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THE INCUBATOR AND ITS SERVICES
The ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) are the largest network of incubators in Europe supporting space-related startups. Their primary goal is to help entrepreneurs turn space-based business ideas into viable companies, from concept development to product launch. ESA BICs play a key role in growing Europe’s space ecosystem by fostering innovation and creating strong space clusters across the continent. Each centre is managed by local champions who bridge startups with industry, universities, research institutes, government, and investors, offering both close ties to their local innovation ecosystems and strong regional and national connections. The network provides excellent opportunities to connect startups with new business partners across Europe. The ESA BIC network supports startups working on applications using space-based systems (e.g. Earth Observation, GNSS, satellite communications), on the transfer of space technologies to non-space sectors, or on innovative products and services for the space industry itself. Together, ESA BICs help launch over 200 startups every year. To date, they have supported more than 1500 companies whose alumni now form a growing force in the global space economy, collectively attracting more private investment than the annual space budgets of many European nations. ESA BICs are building the future of space, one startup at a time.
The establishment of ESA BIC Greece, a joint initiative of the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance and the European Space Agency (ESA), is a strategic step in advancing Greece’s space sector. The main objective of ESA BIC Greece is to support the growth of space-related startups in the country by helping them develop their technology and business models, guiding them from early-stage incubation to successful market entry and sustainable growth. Since its launch and up to 2025, ESA BIC Greece has selected and supported 25 high-potential startups, providing top-tier incubation services aligned with ESA’s common framework. Beyond business support, ESA BIC Greece plays a critical role in strengthening the space cluster and the national space and innovation ecosystem, promoting the use and uptake of space-based applications, facilitating the transfer of space technologies to and from other sectors, creating high-value jobs and driving economic development in Greece. ESA BIC Greece is a catalyst for building a vibrant and resilient space startup community, contributing to both national priorities and Europe’s broader space ambitions.
ESA BIC Greece is operated by Corallia (unit of the Athena Research Center), which is responsible for managing and expanding the incubator’s activities across the country. Corallia leads this effort in close collaboration with a strong network of over 80 supporting organisations, including ministries and public agencies, universities, research centres, large companies and SMEs, financial institutions, associations, other ESA BICs, and civil society non-profits, both in Greece and across ESA Member States. This broad coalition ensures that ESA BIC Greece provides high-impact support to startups, connecting them to the resources, expertise, and networks they need to thrive in the space sector and beyond.
ESA BIC Greece offers startups the flexibility to choose between various office space options at selected premium locations across the country, along with the support needed to establish their company. All arrangements, including office type, size, services, and contract terms, are customized in consultation with the ESA BIC Greece team following a startup’s selection into the programme.
ESA BIC Greece provides an extensive support package focused on technical, business, legal, and financial support as well as networking. It includes: a) the most experienced Incubator Team in Greece that has successfully supported more than 600 startups; b) the right of use of the ESA BIC brand; c) 60 k€ in cash (non-equity funding); d) case-by-case opportunities to access high-end infrastructure, equipment, resources, specific expertise, HW, software packages and licences, and data with a value of around 100 k€; e) access to other financial instruments; f) 20 hours of technical support; g) 50 hours of business development support; h) 10 hours of IPR/legal advice; i) entrepreneurial training; j) access on favourable terms to office space and business facilities at the innohub; k) access to the international network of ESA Alliance and Investors Network; l) access to the extensive Network of Corallia, si-Cluster Members, and ESA BIC support partners; m) access to participate in a variety of ESA events and networking opportunities.
ESA BIC Greece has a broad network of partners who support the initiative. These are partners at the ESA Space Alliance, the ESA Investor Network, and the Local Supporters. More specific:
- The ESA Space Alliance offers significant perks to startups from Novaspace, ICEYE, OVHcloud, Planet, etc. This Partnership is expanding.
- The ESA Investor Network is an initiative to increase the relations among space startups and potential space investors and includes among others 5g ventures, Audacia, Expon Capital, Karista (CosmiCapital), Promus Ventures, Armilar Ventures, OTB Ventures, Blue Ocean Ventures, Herius Capital, CDP Venture Capital, Move Capital, Lakestar, Matterwave, Einstein Industries Ventures, C4 Ventures, StarTech Ventures, Omnes Capital, Red River West, Innogest Capital, Primo Ventures, Tikehau Ace Capital, StarQuest Capital, 360 Capital, Atlantic Labs, Expansion Ventures, Cenciarini, Creative Destruction Lab (HEC Paris), Deep Ocean Capital, EIV (Einstein Industry Ventures), Indaco Venture Partners, Innogest Vertical Funds, Matterwave, Orbital Ventures (Promus), Seraphim, Shift4Good, SNO Ventures, etc. More information here.
- The ESA BIC Greece Local Supporters provide a variety of benefits, such as business coaching, technical support, mentoring, IPR/legal advice, and various perks. Supporters from the local Industry include Adveos, Akronic, Alma Technologies, Artemis Aerosurvey, EFA Ventures, ELFON, Emtech Space, FEAC Engineering, Geomatics, Geosystems Hellas, GET, Heron Engineering, HTR, Inasco Hellas, Irida Labs, ISD, Planetek Hellas, Prisma Electronics, Raymetrics, Satways, Sitael Hellas, Space Hellas, Teletel, Terra Spatium, Thales Hellas, Accenture, HP, Microsoft, etc. Supporters from the local Academic ecosystem include Athena Research Center, Agricultural University of Athens, Aristtotle University of Thessaloniki, Harokopio University, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, National Technical University of Athens, Technical University of Crete, University of Aegean, University of Patras, Hellenic Association of Space Industry, National Centre of Scientific Reasearch Demokritos, Athens University of Economics and Business, Democritus University of Thrace, University of Peloponnese, University of Piraeus, University of Thessaly, University of West Attica.
You may find all the ESA BIC Greece Support Partners here. Their offerings are listed in the Permanent Open Call Package.
ESA BIC Greece has selected a total of 25 startups up to 2025. You can find here the catalogue of the startups that have already been accepted by ESA BIC Greece. ESA BIC Greece plans to select another 7 startups by 2026.
Each startup receives incubation services for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 2 years. The length of the incubation period is proposed by the applicants and is finalized after discussions with the ESA BIC Greece team upon selection. Based on the specific strengths of the startup, each incubated company receives a custom incubation programme consisting of various sprints. ESA BIC Greece supports incubatees in increasing their Technology, Business, Customer, Human Resources, Intellectual Property and Funding Readiness Levels through the monitoring and completion of specific milestones that are based on the real-win-worth scheme.
Please address any questions related to ESA BIC Greece to info@esa-bic.gr or explore our website at www.esa-bic.gr and social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube).
APPLICATION AND EVALUATION
To be accepted for incubation at ESA BIC Greece, the applicant must present a business idea with a valid Space Connection. Your idea should be about supporting or utilising space systems or exploiting space technology in a non-space domain in one of the following areas: a) Downstream applications (based on satellite systems for Earth Observation, Navigation, and Communications); b) Upstream/New Space (exploiting new technology in the space domain/supplying the space sector); c) Technology transfer from space (Hardware or Software, Knowledge or IPR). The space-related solution must be central to the business and show a high degree of innovation. Further elaboration on the assessment of the Space Connection is provided in the Permanent Open Call document of the ESA BIC Greece Permanent Open Call Package. Details about the technologies and applications that have already been accepted by ESA BIC Greece can be found here.
Legal entities established in Greece (not older than five years) and natural persons who are residents with a working permit within Greece are eligible to submit applications. Natural persons are required to demonstrate readiness for the establishment and registration of a legal entity at the time of submission of their application. A contract with an applicant can only be signed when the establishment and registration of the corresponding legal entity have been completed and the legal entity has acquired full legal capacity. Furthermore, the product/service of the application needs to have a valid space connection. This means that the Applicant’s product or service must be based on a transfer of space technology to, and/or utilisation of a space system in a non-space environment (spin-off), or exploitation of non-space technology in the space market (spin-in). In case of doubt, applicants shall contact the ESA BIC Greece Team for further guidance. A full list of the applicant requirements is included in the Application Package (Requirements Checklists of the Cover Letter Template).
No, you will, however, need to do so before signing the incubation contract. During the proposal submission, the applicant shall demonstrate readiness for the establishment and registration of a legal entity in Greece.
To successfully apply to ESA BIC Greece, aspiring entrepreneurs have to fill in the Cover Letter, Business Plan, and Incubation Proposal documents based on the corresponding templates provided as part of the ESA BIC Greece Permanent Open Call Package. Further instructions about the expected content and methodology to be followed for the completion of these documents are provided in the form of guidelines within these templates. All relevant information regarding the application process can be found at https://www.esa-bic.gr/apply/.
Applicants are required to closely follow the instructions provided in the Open Call Package when producing and submitting their proposal and follow the information channels of ESA BIC Greece. The proposal consists of a) a Cover Letter, b) an Incubation Proposal, and c) a Business Plan. Further instructions are provided in the Open Call Package. Only those Applicants who fulfil all formal requirements, as listed in the Requirements Checklists of the Cover Letter Template, will be accepted for evaluation. Applicants should also carefully read the contractual documentation in the Incubation Contract, also included in the Open Call Package.
All applications to ESA BIC Greece are evaluated in accordance with the common ESA BIC procedures and standards. Once the submission deadline has passed, the Tender Opening Board (TOB) of ESA BIC Greece first reviews all proposals for formal compliance. If a minor non-compliance is identified (e.g. a missing document or administrative detail), applicants may be invited to submit an updated proposal within 48 hours. If an application is found to be non-admissible, the applicant will be notified in writing, along with an explanation. In such cases, applicants may submit a revised proposal in a future call. Proposals that meet the formal requirements are invited to present before the Tender Evaluation Board (TEB), typically held a few weeks after the deadline. The TEB is composed of representatives from ESA, ESA BIC Greece, and experts from the space ecosystem. During the evaluation, applicants will be asked to give a pitch presentation, followed by a Q&A session. The proposal and presentation are assessed against predefined evaluation criteria, each weighted appropriately. All applicants will be informed in writing of the evaluation outcome. Unsuccessful applicants may request an oral debriefing to understand the reasoning behind the decision. Successful applicants will be invited to enter contract negotiations with ESA BIC Greece, considering any recommendations from the evaluation board. Please note that ESA BIC Greece reserves the right not to award a contract if, within three (3) months of notification, the contract has not been signed. The time between application submission and contract signing is typically less than two months, provided all legal and administrative requirements are met.
The TOB consists of ESA and Corallia representatives and ensures that applications fulfil the formal criteria set out in the ESA BIC Manual. The TEB consists of ESA, Corallia, space ecosystem representatives, and other experts, and conducts the evaluation of the applications. Every applicant presents the content of the application in person to the TEB to allow the TEB to raise clarification points in a questions-and-answers session. After the evaluation, the results are communicated to the applicant within a few weeks. Applicants require a minimum overall weighted score of 60 to be selected for contract negotiation and over 40 for any specific criterion.
The evaluation criteria are the following: a) Background and Experience (25%); b) Technology/Service (20%); c) Value proposition (20%); d) Business Modelling and Risk (15%); and e) Activity Proposal (20%). The evaluation criteria and their descriptions are provided in full detail in the Open Call Package.
Fill out the form. ESA BIC Greece will provide feedback and advice related to the next stages accordingly. For fairness purposes, the feedback and advice received will only be related to the Formal Aspects of the application and the Space Connection assessment of the idea.
Please send your question to info@esa-bic.gr and we will contact you.
There is a permanent Open Call for 2021-2026, with 1-2 application cut-off dates and evaluation cycles per year. Check for the next cut-off date at https://www.esa-bic.gr/apply.
The evaluation process takes normally less than 2 months, and an incubation can start with successful applicants 2 and a half months from the application cut-off date.
Yes. However, interested parties cannot apply more than twice, unless they are otherwise prompted by ESA BIC Greece. Upon rejection, ESA BIC Greece usually encourages applicants to reapply if there is potential to become an ESA BIC Greece startup in the future.
Yes, all individuals participating in the TOB and TEB and having access to the applications sign a secrecy and confidentiality agreement.
Yes, a university spin-off company under the law 4846/2021 can apply.
No, there is no Technology Readiness Level as a strict prerequisite. During the TEB, the technical feasibility of each application is studied case-by-case. As the scope of ESA BIC Greece is to support startup businesses, the startups are expected to be able to reach a TRL6+ by the end of the incubation. Considering the maximum duration of the incubation (2 years), a starting TRL3+ may be a proper initial status.
FINANCIAL INCENTIVE
The cash incentive of ESA BIC Greece to the startups is paid as follows: a) 20 k€ upon successful completion of the 1st Progress Meeting (Kick-Off Meeting), submission of all applicable deliverables (Kick-Off Meeting Minutes), and the Incubatee’s registration in relevant ESA systems; b) 20 k€ upon successful Mid-Term Review; c) 20 k€ upon successful Final Review, including the fulfilment of all obligations under the Incubation Contract. Incubatees deliver a Cost Report (Annexed to the Final Report) to ESA BIC Greece at the end of the Contract Term, listing all costs incurred. A Costs Report Template has been prepared to facilitate and organise cost reporting. The maximum financial contribution is released when the Activity is performed in full, and proof of the developed product or service is delivered. If the Incubatee’s costs actually incurred under the Contract are lower than the Incentive, then the Incentive shall be reduced accordingly and the amount paid in excess shall be returned.
No, ESA BIC Greece does not take any equity in the incubated startups.
The incentive can be used for purposes directly linked with achieving objectives of the ESA BIC incubation. More specifically, the incentive funding shall be used for activities described in the contract between the startup and the ESA BIC Greece. Any major deviations will require a CCN (Contract Change Notice) at the latest a month before the end of the contract. As a rule, the incentive has to be spent in Greece. This incentive does not have to be paid back.
The incentive funding can be used for direct labour costs directly related to the development of the prototype. The Incentive can be used only to cover salaries for personnel hired by the start-up and not for entrepreneurs (applicants/founders) own wages.
No, the incentive funding shall be spent by the startup in Greece, unless the product/service is not available in the territory or is only available at a significantly higher price. Even in this case, prior approval by ESA BIC Greece is required.
INCUBATION
No, the applicant and startup own all Intellectual Property Rights arising out of the activity performed during the evaluation and incubation periods. IP rights are described in detail in the Open Call Package, Article 11 of the ESA BIC Greece Contract template.
No, it is not mandatory. ESA BIC Greece incubated companies may operate on their own premises. ESA BIC Greece startups are given the option to establish their company in the ESA BIC Greece premises, have an office or desk, and use the ESA BIC Greece business centre, all at preferential prices.
No, there is no need for relocation to Athens. However, the startup shall consider that several meetings will be held at the ESA BIC Greece premises with physical presence.
STARTUP WITH A STRONG PARTNER
The team at ESA BIC Greece is here to support you and your team to be successful.