3. Smart Indicators 3.1 Smart Economy Business spaces Business incubators. Business incubators are understood to be spaces that aim to temporarily support the promoters of business projects and/or future businessmen/women, to start their businesses in an appropriate location and in an environment conducive to achieving the degree of maturity that will enable them to enter the market with the necessary skills and knowledge to survive in a competitive environment.
Bilbao
In the Metropolitan Bilbao area, there are multiple infrastructures supporting the incubation of new companies, both general and sector related:
Madrid
Business Incubator Network in Madrid. 7 sector incubators , which provide offices and business services in the seven districts of the capital.
4 incubators managed by the Bilbao City Council, 3 of a general type and another for companies specialising in New Technologies.
Infrastructure investment: in excess of € 24 million. .
European Business and Innovation Centres (BIC).
Capacity: 200 companies.
University Incubators.
Total area: 22,800 m2.
Other general municipal incubators and incubators that specialise in bioscience, ICT, ...
Average office size: 20 m2.
Investment in management and support: € 1.3 million /year.
http://www.madridemprende.net/
These infrastructures are complemented by services designed to support the incubation process and by a substantial package of financial aid (grants, loans, seed capital, ...), which means the start‐up aid at Bilbao Metropolitan is probably the most important in the State and the European Union.
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