Financial Times Europe’s leading Start-Up Hub ranking once again places the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Network in the top 10.
The ESA BIC network supports entrepreneurs in maturing their business ideas, fostering clusters of space-related start-ups in upstream, downstream, and technology transfer domains. This ranking reaffirms our position as a leader in space innovation, highlighting the two decades of experience powering the network and showcasing our growing influence across Europe’s broader start-up ecosystem. Testament to this success is Isar Aerospace, a launch service provider enabling access to space with their own Spectrum 2-stage launch vehicle, currently active in Germany, Sweden, and Norway. A prime example of international entrepreneurship.
“Early-stage support is crucial for start-ups, especially in the space sector. The ESA BIC programme was instrumental in bringing our vision to life, providing networking, funding, mentorship, and resources. We’re proud to be part of a programme that promotes innovation and are committed to opening up space for future generations,” says Isar Aerospace Chief Commercial Officer, Stella Guillen.
Our growing success
In the second edition of this ranking, the ESA BIC network continues to lead as the highest-ranked space-focused incubation programme, securing an impressive 2nd place among all incubator networks in Europe and 10th out of 150 start-up incubators. Building on this success, we are expanding our reach by working together in acceleration, alongside our core incubation efforts. Several affiliated incubation centres are present in the ranking as well, such as UnternehmerTUM with whom we recently partnered for our ESA Accelerator in Germany. We encourage our other partner incubators to join the Financial Times ranks in the future.
Coming out of our 20-year celebration event we are already empowered by the passion our network members displayed and inspired by success stories of our entrepreneurs. Working with start-ups across sectors such as space technology, health, and agriculture continues to be a rewarding experience. This recognition further strengthens our commitment to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, driving technological advancements, and contributing to the development of Europe’s space economy. We look forward to our continued growth.
Join the programme
We want to extend our thanks to everyone involved who has made this incubation programme a success. Explore the ESA BIC programme, find information about the ESA BICs in your region and learn how to be a part of the next wave of space-based innovation.
Discover the ESA BIC programme
