Taking a firm and positive stand against the barrage of negative press reports on the viability of incubator businesses, Europe's foremost incubators came together for the first Exchange event of the Business Incubator Association of Europe (BIA Europe) to discuss, exchange information and network. A successful business incubator can create multiple benefits for the community in which it is located, offering increased employment opportunities, the creation of wealth and the spread of knowledge and experience. The 10 founding members of BIA Europe alone have created more than 175 new companies in just twelve months, as well as hundreds of new jobs, a clear indication of the significance of this relatively new business model.
The meeting was hosted by one of the founder members of BIA Europe, S.A.I.L. Trust, at their premises in Ypres, Belgium on the 30th November 2000.
Around 100 invited participants were present, among them representatives of the leading incubators in Europe, both BIA members and aspirant members, as well as venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, politicians and journalists.
The meeting was opened by Mr Jean-Luc Dehaene, former Prime Minister of Belgium, who reiterated his support for the incubator models and praised the emergence of a pan-European association to define quality standards and create relevant network structures.
Media attention was sharply focused on the contribution of host Mr Jo Lernout, co-founder of beleaguered firm Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, who despite the controversy that surrounds his company in the wake of recent revelations about the state of its finances, presented his company's innovative and trail-blazing new Artificial Intelligence software to the audience.
However, a welcome contribution by Mr Rudy Aernoudt, Director of DG Enterprise, European Commission, promised support and encouragement for business incubators from Brussels. Entrepreneurship, he said, is directly linked to growth of GDP and employment in countries where the entrepreneurial culture is strong, like the US, Canada and Israel, therefore any initiative to encourage entrepreneurial activity can only be of benefit to that nation's economic growth. The EU, he continued, is at present examining the possibility of setting up an agency to aid and support the growth and spread of the business incubator model in Europe, and will be looking to BIA Europe for help in creating structures, guidelines and policies on the issue.
This comes as a welcome endorsement of the embattled incubator industry in
Europe, that has seen a number of recent closures, as well as a spate of
skeptical and negatives media reports about the sustainability and profitability
of business incubators.