Business incubation: from startup to scaleup

Business incubation programmes are specialised programmes designed to nurture and support the development of early-stage businesses and startups.

These programmes offer a variety of resources, including:

• Physical workspace
• Mentorship
• Networking opportunities
• Access to funding
• Various support services tailored to the needs of fledgling ventures.

Business incubation over the years

Since the 1970s, business incubation programmes have developed into a diverse landscape that continues to undergo changes. This policy brief discusses the evolution and significance of business incubation programmes as an economic development tool over the past 50 years.

Support services for business incubation

It also provides the reader with an overview of the full range of support services provided by those programmes, starting from the last steps before the actual company foundation, up to the first internationalisation steps. This includes support models commonly known as business incubation,  i.e. organisations offering physical facilities and providing incubation services, and more recently acceleration and scale-up programmes.

Relevant examples from the Interreg Europe community are showcased to illustrate the current diversity of business incubation programmes. The policy brief is concluded with an outlook on success factors and recent trends in business incubation is provided.