PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Biocat and Barcelona Activa are leading an initiative to support entrepreneurship and business growth in the life sciences sector in Barcelona and Catalonia. The programme aims to provide impetus to take innovative business projects towards more attractive phases for funding, as well as improving the international projection of the entrepreneurial community in the life science sector in Catalonia and encouraging collaboration with other communities. In the long term it aims to become a hub for acceleration programmes that allows an increase in the critical mass and capacities of the SMEs.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The programme will include three phases with well-differentiated objectives in order to adapt and provide a response to projects with a different degree of maturity:

• Phase I – Validation: with a duration of 4 months part-time, its objective is to validate the business model and team of the projects incorporated, through training and mentoring services and activities involving immersion in the ecosystem. It is estimated that between 15 and 20 projects will be incorporated in this phase, of which approximately half will be able to complete it as full-fledged companies.
• Phase II – Acceleration: with a duration of 8 months full-time, its objective is to provide support to the evolution of business projects to make them more attractive to public-private funding tools, through intensive services of training, mentoring, advice, activities involving immersion in the ecosystem, availability of spaces and access to scientific services and platforms at the Barcelona Science Park. It is estimated that six companies will join this phase once they have passed through a rigorous selection process with a jury, formed by experts from the life sciences sector. The project is working in parallel with a funding programme so that accelerated companies can have access to private capital. The ultimate objective is that at least three of these companies receive funding from the programme's investment partners.
• Phase III - Growth: the objective is to facilitate the growth of the accelerated company within the ecosystem of the Barcelona Science Park through advice as needed, spaces and access to scientific services and platforms.

During 2014 and 2015, work has been done on drawing up the programme's business plan. An annual frequency is envisaged as is the launch of the first edition for the end of 2015 or start of 2016.

ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL DATA

The project is in the phase of the final drafting of the business plan, and the attracting and consolidation of alliances with future collaborators in the programme. The initial budget for the launch is shared 50% between Biocat and Barcelona City Council (through Barcelona Activa), however the programme plans to incorporate collaborating partners with individual contributions, both for the acceleration programme itself and for the funding programme.