On July 27, 2020, Latvia officially became an Associated Member of the European Space Agency (ESA). The Ministry of Education and Science together with the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia have initiated the process for establishing an ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) in Latvia.
The ESA BIC is a partnership with common goals between ESA and the countries in which ESA BICs operate, as well as start-ups, businesses, research institutions, municipalities and other public or private stakeholders. The aim of an ESA BIC is to help start-ups who work in the field of space or have relevant and potential ideas in this field to develop into commercially viable businesses.
There are currently 29 ESA BICs operating in 21 European countries. Up to date, over 1500 start-ups have been selected for the ESA business incubation programme, receiving technical, legal and business support.
To expand the provision of the ESA BIC incubation programme in Latvia, the European Space Agency, in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, has published a competitive tender for the implementation and management of an ESA BIC Latvia.
The competitive tender “ESA BIC Latvia“ is open to Latvian academic institutions, companies, innovation hubs and other relevant actors in the country. Interested actors are invited to apply for this opportunity through the following portal: https://esastar-publication.sso.esa.int/ESATenderActions/details/58616
The deadline for submissions is 16/06/2023 13:00.
