle-sized comapnies,
• introducing innovation to existing companies in the region.

The activities within BIC are directed to graduates with business spirit, developers, innovators and young researchers, innovative companies in start-up phase, cross-border companies oriented to international growth, originators of ideas with potential of high added value.

ORGANIZATION’S PERSPECTIVE ON ECO-INNOVATION
BIC is striving to promote the creation of new innovative companies. In past years, few companies were developed within the Inkubator, which developed innovative products that reduce energy and use of material, reduce pollution and enable the replacement of fossil fuels with other energy products (electric vehicles). In cooperation with other institutions and in the search of new innovative ideas Inkubator focused on the eco-innovative fields, in particular use of renewable sources of energy (photovoltaics, biomass) and sustainable construction or “eco building”. Inkubator partially applied these principles in the construction of BIC, where the primary source of heat is a heat pump and a lot of other eco principles were implemented like low-temperature surface heating and attachments for subsequent installation of solar panels.
In the context of the Association of Incubators and Technology Parks of Slovenia, Inkubator cooperates in attempts to improve the system of the financial support from the Ministry of the Economy or the Public agency of the Republic of Slovenia for entrepreneurship and foreign investments. An important Inkubator’s activity is the technical support to incubatees for applications on a special annual call for innovative enterprises which operate in incubators and technology parks. Inkubator also assists incubatees at applying for other calls of innovative enterprises tenders and in obtaining more favourable financial resources (loans, guarantees).

Inkubator d.o.o.
Kraška ulica 2
6210 Sežana
Slovenia

+386 5 7313 500
e-mail
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