Startup Braga is the newest partner of the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) in Portugal, having been one of the incubators chosen to support startups that use space technology for the development of terrestrial solutions.

Used to supporting projects in the areas of nanotechnology, digital economy and technologies for health, Startup Braga will also help entrepreneurs working on space technology solutions.

For Carlos Silva, InvestBraga's Administrator, the integration of the InvestBraga innovation hub in the European Space Agency (ESA BIC) incubator network reinforces, once again, Startup Braga's positioning and commitment to supporting highly technological projects with global ambitions. It also states that "considering the numerous challenges that the space sector represents, Startup Braga has made a commitment to support technological development in the field of Space, through the incubation of startups and innovative projects that want to transform ideas related to Space for industrial and commercial uses, in sectors such as health, energy or transport".

For this application to ESA BIC in Portugal, Startup Braga had the support of the University of Minho and the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), two strategic hub partners. "The close link we maintain with INL in the field of innovation and acceleration of startups, and the work of the University of Minho to enhance research and the creation of academic training in the field of Aerospace Engineering, were important factors to move forward with the application to the Business Incubation Centre of the European Space Agency," stresses Luís Rodrigues, Director of Startup Braga.

"This choice contributes to strengthening the ecosystem of Startup Braga, while promoting the participation of the main local actors in the space sector and strengthening its value chain", reinforces the voice of Startup Braga.

For the president of ESA BIC Portugal, Chiara Manfletti, in a statement to the public, the extension of the network of national incubators aims to bring Space closer to other sectors of activity, so it is intended to support, through the innovation poles, startups that help in the promotion and development of local economies. By 2030, ESA BIC Portugal wants to boost the creation of 1000 new jobs and points to 400 million euros as a reference value for the invoicing of Portuguese companies based on space technology.

It should be remembered that ESA BIC arrived in Portugal in 2014 with the aim of helping to build the Portuguese space ecosystem, with the Pedro Nunes Institute (IPN) responsible for the national coordination of its incubator network.