The ESA BIC in Brno hosted by EBN Member JIC opened on the 40^th anniversary of the first spaceflight of Czech astronaut Vladimír Remek, hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The new ESA BIC will be managed by EU|BIC JIC and CzechInvest, supporting  nine  entrepreneurs exploring space technologies in South Moravia region over the next three years.

The branch was opened by ESA representative Frank Salzgeber (EBN Board Member),  the outgoing Czech Minister of Transportation Dan Tok, the deputy governor of the South Moravia region Jan Vitula and Jan Urban, acting CEO of CzechInvest. The first Czech astronaut, Vladimír Remek, appeared at the grand opening as an honoured guest.

The European Space Agency and the South Moravia region will each provide EUR 300,000 to finance the new ESA BIC branch in Brno.

The first startups could enter the Brno space incubator at the JIC premises already in June this year. They will receive financial support of EUR 50,000, the opportunity to use JIC’s facilities, consulting and advisory services in the technical and business areas. Also, they will be able to get marketing support, find partners and potential investors, and access the know-how of the European Space Agency.

Petr Chládek, JIC’s director, is pleased to share JIC’s expertise to support additional entrepreneurs in the region:

 “More than 200 start-ups have passed through the South Moravian Innovation Centre in the past 15 years. Some of them have become internationally successful technology firms that are major employers and investors. We are prepared to provide outstanding support for those that get involved in the new incubator. At the same time, we will address potential interested parties, mainly students, innovators, new startups and spin-off firms from research organisations.”

Read the full press release

About JIC

JIC (South Moravian Centre), a certified EU|BIC offers wide range of services to entrepreneurs, empowering both early-stage and mature companies in the South Moravia region.

About ESA BICs

ESA BICs’ mission is to turn space-connected business ideas into companies by exploring technologies of European Space Agency (ESA). The business incubators which become ESA BICs receive financial support from ESA and access to their technologies to support entrepreneurs interested in space innovation. EBN and ESA have a long history of collaboration leading to establishment of European Space Incubators Network (ESINET) in 2002, a community of business incubators passionate about space related innovation and technologies. Several EU|BICs, among them Lazio Innova (Italy), IPN (Portugal), imec (Belgium) and JIC (Czech Republic), now also operating as ESA|BICs, were part of the network,  exchanging best practices in tech transfer and supporting space-driven innovation.

Space year is at EBN Congress 2018 too! One of the key themes will be ESA and ESA BICs' role in commercialsing space-based technologies. Come to EBN Congress and meet the new ESA BIC in Brno among others !