The new Bajo Deba technology incubator is inaugurated
29-06-2017
IK4-TEKNIKER
Situated in the IK4-TEKNIKER headquarters in Eibar and managed by the BIC Gipuzkoa centre for innovative businesses, it will provide space for up to six start-ups.
It was at headquarters of the IK4-TEKNIKER technology centre, situated in the Gipuzkoa Technology Park, Eibar, where the presentation of an incubator for new companies whose principal aim is to foster the development of technologically advanced projects in the Bajo Deba region took place. The event held this morning at the new facilities, featured the Mayor of Eibar, Miguel de los Toyos, the Director General of IK4-TEKNIKER, Alejandro Bengoa, the Director General de la Sociedad para Transformación Competitiva (SPRI), Alexander Arriola, and Ainhoa Aizpuru, the Deputy for Economic Promotion, Rural Environments and Territorial Management of Gipuzkoa.
The new incubator to be managed by the BIC Gipuzkoa centre for innovative businesses aims to become a relevant stakeholder as regards furthering economic development in the area. It also aspires to eventually become a benchmark in terms innovation and entrepreneurship actions within the Basque Country.
The purpose of these new facilities located on level -2 of the technology is to offer a home base for start-ups involved in strategic high-added value fields such as advanced manufacturing, bioengineering or digitisation.
Overall, the facilities will comprise six individual spaces measuring 35 m2 each. One of which will be occupied by BIC Gipuzkoa itself and another by Atten2, a company specialised in researching, manufacturing and marketing online optical sensors, a true IK4-TEKNIKER spin-off.
Extensive institutional support
The event held this morning clearly denotes the significant degree of institutional support the project has received since its inception last December.
The different organisations that have supported the new incubator, namely IK4-TEKNIKER, BIC Gipuzkoa, i.e., the public body jointly managed by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and SPRI, and the Eibar town council have allocated 200,000 euros for refurbishment work and have set out to achieve the objective of fostering competitiveness in an area traditionally connected to the industrial sector.
“It was over two years ago when, together with BIC Gipuzkoa and IK4-TEKNIKER, we addressed the need to develop a space just like the one we are inaugurating here today in order to create an innovative industrial fabric capable of generating quality jobs in our city”, stated Miguel de los Toyos. The Eibar mayor also added “that thanks to this thought process and to the budgetary agreement reached in 2016 with EAJ-PNV, it has been possible to provide enough financial support to honour our commitment. Clearly, this initiative is an example to be emulated by others. Institutions and organisations, each one based on their skills and responsibilities, are fully committed as regards furthering the degree of economic development in our environment”.
Alejandro Bengoa, for his part, underscored that “it is very important for IK4-TEKNIKER to have a new space where projects associated with a high technological value resulting from having extended the technology centre itself can be carried out”. He also stated that “this is offers further proof of how committed our organisation is with regard to enhancing the industrial fabric of this region”.
The experience of BIC Gipuzkoa
The public corporation called BIC Gipuzkoa, whose shares are held by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and SPRI, have maintained special ties with Eibar that have brought about new business activities in the Bajo Deba area since it was established nearly 25 years ago; a commitment that will be reinforced even further through the incubator under its charge.
During the inauguration Alexander Arriola stated the following: “At BIC Gipuzkoa we will give support to projects based on our knowledge and expertise. We will also provide access to a range of public support schemes for entrepreneurial activities”. This new incubator is located in a strategic space of the Basque entrepreneurship ecosystem that comprises the Network of BIC’s in Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia, Margen Izquierda and Araba.
During the previous fiscal year, BIC Gipuzkoa supported 57 entrepreneurial projects and backed the launching of 27 innovative technological start-ups. Over years of activities, this company has supported the creation of a total of 311 firms, 80%of which are still operating in high value added markets such as advanced manufacturing, engineering, digital technologies and energy.
The conclusion drawn by Ainhoa Aizpurua is that “over the years we have set up a network of alliances with universities, companies, technology centres and public & private institutions to speed up the development of new business initiatives like the one we are inaugurating here today“.