Business Incubators

Wallonia is home to a number of business incubators that provide development resources and support to emerging technology companies:

Wallonia Biotech Coaching

Wallonia Biotech Coaching (WBC) supports the development of spin-off, spin-out and start-up biotech companies. More specifically, its mission is to validate company projects and give continuous support during the growth and maturing of these companies.

According to the needs of incubated projects, WBC provides a panel of pre-financed managerial, commercial and financial services, including market studies, analysis of regulatory issues, strategic advice on in/out licensing and on mergers/acquisitions, commercial representation and laboratory equipment leasing plans.

WBC supports client companies for a maximum of 6 years. During this period, the evolution of incubated companies is evaluated using proprietary management tools adapted to the specificities of the biotechnology sector.

Contact:
+32-(0)4-2465110
info@biotechcoaching.com
>www.biotechcoaching.com

Wallonia Biotech

Wallonia Biotech is a life science incubator established by the Free University of Brussels (ULB) and Igretec (the intercommunal development association), and with the support of Sambrinvest. Wallonia Biotech is an indispensable complement to BioVallée, a non-profit corporation tasked with commercializing research. The incubator plans to stimulate and accompany entrepreneurs in a threestep process:

1. Promotion by creating conditions favorable to the birth of new ideas, notably though efficient communication (website, media contacts, presence at national and international biotech events, etc.)

2. Detection of new ideas, by maintaining an overview on science and technology developments and the evolution of market needs.

3. Realization. Once an idea is formulated, it must then be validated and transformed into a real activity or business project, and the means must be given for it to become concrete. This is where the network of specialist collaborators at Wallonia Biotech comes in. They can help entrepreneurs in all aspects of their new activity: legal, financial, administrative and real estate.

Wallonia Biotech is in the heart of the Charleroi Biopole next to BioVallée, at the meeting point of science and business.

Bio Vallee

BioVallée is a development and biotechnology research center within the Charleroi Biopole. The center was created mainly through the initiative of the Free University of Brussels (ULB) in partnership with the University of Mons-Hainaut and the intercommunal development organization Igretec. Its principal mission is to facilitate the transformation of research results into innovative products and services marketed by the companies in the sector. It is supported by the European structural funds (FEDER and FSE) and by the Walloon Regional government.

BioVallée specializes in genetic construction and analysis, a rapidly expanding field that touches a wide spectrum of important sectors: Health (diagnosis and therapeutic processes, research instruments), agro-foodstuffs (traceability, security, etc.), agriculture (seed selection and certification) and environment (new bioremediation processes with the aide of micro-organisms and plants).

Biopole

Biopole, located in the Charleroi Aeropole science park, is a biotechnology center and economic facilitator that brings together companies for collaboration and financial support. It benefits from Wallonia region and European government support.

Wallonia Space Logistic

Wallonia Space Logistic is an incubator for new high-tech enterprises in space areas and engineering sciences. It launches four to five innovative enterprises per year with products and services developed from research activities in Universities and in Liege Spatial Center. Wallonia Space Logistic invests in enterprise projects, even before the start-ups are created, to allow the preparation of competitive technologies by targeting the most promising market sector.

WSL-Lux

WS Lux is an affiliate of WSL and Idelux (a company dedicated to the economic development of the province of Luxembourg in Belgium) and is located close to the ESA REDU station, in the heart of Wallonia. WSL-Lux benefits from the experience acquired by WSL in incubating successfully about 30 new companies since the year 2000. Companies to be hosted in WSL-Lux will be part of a Science Park to host companies active in the Space Industry.