Business Incubator Bitola

B.I.B.

Bitola, 2008

General information

Business Incubator Bitola is an institution that helps the growth and development of small and middle companies.

Our primary goal is to help the growth and development for start-ups and small businesses through courses, seminars, consultations and renting office space under subsidized conditions, which helps the entrepreneurship in the Pelagonia region.

Business Incubator Bitola offers the following services for their clients:

• Free registration of their businesses
• Business consultations and guidance
• Micro-credit lines
• Equipped office space for sub-sized conditions
• Organizing seminars and conference
• Administration services
• Bookkeeping services
• Marketing research activities
• Support for implementation of standards (ISO, HACCP, CE etc.)
• Writing and reviewing Business and Marketing Plans
• Promoting the companies in the Incubator
• Merge the business community and the entrepreneurs
• Other services

The official start of the Incubator was November 3th 2008, and it works in the frames of BSC Bitola project. The Incubator, located in the center of Bitola, combined with work spaces of nearly 500 m2 that offers solid functionality and great work conditions as well for the management team of the Incubator as for the companies – members of the Incubator.

Partnerships and cooperation

The Business Incubator together with Business Start-up Center Bitola (BSC Bitola) is a project of 6 local partners:

• Municipality of Bitola
• University ”St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola
• Faculty of Technical Sciences – Bitola
• Agency for Support of the Entrepreneurship of R.Macedonia
• Regional Chamber of Commerce  - Bitola
• Regional Center for Supporting of Entrepreneurship - Bitola

and it is a project in cooperation with the Dutch organization SPARK (formerly ATA), through the received grant from the Government of The Kingdom of Holland. Business Incubator and BSC Bitola are part of regional network of business centers and business incubators in Southeast Europe (SENSI-Network)

Apart from these six local partners, the Business Incubator cooperates with the relevant ministries in Macedonia, international, national, regional and local organizations and institutions with same and similar goals, and it’s open for cooperation with all organizations who share the same values and visions.

Rent of office spaces

Clients/users of the office spaces and services of BIB are the first ranked winners of the “Business Plan Competition” which is held annually in the framework of the BSC. Top-ranked participants will have a prioritized opportunity to use the office spaces, as well as the common spaces in the Incubator (meeting room, lobby, conference room, kitchen, toilettes) with sub-sized market prices from 6 months to 1 year, regulated according to the needs of the users.

The office spaces are specially adapted to be suitable for the needs of different service companies and have different sized useable spaces. They are totally equipped with office furniture and heating system.

The common spaces are used both individually and in groups from the users of the Incubator services. These facilities are also adapted to be used for commercial businesses for the needs of the local business community under pre-defined terms and prices.

All office spaces, common facilities and services that are offered by Business Incubator Bitola are under commercial terms and prices for all potential users from the business community.

Business consultations and guidance

The BIB companies and the other users of the services have opportunities to attend on individual and group consultations held on different topics as: entrepreneurship, management, marketing, finance, sales, human resource management, and other topics related to the real SME obstacles. For that reason, local and international consultants and experts - specialized in different spheres are engaged to deliver consultancy hours to the businesses.

There are also “business with business” consultations which will develop informal consulting and finding solutions for the difficulties between the Incubator tenants through meetings for exchange of experiences.

In the frame of business consulting, BIB will often organize “information meetings” between the management of the Incubator and its clients – users of the services on which meeting, discussing the plans of the future and development activities of the Incubator, future ways of working, politics and goals, and improving the performance and quality of the services that are offered by the Incubator.

Organizing and support on seminars and conferences

One of the activities where the Business Incubator offers material and expert support is organizing and support in organizations and participating on seminars and conferences. This type of services is primarily for the tenants in the Incubator and for theirs promotion and presentation, but there is also opportunity for other companies from the business sector to use the same services.

Co-financing and implementation of standards

BIB is developing and implementing specialized program for co-financing, refunding companies who want to implement certain standards in their working processes. The 4-year program gives the opportunity for all small and medium sized companies who fulfill the terms, to apply for co-financing of ISO, HACCP, CE or any other standards, the help in improving their competition power on the market and with whom they can improve their business performance in the future.

Business services

In the frames of its possibilities and capacity, the Business Incubator offers different business services: translations, purchasing office materials, administration, renting office space and office materials, offers access to databases, which gives its clients effective services at the same place.

Promoting the tenants

The tenants of the Incubator´s services, beside their own promotion, are also getting promotion of their companies, products and services from the Incubator as well. The promoting activities include: promotion in the business sector, promoting on the website of the Incubator, through the press (fliers, banners, pamphlet, brochures, making of press materials), as well as formal and informal promotion on different manifestations, seminars, conferences, courses and other activities where the Incubator participates.

Market analyses

Based on the needs of the companies, BIB offers specialized services for market research. This type of service will be individually specialized for their needs and the size of the ordered research and analyzed data.

Developing and reviewing Business Plans

In the program “Business Plan Competition” and in the special program for support of small and middle businesses, the Incubator offers specialized support for developing  Business Plans and improvement of the already existing ones. There will be also regular consultations and courses in the Incubator and in the Business Start-up Center apart.

Preparing and publicizing of vocational materials and publications

One of the activities for the business sector in the region, and the country as well, is preparing and support publicizing vocational materials and science publications. This type of support is offered to all companies who need vocational literature in given sphere, or special literature in the frames of the practical business working. The finalizing of the first “Business Plan guideline – for start up’s” is in progress. This guideline targets individuals who want to start their own business. The guideline covers several different subjects like: entrepreneurship, motivation to start own business, writing a business plan, possibilities of financing and other subjects connected to starting up own business.

Creating “Entrepreneurs club”

The “Entrepreneurs club” will be one totally new concept where the young and ambitious entrepreneurs can connect each other and their businesses in one club which will help the providing of contacts, exchange of experiences, and opening of new possibilities for young entrepreneurs.

Monthly newsletters

BIB will prepare an e-newsletter which will be sent to all users of services of the Incubator, all partners, founders and of course to all potentially interested institutions and organizations of the Incubators activities.

Creating a business “One stop shop” system

The business “one stop shop” system is an idea of a project from the Incubator, prepared in co-operation with Municipality of Bitola. According to all relevant information and entries for permission, help when registering a new company, law advising and other relevant subjects of the business sphere would be accessible at one place – the business “one stop shop”. This system would be an upgrade of the already implemented “one stop shop” system locally in the Municipality of Bitola, by which all services that are provided today and the new services that will be supported by the Incubator would be accessible in the Incubator´s office spaces. At this way, there is opportunity of one kind of “relief” for the local administration of this kind and an increasing of the efficiency and productivity.