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Business incubation is a business
support process that accelerates the successful
development of start-up and fledgling companies
by providing entrepreneurs with an array of targeted
resources and services. These services are usually
developed or orchestrated by incubator management
and offered both in the business incubator and
through its network of contacts. A business incubator’s
main goal is to produce successful firms that
will leave the program financially viable and
freestanding. These incubator graduates have the
potential to create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods,
commercialize new technologies, and strengthen
local and national economies.
Critical
to the definition of an incubator is the provision
of management guidance, technical assistance and
consulting tailored to young growing companies.
Incubators usually also provide clients access
to appropriate rental space and flexible leases,
shared basic business services and equipment,
technology support services and assistance in
obtaining the financing necessary for company
growth.
Incubators
vary in the way they deliver their services, in
their organizational structure and in the types
of clients they serve. Highly adaptable, incubators
have differing goals, including diversifying rural
economies, providing employment for and increasing
wealth of depressed inner cities, and transferring
technology from universities and major corporations.
Incubator clients are at the forefront of developing
new and innovative technologies – creating
products and services that improve the quality
of our lives in communities around the world.
The earliest incubation programs focused on a
variety of technology companies or on a combination
of light industrial, technology and service firms
– today referred to as mixed-use incubators.
However, in more recent years, new incubators
have emerged targeting industries such as food
processing, medical technologies, space and ceramics
technologies, arts and crafts, and software development.
Incubator sponsors have also targeted programs
to support microenterprise creation, the needs
of women and minorities, environmental endeavors
and telecommunications.
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