Basic Requirements for applying
Your startup must be under 5 years old at the time of application. Informal teams may also apply if they present a mature, well-structured business idea. Your ability to build and run the company successfully will be assessed after the application process.
If you apply as an informal team, you must incorporate a company if selected for the program.
Your project must have a clear and credible connection to space. This may include the use of satellite data, GNSS, Earth Observation, space-derived technologies, space components, or technologies originally developed for space and applied to terrestrial markets. ESA BIC Brindisi will assess your space connection.
To help you evaluate your space connection, you can download our Space Connection Assessment, a guide that walks you through the key criteria we use to assess eligibility.
Your company must be incorporated in Italy, or be ready to incorporate in Italy if selected. This requirement enables the startup to formally enter the ESA BIC Brindisi incubation program and access the related support package.
At least 50% of the company must be owned by the founding team. This ensures that the startup remains founder-led and that the applying team has a direct and substantial role in the company’s development.
Who can apply?
ESA BIC Brindisi welcomes founders that can demonstrate a credible link between space and a market application. The program is open to early-stage startups and entrepreneurial teams with a well-structured business idea, the capacity to develop it in Italy, and the potential to turn it into an innovative product, service, or application.
Discover The Process
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Benefits and Support
A structured path from incubation to market readiness
ESA BIC Brindisi provides a structured support package for early-stage startups developing space-connected products, services, or applications. The program combines non-dilutive funding, tailored coaching, technical mentorship, investor and industry connections, and access to selected facilities to help teams validate their solution, reduce risk, and prepare for market adoption.
Throughout the incubation period, coaches and mentors support each startup with one-on-one sessions, tailored guidance, relevant connections, and opportunities aligned with the team’s development needs. The support covers business strategy, technical direction, go-to-market, investment readiness, and market validation.
When relevant, startups may also be introduced to mentors from partner organizations, including C-level executives, technical leads, senior consultants, and legal experts on intellectual property, contracts, licensing, and strategy.
The program offers €50,000 in non-dilutive funding, equally provided by the European Space Agency (€25,000) and Regione Puglia (€25,000). The funding can support most cost categories, including product development, IP protection, marketing, travel, employee salaries, and equipment, excluding founders’ salaries.
The ESA contribution is disbursed progressively upon the achievement of specific technical milestones, while the regional contribution follows a reimbursement-based scheme.
Selected startups can access the ESA BIC Network, a European community of more than 2,000 space startups connected with industry and institutional stakeholders. The program may also facilitate connections through DTA’s industrial network, including companies, technology providers, and partners relevant to each project.
Support may include workshops, curated networking, major industry events, potential visibility through ESA channels, and access to the ESA Investor Network, which includes more than 70 VC funds and angel investors.
Flexible office and desk solutions are available at DTA headquarters within the Cittadella della Ricerca campus in Brindisi, providing a dedicated workspace for ESA BIC incubatees and opportunities for daily interaction with startups and ecosystem actors.
The program can also facilitate access to laboratories and technical facilities across DTA and ESA BIC Network, depending on project needs, feasibility, partner availability, and applicable conditions. These resources may be complemented by support for lab activities, testing, and technical consulting.
Benefits and Support
Coaching & mentorship
Throughout the incubation period, coaches and mentors support each startup with one-on-one sessions, tailored guidance, relevant connections, and opportunities aligned with the team’s development needs. The support covers business strategy, technical direction, go-to-market, investment readiness, and market validation.
When relevant, startups may also be introduced to mentors from partner organizations, including C-level executives, technical leads, senior consultants, and legal experts on intellectual property, contracts, licensing, and strategy.
Equity-free funding
The program offers €50,000 in non-dilutive funding, equally provided by the European Space Agency (€25,000) and Regione Puglia (€25,000). The funding can support most cost categories, including product development, IP protection, marketing, travel, employee salaries, and equipment, excluding founders’ salaries.
The ESA contribution is disbursed progressively upon the achievement of specific technical milestones, while the regional contribution follows a reimbursement-based scheme.
Network & Fundraising
Selected startups can access the ESA BIC Network, a European community of more than 2,000 space startups connected with industry and institutional stakeholders. The program may also facilitate connections through DTA’s industrial network, including companies, technology providers, and partners relevant to each project.
Support may include workshops, curated networking, major industry events, potential visibility through ESA channels, and access to the ESA Investor Network, which includes more than 70 VC funds and angel investors.
Facilities and Infrastructure
Flexible office and desk solutions are available at DTA headquarters within the Cittadella della Ricerca campus in Brindisi, providing a dedicated workspace for ESA BIC incubatees and opportunities for daily interaction with startups and ecosystem actors.
The program can also facilitate access to laboratories and technical facilities across DTA and ESA BIC Network, depending on project needs, feasibility, partner availability, and applicable conditions. These resources may be complemented by support for lab activities, testing, and technical consulting.
How We Evaluate Your Idea
Each application is reviewed to assess the team’s capacity to execute, the quality of the space connection, and the potential for market adoption. The evaluation is structured across five weighted criteria.
Background & Experience
We assess the team’s relevant background and complementary skills, along with the clarity of the long-term vision. We also consider any support already in place, such as accelerators, research partners, industrial sponsors, or institutional backing, and how these strengthen execution.
Technology & Service
We evaluate how solid and credible the space connection is, and whether the proposed solution is technically feasible within the incubation timeframe. We look at the development approach, including key technical choices and validation steps, and at how intellectual property will be protected or accessed.
Value proposition & Market
We review the customer problem, the clarity of the value proposition, and the evidence supporting market need. We also assess market size and accessibility, target customers, and the competitive landscape, including how the startup can differentiate and build a defensible position.
Business Model & Risk
We consider whether the business model is coherent and scalable, with realistic assumptions on pricing, revenue streams, and key costs. We evaluate the financial logic and main risks — technical, market, regulatory, and operational — and whether mitigation actions are identified.
Activity Proposal Management
We examine the quality and completeness of the application, the clarity of the work plan, and the realism of milestones, timeline, and budget. We also assess the management approach and whether the proposed activities make effective use of ESA BIC support, with a credible path to growth and investment readiness.
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Dedicated Test Bed at Grottaglie Airport
Technical environments for prototyping, validation, and applied testing
Selected startups may be granted access to DTA’s dedicated spaces and infrastructure at the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed. When relevant, the Test Bed can support controlled operational trials, including flight testing and applied validation, in regulated real‑world environments. Access is subject to technical suitability, required approvals, specific conditions, and availability.
25%
Background & Experience
Team skills, long-term vision, existing support, research partners, industrial sponsors.
20%
Technology & Service
Space connection, technical feasibility, validation step, IP strategy.
20%
Value Proposition & Market
Customer problem, market evidence, differentiation from competitors.
15%
Activity Proposal Management
Application quality, work plan, timeline, milestones, budget.
20%
Business Model & Risk
Business model, financial logic and projections, risk mitigation.
From Idea to Market
Explore the program details, incubation journey, and support for space economy startups.
ESA BIC Brindisi supports early-stage startups developing space-connected products, services, and solutions, based on space assets, data, technologies, and know-how, as well as “terrestrial” technologies applied to the space sector, supporting either solutions that address real-world challenges on Earth or the development of technologies and products intended directly for the space sector.
Build, Validate, and Grow with Expert Support
Incubation support from concept validation to market entry
ESA BIC Brindisi provides a structured framework to turn a space-connected project into a validated business opportunity. Through the program, selected startups receive business development support, non-dilutive funding, technical guidance, access to ESA partner expertise, and connections with a specialised aerospace and innovation network.
This support helps each company strengthen its solution, reduce technical and market risk, and prepare for commercial adoption.
