Paris/Sittard-Geleen January 31st, 2017

Brightlands Innovation Factory joins forces with French incubator IncubAlliance

Brightlands Innovation Factory will start collaborating with IncubAlliance, an incubator in Paris-Saclay, one of the top ten research clusters in the world and the largest in France. The collaboration will offer start-ups of both incubators access to more knowledge, as well as an extensive international network. The memorandum of understanding was signed on Wednesday, January 25th, 2017 at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen (NL).

Brightlands Innovation Factory and IncubAlliance are to start a collaboration in the areas of dealflow, communication and marketing campaigns, (press) events and fundraising, to name a few. Additionally, the start-ups’ access to both French and Dutch markets will be facilitated. One of the first joint activities is the organisation of an international week, during which start-ups of both incubators will visit one another’s premises and share knowledge and experiences.

Prestigious institutions of higher education and research of Paris Saclay created IncubAlliance in 2005, with a primary mission to support new innovative companies with growth potential in launching their products onto the market more rapidly and more effectively. Brightlands Innovation Factory was launched in 2015 and its ambition is to become one of the top ten international start-up ecosystems within five years. The target is to attract 40 new start-ups every year, which will be distributed across the four focus areas of the Brightlands Campus (materials, food, health and smart services). This is expected to generate around 1000 new jobs by 2023. In order to make these ambitions a reality, Brightlands Innovation Factory is seeking to collaborate with other leading parties.

The collaboration between IncubAlliance and Brightlands Innovation Factory will strengthen both parties and their start-ups. Together, they will grow a powerful network around the globe that will support their start-ups in becoming leading companies.

Léon Klinkers, CEO of Brightlands Innovation Factory, explains more: “The basic principles, way of working and focus areas of the incubators of Brightlands and Paris-Saclay complement one another perfectly. By allowing French and Dutch start-ups to actively participate in one another’s incubation and acceleration programmes, they will gain access to more expertise and they will be able to build up an international network more quickly. What is more, their access to the French and Dutch markets is facilitated. I expect that this will enable us to drive innovation more quickly and effectively, and that this in turn will make us more attractive to new start-ups.”

Philippe Moreau, Managing Director of IncubAlliance: “This collaboration offers some unique opportunities for the start-ups of both Brightlands Innovation Factory and IncubAlliance. They will gain access to knowledge and a huge international network, and more markets. In Paris-Saclay, for example, there is a great deal of interest in the materials expertise available at Brightlands. Over the coming period, we will invest in the development of joint programmes that will enable us to serve the needs of start-ups even more effectively.”

About Brightlands Innovation Factory

Brightlands Innovation Factory is the entrepreneurial backbone of the Brightlands ecosystem. The company’s culture is to inspire and be inspired by daring ideas for a better and a more sustainable world. The aim is to empower today’s pioneers in advanced materials, health, nutrition, and smart services on their journey from a bold idea to a legendary company. At Brightlands Innovation Factory, all the bases are covered. World-class industry knowledge and expertise are coupled with expert-supported programs, value-added services and facilities, and access to talent and funding. Brightlands Innovation Factory covers the full start-up lifecycle: incubation, acceleration, validation and scale-up.

About IncubAlliance

IncubAlliance was established in 2005 by the research and education institutions of Paris-Saclay. The purpose was to support new innovative companies with growth potential in launching their products onto the market more rapidly and more effectively. IncubAlliance works in keeping with the five focus areas of Paris-Saclay: health, information and communication technology, smart energy management, mobility of the future and space travel, security and defence. Over the last 12 years, the organisation has supported 306 projects and established 243 businesses. Two of these have since become listed companies. The activities of Paris-Saclay account for 15% of French private and public R&D. Major brands such as Renault, Danone, Airbus Group, General Electric, Sanofi and Nokia, to name a few, are based here.

Note for the editors (not for publication):

For more information, please contact

Brightlands Innovation Factory

Léon Klinkers, CEO

tel. +31 (0) 6 83980015

e-mail leon.klinkers@brightlands.com www.brightlandsinnovationfactory.com

IncubAlliance

Philippe Moreau, General Director

Tel. +33 1 77 93 21 00

e-mail p.moreau@incuballiance.fr

www.incuballiance.fr