Estevan is getting closer to having a business incubator for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The incubator, which provides opportunities for new business owners, was among the key points in the City of Estevan鈥檚 economic development plan that was released last year.
Now the city is moving forward with the project, which it calls the Launch Box.
City Councillor Travis Frank has taken the lead on the initiative, and refers to it as 鈥渞ental space with a purpose.鈥� The incubator will fall under the city鈥檚 economic development board, with support from city council.
They鈥檙e hoping it will be cost-neutral, and if there is a cost, that the city would receive federal grant money for the incubator.
Corporate partners are needed for the Launch Box, and there鈥檚 value adding by allowing those partners to come and speak to the entrepreneurs who are there.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a business development centre where new businesses starting up can operate out of, so they can either rent office space, or just individual desk space, but on top of that there are mentorships and there are resources and things like that.鈥�
Mentorship is a big part of the Launch Box. They would be bringing in regular speakers and educators to help these new businesses so that they can grow and learn, and there would be on-site staff who would educate, motivate and ensure that new businesses are following their business plans.
鈥淭he idea to it is that a new business would come in, would have a space that is very affordable and gracious enough to operate out of to start with, and then as they grow, move out, and become a successful business on their own.鈥�
The incubator concept is the brainchild of a few different people from the community. Frank started doing some homework in his role as a councillor.
鈥淚鈥檝e taken the last year to develop this kind of idea,鈥� said Frank. 鈥淚鈥檝e gone out and met with a lot of the business incubators in the province.鈥�
As the community is facing uncertainty with its traditional industries, Frank said a big focus of his is to see business grow in the community.
鈥淭his can be a really great way to expand business, to take people who are running just home-based businesses and help them to grow beyond that, and hopefully see some development in our city,鈥� said Frank.
There are two different types of incubators. One is a co-working space, which is a great concept, Frank said, because it brings businesses together. But it鈥檚 rental space without the mentorship efforts or education.
鈥淎 lot of it will rely on local businesses, successful business partners in the community who can educate,鈥� said Frank.
Negotiations are underway to establish a location for the incubator, and discussions are ongoing with the corporate partners.
Economic development co-ordinator Dwight 鈥淔itz鈥� Bramble said the incubator is part of the thrust to help support businesses that are already in existence, and to help to encourage start-up businesses, particularly small businesses that might not have the resources such as location, know-how and expertise.
鈥淭here are business incubators all over the place, and there are different versions and different types with different objectives,鈥� said Bramble.
He has seen some of these incubators elsewhere, including one in Regina that has worked well. They have held meetings with people in Regina to discuss the concept and people are willing to help with the Launch Box.
Bramble is a big fan of the incubator concept, and he believes it will work in Estevan.
鈥淲e want to create that opportunity for them to start thinking there is an opportunity for me to see if this is something I can be successful at,鈥� said Bramble.
Some details still have to be worked out. One of them is the size. Based on discussions with the economic development board and Estevan city council, Frank said they will likely start with a smaller space, and then expand.
鈥淭he hope would be to be able to have a space that鈥檚 big enough to have 10 businesses at one time,鈥� said Frank.
They don鈥檛 have any occupants lined up as of yet. Frank said his priority has been to get the economic development board and city council on board, and he expects to have an open house.
鈥淎 huge portion of this is not looking for small businesses who intend to continue to be very small businesses,鈥� said Frank.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for businesses that are planning to grow,鈥� he added later.
While incubators have worked well in larger centres, it鈥檚 a relatively untested concept for a community the size of Estevan.
鈥淓stevan will be one of the smallest-sized cities that would ever have one, but given what our economy is facing, we feel that it鈥檚 worth the investment to make it happen. We want to try it out and give this as an opportunity and start meeting with businesses and things like that so that we can eventually expand it.鈥�
He is optimistic the incubator can be up and running this summer.
