ECAbit incubators and technology parks network aims to add value to its members’ activities by fostering and strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship support, exchanging information and knowledge, collaborating among incubators and entrepreneurs in the ECA region and on global level, and disseminating knowledge about national SME and innovation development policies and programs.

Regional Snapshot

42 organizations in 19 countries throughout Eastern Europe/Central Asia.

Regional Statistics

iDISC - the infoDev Incubator Support Center - is a virtual networking and knowledge-sharing platform for incubators and technology parks leveraging ICT to facilitate entrepreneurship and new business creation in developing countries. More

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ECAbit: incubating innovation. together

ECAbit stands for Eastern European and Central Asian Business Incubators and Technology Parks network.

Most ecabit network members are located in countries that have been undergoing a transformation from planned to market economies. Strengthening the market orientation, diversification and competitiveness of economies in the East European and Central Asian region by fostering entrepreneurship and innovation on all levels from rural to high tech has become a main feature of this dynamic region in its strategic triangle between the European Union, Asia, and Russia.

In many countries, business incubators and technology parks have achieved to initiate government programs addressing the need to build upon strategic strengths of the economies and to develop national and regional innovation clusters. By February 2008, ECAbit counts 30 full members from 15 countries, including associations from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic and the Ukraine representing about 180 incubators.

For more information, please download the following information:

ECAbit network overview (2008)

ECAbit network overview (2008) - in Russian

Please also visit us at http://www.ecabit.org.

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РУССКИЙ

Чтобы получить более подробную информацию и новости, пожалуйста, посетите сайт: http://www.ecabit.org (English и Русская версия)

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Highlights

Global Network Member Shares Results after Five Years of Business Incubation

Five years after the inauguraton of Timisoara Business Incubator (UBIT), more than 40 business incubator practitioners from around and beyond Eastern Europe were hosted by UBIT and GTZ to share the experiences and lessons learned from the UBIT experience to date. One of the key discussion topics was how to transfer good practices into national policy-making and economic development efforts. More

Innovative Firms or Innovative Owners? Determinants of Innovation in Micro and SMEs Innovation is key to technology adoption and creation, and to explaining the vast differences in productivity across and within countries. Owner ability, personality traits, and ethnicity have a significant and substantial impact on the likelihood of a firm innovating, confirming the importance of the entrepreneur in the innovation process.

infoDev Announces Winners of Global Innovators Contest 2009 Following a call for candidates in March for the Global Innovators 2009 contest, infoDev is pleased to announce that it has selected eleven entrepreneurs whose success stories will be highlighted at infoDev's 3rd Global Forum on Innovation & Entrepreneurship in October 2009.

Technology Transfer Facilitation - Online Discussion! The purpose of this online discussion is to explore how developing countries can best facilitate the transfer and commercialization of technology from research institutions - whether from within their domestic institutions; between developing countries; or between developing and industrialized nations.

Outcomes from Workshop on Women-Focused Business Incubation held in Kyrgyzstan The "Gateway to Economic Development through Women Empowerment and Entrepreneurship" workshop, hosted by the Congress of Women of the Kyrgyz Republic and funded by infoDev, convened in April to learn about and discuss strategies in the promotion and implementation of Women-focused Business Incubation and Entrepreneurship programs worldwide.

The 2009 Tech Awards - Call for Nominations The Tech awards committee - Technology benefiting humanity - is currently accepting 2009 nominations. Five laureates are recognized in each of the categories: Environment, Economic Development, Education, Equality and Health, and one laurete from each category receives a $50,000 prize.

A Message from infoDev's Program Manager: Send us your input - help shape the Global Forum agenda! Ms. Valerie D'Costa, infoDev's Program Manager, invites you to reflect on the theme for the 3rd infoDev Global Forum on Business Incubation - Innovation and Venture Creation for Inclusive Development - and send us your thoughts to help shape the Global Forum 2009 agenda and activities.

Apply to Be a 2009 Global Forum Innovator infoDev is seeking 15-20 successful entrepreneurs working on innovations in sectors such as agriculture, information technology, tourism and sustainable energy / clean technology. Successful applicants will be named 2009 Global Forum Innovators and have their stories highlighted at the 3rd infoDev Global Forum on Innovation & Entrepreneurship in October 2009.

Development Marketplace 2009 Grant Competition on "Climate Adaptation" The Development Marketplace is a competitive grant program administered by the World Bank. The 2009 global competition is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and additional DM partners. It aims to identify 20 to 25 innovative, early-stage projects addressing climate adaptation. The DM is a unique opportunity to turn your idea into reality; if selected your project could receive up to US$200,000 in grant funding for implementation over two years.

Youth to Innovation (Y2i) Contest Winners Announced The Eastern European and Central Asian business incubators network (ecabit) announces the winners of the 2009 Y2i contest on innovative ideas in business and business incubation management addressing young people up to the age of 30. The contest aims to support innovative thinking and action among young people in both entrepreneurship and business incubation.

Update: New Date and Location for the 3rd infoDev Global Forum on Business Incubation 2009 The 3rd Global Forum on Business Incubation will be held in Florianopolis, Brazil on October 26-30, 2009. This new date and location enables both partners to integrate the 3rd infoDev Global Forum with ANPROTEC's 19th Brazilian National Seminar on Science Parks and Business Incubation.

Request for Expressions of Interest: Consultant Services, Business Incubator Manager Training infoDev has received financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) toward the cost of developing a state-of-the-art business incubation training program targeting business incubator managers in developing countries, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consultant services.

infoDev's Global Working Group on Youth & Innovation Launches Newsletter Initiated and financed by infoDev, the Global Working Group on Youth & Innovation already comprises more than 20 experts from infoDev's Global Network of Business Incubators, committed to fostering youth entrepreneurship within the broader context of innovation and business incubation. Read the Working Group's first activity update. Global Network members are welcome to join!

President of Bulgaria Awards Innovative Companies at Forum Organized by ARC Fund

Working Group on Women-Focused Business Incubation: Project Update & Competition Following a Request for Proposals infoDev has provided grants for building three global thematic work groups as part of infoDev’s 's Global Incubation Network. These work groups are being set up for learning more about how to effectively serve women and youth through business incubation and about models for spurring high growth enterprises in ICT-enabled sectors in the poorer developing countries. This article highlights some of the activities that are currently underway in the working group on women-focused business incubation - and invites incubators to take part in an upcoming competition!

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Success Stories

Developing hardware and software for skin cancer diagnosis, incubated in Serbia

Empowering Displaced Women in Post-Conflict Areas, Georgian Association of Women in Business

Woman Entrepreneur Steers Fish Production Company to Success in the Kyrgyz Republic

Polar Star: Bilateral Norwegian-Russian Business Incubator Project in Murmansk

Online Investment Portal Company and World Summit Award Winner, Incubated at YES in FYR Macedonia

IT Solutions and Services incubated at CITAf Technology Incubation Center in Romania

Accounting and Management Software from PK Komputer in Russia

Graphic Design and Web Development company incubated in Croatia

Technology Innovation Incubated at YES Incubator in FYR Macedonia

Espor Digital Ltd. Company incubated at Ankara Cyberpark, Turkey

Beeswax Entrepreneur Incubated at Kharkov Technologies, Ukraine

BIC & University co-operation in innovation

Presentations

About infoDev, presentation in Armenia, Olafsen Ellen.pdf 11/26/2007

Advancing Innovation in ECA, EIF Experience, B.Yengibaryan.pdf 11/26/2007

Ankara Cyberpark briefing paper Feb 08

BI and Innovation Development in Kyrgystan, Zamira Akbagysheva.pdf 11/26/2007

BI models & Innovation Policy, Heinz Fiedler.pdf 11/26/2007

Business Environment and Knowledge for Private Sector Growth, World Bank. Fernando Montes-Negret.pdf 11/26/2007

Business Incubation as a Toool for Promotion of I&E, infoDev Valerie D'Costa.pdf 11/26/2007

ECA presentation on AIN, Leon Lourens.pdf 11/26/2007

Financial services for SMEs in Russia, Nadezhda Karisalova.pdf 11/26/2007

Financing Innovation and Technology, H2 ECOnomy's case, Vahe Odabashian.pdf 11/26/2007

Gomel Business Innovation Center, Belorussia.pdf 11/26/2007

Innovation system in Russia - increasing competitiveness, Leontiev Alexey.pdf 11/26/2007

Private Interest for Public Good, Romanian RDI Strategy, Radu Gheorghiu.pdf 11/26/2007

Public Sector Innovation Policies and Programs in Armenia H.E. Nerses Yeritsyan.pdf 11/26/2007

Public support to business incubators in transition economies, Gunnar Due-Gundersen.pdf 11/26/2007

Role of Ventre Capital for transition economies, USAID Armenia, Francis Skrobiszewski.pdf 11/26/2007

Rural business incubators and innovation, Uzbekistan.pdf 11/26/2007

Science and Technology Parks as value added business environments, Technopolis Finland, Julia Fomina.pdf 11/26/2007

Status of ECA Regional Network, Sept 2007, Andriy Tarelin.pdf 11/26/2007

Technology Transfer in ARC Fund context, Todor Yalamov.pdf 11/26/2007

Technology Transfer Promotion System in China, Shanghai Co-way, Liu Zhengping.pdf 11/26/2007

The Role of Government in Innovation Absorption in ECA, World Bank, Itzhak Goldberg.pdf 11/26/2007

University support for innovative start-ups, Moscow State University Science Park (in Russian).pdf 11/26/2007

University support for innovative start-ups, Moscow State University Science Park (in Russian).zip 11/26/2007

Reports

eBusiness Guide for SMEs

ECAbit network overview (2008)

ECAbit Newsletter April 2008

iDISC overview & network statistics (2008)

Regional Workshop: Europe & Central Asia

20 September, 2007
View photos

The following table provides a statistical overview of data for this region, collected from the iDisc member directory. Note that zero values are excluded throughout.

Type

	Incubators
Academic	6
Government	5
NGO	21
Private sector	7

Financial Model

	Incubators
For-profit	6
Not-for-profit	34

Targets

	Incubators
Rural poor	10
Urban poor	7
Women	11
Youth	16

Sectors

	Incubators
Agriculture	11
Clean Technology	0
Information and Communication Technologies	28
International	12
Manufacturing	14
Mixed Use	19
None	3
Textile	7

Services

	Incubators
Facilities	31
Finance	34
Incubation and Business Development	33
International Business Services	22
Networks and Synergy	30
Technology Transfer	22

Objectives

	Incubators
Affect policymaking	17
Commercialize research	19
Create companies that export revenues	14
Create jobs	28
Develop profitable enterprises	34
Provide income generating opportunities for disadvantaged populations	15
Raise the awareness of potential entrepreneurs	28

Number of Clients

# Reporting	31
Min	6
Mean	88
Max	602
Total	2,756

	Incubators
1-5	0
6-10	3
11-15	5
16-20	4
21+	19

Employees in Client Firms

# Reporting	26
Min	12
Mean	1,603
Max	20,000
Total	41,689

	Incubators
1-15	1
16-30	1
31-45	2
46-60	2
61+	20

Number of Graduates

# Reporting	22
Min	3
Mean	90
Max	1,008
Total	1,996

	Incubators
1-3	1
4-6	2
7-10	3
10-13	0
14+	16

Employees in Graduated Firms (Jobs Created)

# Reporting	16
Min	40
Mean	2,137
Max	20,000
Total	34,207

	Incubators
1-15	0
16-30	0
31-45	1
46-60	0
61+	15

Years in Operation

# Reporting	38
Min	1
Mean	8
Max	19
Total	317

	Incubators
0-3	10
4-6	8
7-9	7
10+	15

Space (sq.m)

# Reporting	25
Min	100
Mean	2,919
Max	24,000
Total	72,977

	Incubators
1-1,000	12
1,001-10,000	11
10,001+	2

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Regional Networks

Africa Asia/Pacific Eastern Europe/Central Asia Latin America/Caribbean Middle East/North Africa

Network Members

177 organizations listed in 77 countries worldwide.

Network Member Directory Join the Network Members: Update Your Profile Members: Submit Content iDisc Services

Regional Facilitator

Stefan Schandera

Last updated 30 Jun 2009

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