Flemish ICT entrepreneurs off to a flying start in Silicon Valley

In collaboration with Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT), IBBT reached an agreement with Plug & Play Tech Center, with the intent to enable about 10 start-ups every year to set-up business in the heart of Silicon Valley, California, for a 3 month period on average.

During this period they will be introduced into the ecosystem and will have access to the resources necessary to grow, accelerate and launch their business in Silicon Valley. The first batch of talented technology start-ups will be selected this fall and will be able to set up office in Plug & Play after new year. The initiative is meant to support Flemish companies to set out in an international market as soon as possible. IBBT and FIT will collaborate with other Flemish organizations in order to do so. A first partner, Howest-PlugMedia, has joined the initiative already. More partners wil follow.

Context:
Information and communication technology is a fast-moving and unpredictable business. Consecutive waves of innovations lead to new market-leaders in new business areas. Convergence with fields such as healthcare and media create new markets and business models. Innovation and time-to-market are essential for the success of companies. Whereas a lot of pioneering research is executed in Europe leading to excellent results, we lag behind in taking this research to market. Market leaders like Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Twitter keep emerging from the United States. The dynamics of an ecosystem like Silicon Valley, where top universities, venture capital, large companies and entrepreneurs have joined forces, is of paramount importance to achieve this.

Download the full press release here.