Innovative Business Growth Incubator for Start-ups Erasmus Project

Project Title

Innovative Business Growth Incubator for Start-ups

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship)

Project Summary

IBIS is a consortium of 5 partners from the UK, Spain, Lithuania and Finland all committed to promoting entrepreneurship.
IBIS is an innovative training programme for business incubators across Europe. Its aim is to enable start-up companies to grow and become more European in their focus and trade. It responds directly to the contemporary European context, as business growth for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is of paramount concern for future job and wealth creation across the continent. At present, SMEs represent 98% of all enterprises across the EU (with micro-businesses comprising 92.2% of this).

The project is based on the highly successful European Business Growth Catalyst (EBGC), a training programme designed by top European Business Schools and consultancy firms, aiming to enable established SMEs in Europe to achieve financial growth. The training provided to SMEs within the framework of EBGC is based on the methodology of action learning, a learning style which requires learners to undertake specific actions and reflect on their results. SME growth is an activity which requires practical action and continuous refinement of the application of methods. Action learning is an excellent method to achieve this.

IBIS has worked to adapt the original European Business Growth Catalyst to the context of business incubators. Incubation is a relatively new term in global business terminology. There are currently an estimated 300 incubators in the UK, compared to only 20 in the late nineties, and 7,000 worldwide, which means that the whole notion of incubation has grown significantly. There is evidence to suggest that the number of European accelerators and incubators has increased dramatically since the start of the financial crisis but a lack of long-term impact business programmes remain (Kawalek 2014). EBGC’s existing innovative training programme has been adapted in IBIS and used to train both start-ups in incubators and trainers in business incubators to help them achieve long-term growth.

IBIS has worked directly with:
1) Incubator staff
2) Start-ups within incubators with special emphasis on increasing the representation of female entrepreneurs

and indirectly with:
1) Wider groups of Start-ups
2) Entrepreneurs generally
3) Key decision makers and stakeholders
4) Organisations working in the field of entrepreneurship

Based on a needs analysis of incubators and Start-ups, the partnership completed activities with the overall aim of:
1) Directly helping staff members provide the newly developed IBIS Training Programme to Start-ups in their incubators
2) Supporting Start-ups especially when thinking about growing within a European context or what is also called promoting the “Europeanisation” of SMEs

IBIS has achieved this through the delivery of concrete results:
– IBIS Training Programme for SMEs
A new training programme adapted by the partnership (based on EBGC materials) and designed to help start-ups to plan and grow their business.
– IBIS Training for incubators’ staff
A new training programme adapted by the partnership (based on EBGC materials) and designed to help incubator staff to deliver training to their start-ups in business growth.
– Online Incubator
An online Incubator which makes the materials produced by IBIS available freely to a wider audience of incubators, Start-ups, policy makers and the community. It also brings together a range of other OER resources which help incubator staff and entrepreneurs find useful materials.
– Guide for Incubator Managers
A guide to help incubator managers offer the most relevant training and support to their Start-ups in a sustainable way. It is a valuable resource drawing on the learning gained within the delivery of the IBIS programme to provide recommendations ensuring start-ups in Europe receive the most appropriate support.
– Guide To Doing Business Online
With the Internet being one of the most important ways of doing business for SMEs today, especially with customers in other European countries the partnership provides participants with information on how to best sell their products and services through this resource.

The IBIS Training Programme for SMEs has been tested with over 100 participants from across the partner countries and has received excellent feedback. One participant states: “The IBIS programme was very practical, and great methods [were] presented; I am more motivated and ambitious about my business; I’ve got new insights about company finances and met new business partners.”

All IBIS materials and resources are freely available online and will continue to be maintained after the project so both start-ups and incubators can continue to access the IBIS tools and use them to help more businesses to set-up and develop.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 329469,45 Eur

Project Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD & Country: UK

Project Partners

• INOVA CONSULTANCY LTD
• VIESOJI ISTAIGA KAUNO MOKSLO IR TECHNOLOGIJU PARKAS
• FUNDACION GENERAL UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA-EMPRESA
• OY VAASAN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU – VASAYRKESHOGSKOLA AB