European Space Agency’s business incubator provides €1B for the Lithuanian space startups

The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation of Lithuania has announced the establishment of the European Space Agency Business Incubator in Lithuania that will provide €1 billion with the first package of €500,000 until 2027 to support the development of space startups.

• ESA BICs are the largest network of business incubators in Europe, The objective is to support entrepreneurs with a space-based business idea and help them to develop their product while getting their company off the ground. It has already supported over 1,100 startups in different European countries. 
• Currently, 23 ESA Business Incubation Centres operate in 18 ESA Member States. Each ESA BIC incubator is managed by a local operator who connects startups, universities, research centers, in-country businesses, government organizations, and investors in a value chain.

“The ESA Business Incubation Center is a new and very important, logical step after Lithuania’s accession as an ESA Associate Member. The space sector is a promising, horizontal field that is attractive not only to the scientific community, but also to the business community – both big investors and start-ups. The establishment of this center will give them an impetus to develop innovations and advanced technologies, as well as promote international cooperation and involvement in international networks,”

said Egle Markeviciute, Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

• Under the agreement, the Visoriai Information Technology Park and Kaunas Tech Park have been selected as the coordinator of the ESA BIC Lithuania.
• The incubator will select 25 Lithuanian space startups which will have access to technical and consultancy support, and also will receive €50,000 in funding. Startups incubated in Vilnius will be eligible for an additional €25,000 in funding from Vilnius City Municipality.
• The fresh funding will help to accelerate the development of the Lithuanian space sector, which sets the goal of increasing the country’s space sector tenfold to 1% of GDP by 2027.