General data

Country: Portugal
Region: Madeira
Lazio GDP (2007): 4.824 millions €
Companies in the region (2007): 1.500
New companies per year (2007): 399
Region population (2007): 250.000
Region Unemployment Rate (2007): 7%

BIC Madeira was founded in 1997 by Madeira Regional Government which main goal was to contribute to the diversification and growth of the economy in Madeira Autonomous Region, focussing specifically on innovative business activity and entrepreneurship promotion.

BIC Madeira´s principal mission is to give a full range of support to promoters of innovative projects and ideas, for the creation and modernisation of enterprises in all economic sectors. Furthermore, BIC Madeira´s main objective is the creation and promotion in Madeira Region of a new entrepreneurial culture of innovation and competitiveness.

BIC Madeira can be considered as a strategic partner in Regional development as it stimulates the creation of micro and small companies, by means of the promotion of entrepreneurship and business innovation.
Is an instrument of regional development and optimizes public and private resources to support initiatives which contribute, through their innovative nature and economic relevance, to wealth and job creation and to activity diversification. On the other hand, CEIM assumes the role of interface contributing to the transfer of results and connections between research and development entities and the entrepreneurial activity.

BIC Madeira profile

Founded year: 1997
BIC since: 1997
Legal status: Private company with public capital
Funded by: Regional Government (Região Autónoma da Madeira), Madeira University, Young Enterpreneus Association of Madeira, Banco Internacional do Funchal, Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira, Empresa de Cervejas da Madeira, Companhia Insular de Moinhos

Stakeholders: Mainly Região Autónoma da Madeira
Target Market: Entrepreneurs
BIC catchment area: Madeira Island
HHRR (2007): 9 team members
Incubation space: 293, 26 m2

Located in: Science Park, near to Madeira University

Value Added Service:
Training the next generation of Madeiran entrepreneurs

Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset as well as the relevant skills among young people – starting from basic education – will greatly contribute to the strategic goals of the EU. Young people should be equipped with the skills they will need to be successful in a complex world: creativity, innovation, independence, initiative are essential attributes for personal fulfilment and success.

Lisbon European Council of 2000
BIC Madeira is developing a large project, since 2005 and till 2013, for the promotion of entrepreneurship at different educational levels (primaries: 6/7/8 years old, secondary, vocational training: 16/17/18 years old, and in Madeira University: 18-25 years old –,): rs4e – road show for entrepreneurship®

Since its establishment BIC Madeira has promoted and brought to life the spirit of entrepreneurship, by providing direct, hands-on support to innovative ideas/projects. In order to promote new projects at a regional level, BIC Madeira felt the need to go looking for future Madeiran entrepreneurs in amongst school-age Madeiran adolescents.

rs4e – road show for entrepreneurship® is a project about entrepreneurship, run by the BIC Madeira, which targets Madeiran students between the ages of 6 and 25. Although, the methodology changes from level to level, the concept applied – “learning by doing” – provides a basis for the training sessions that take place on several schools involved in the project throughout the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
Over the last three years, 3600 students have come in contact with the project and also 111 teachers from the 20 teaching establishments were involved. For, 2008 it is expected to cover 1.800 students!

This project takes an innovative approach to the subject of entrepreneurship, basing the development of the theme on behavioural changes that take place naturally as the training session’s progress, drastically reducing the barriers between the pupils as citizens and the business world, at the same time as drawing out and teaching key competences for the start-up of a new business.

Fostering Internal Network
One time per month BIC Madeira invites the incubates to attend to a one hour sessions about practical aspects of business life. A team member or a guest speaker talks during 30 minutes about matters of interest to the daily lives of the companies. In the others 30 minutes incubates may ask questions about what was spoken and putting into discussion real situations of their companies. Sometimes the better solution does not come from BIC Madeira, or external speaker, but from a promoter of other company, that already lived a similar situation.
With this regular contact they establish affinities with other companies, and also with BIC Madeira staff, learn from the experience of other entrepreneurs and increase the opportunity to establish a new business partnership.

Results in 2007

Networks

• The European BIC Network (EBN)
• European Association for the Transfer of Technologies, Innovation and Industrial Information (TII)
• National Business Incubation Association (NBIA)
• Portuguese Association of Business Innovation Centres (BICS)
• Portuguese Network for the Industrial Property Promotion (GAPI)

Ongoing projects

• "Erasmus for young entrepreneurs” – to promote the mobility of European citizens, to foster entrepreneurship and to promote the benefits of the internationalization of European SMEs;
  ? GAPI /UIPP– Unit for Industrial Property Promotion - to promote industrial property concepts, to reinforce competitiveness in the regional companies and to protect their intangible assets (help in the clarification of rules and pre requirements for the various types of IP).

Awards

• Madeiran Prize for Business Innovation
  

BIC Madeira encourages entrepreneurs to identify new market opportunities and support them, offering experience and services, in solving new and challenging problems that are facing the business sector nowadays. There is always an opportunity, the challenge is to find out where is it!

BIC should preferably be located next to a pole generator of innovation (a research centre, a university, a science and technology park ...);

• BIC should be able, through a strong linkage with the “knowledge producers”, to absorb existing innovation and stimulate the creation of more innovation, ensure physical conditions and human support (know-how and networking) to the activity;
• Complementary, new BICs should be aware that regions with low rates of entrepreneurship should have a wager in entrepreneurship education in order to achieve critical mass.

IndAircontrol Success story

See detailed description of this company here

Centro de Empresas e Inovação da Madeira – B.I.C. Madeira
Madeira Tecnopolo – 1º andar; Caminho da Penteada
9020 – 105 Funchal / Madeira / PORTUGAL
TEL: 351-291 72.30.00; FAX: 351-291 72.00.30
E-Mail: ceim@ceim.pt; Web site: www.ceim.pt