Last week saw the inauguration of the University of Malta’s TakeOff Business Incubator by Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Education and Employment, and the launch of the TakeOff Seed Fund Award by Dr Christian Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business.
Ben McClure, TakeOff manager and Jarek Bialek, Global coordinator of the international entrepreneurship organisation Startup Weekend, spoke about the creation of an innovation start-up business community in Malta.
TakeOff which is situated at Dar Guzeppi Zahra, in the heart of the campus, is a start-up development space that helps innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs create thriving technology and knowledge-based ventures. By providing fledgling start-up companies with private and shared work spaces, and most importantly, business support, advice and vital connections, the TakeOff Business Incubator aims to lower start-ups’ costs and risks and improve their chances of success.
“TakeOff delivers a tailored package of benefits and guidance to entrepreneurs from inside and outside of the university that will allow them to transform their ideas and innovations into market- and investor-ready ventures,” says Ben McClure. “Innovators, entrepreneurs, mentors and investors are invited to contact TakeOff and help create a lively community for learning, collaboration, creativity and successful business creation in Malta.”
The TakeOff Seed Fund Award is Malta’s first funding programme designed to support early-stage technology and start-up company development. The 2014 pilot of this programme aims to help moving promising ideas towards commercialisation and, ultimately, creation of high-growth start-up businesses in Malta. Drawing on a total seed fund of €100,000, grants of between €2,500 and €20,000 will be awarded to help to close the funding gap experienced by researchers and entrepreneurs in the critical early-stages of technology commercialisation and start-up development.
The TakeOff Seed Fund Award is a joint initiative between the Ministry for the Economy, Industry and Small Business and the University of Malta’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation and TakeOff Business Incubator.
The setting up of the TakeOff Business Incubator has benefited from European Social Funds through the ESF Project 1.125 Creating a Knowledge Transfer Framework and Technology Entrepreneurship Training Programme.