ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs)
Gives space startups €60,000 in equity-free funding plus ESA technical support.
Each ESA BIC gives incubated founders EUR 60,000 in equity-free funding, access to ESA's technical expertise, and customised business support; applicants apply directly to their own regional BIC rather than to ESA headquarters, since each of the more than 35 centres runs its own selection process. The Financial Times ranks ESA BIC 2nd among European incubator networks and 10th globally. Since its …
Open to entrepreneurs turning space technology ideas into start-ups -- either upstream work within the space sector itself, or downstream use of space data and technology in other fields -- applying through one of more than 35 ESA Business Incubation Centres across 20+ European countries and 100+ locations.
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Guides for this application
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