The regional winner of the Gipuzkoa Challenge 2013 will be offered a complete 12-month incubation programme at BicBerrilan. This will include the following services:

• Expert consulting providing auxiliary services, such as technical and business advice, monitoring, business plan design, and IPR protection
• Access to office infrastructure, including the use of meeting rooms, teleconference equipment, etc.
• Access to experts
• Access to public funding

The province of Gipuzkoa, located in the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain, has Spain's highest density of universities and research and technology centres. With four universities, almost 40 research centres, more than 10,000 people working in R&D, and two technology parks, Gipuzkoa invests 2.57% of its GDP in R&D and is deeply involved in innovation. The key to this success lies in an industrial framework that actively promotes research and enjoys the full support of the local public administration. Gipuzkoa is not only home to large integrators, but also to many other specialised SMEs covering the entire supply chain.

Behind this profile lies an industrial framework that actively promotes research and is fully supported by both the local public administration and the Basque Autonomous Government. This foundation enables advanced research in the fields of information and communication technologies, aerospace, electronics, and the automotive sector, which is transferred to partners in the industrial sector. As a result, innovative and competitive products can be brought directly to market.

Its culture of entrepreneurship is one of the hallmarks of Gipuzkoa and the Basque Country. The drive to take on and develop professional initiatives has mainly been associated with small and medium-sized enterprises, the mainstay of Gipuzkoa's economic fabric.
This capacity to design projects and set them in motion has made it possible for a region with such limited natural resources as Gipuzkoa to be so fertile in generating new initiatives. People are Gipuzkoa's greatest source of energy in terms of both skills and deployment.

The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the Basque Government (through SPRI, its government-owned company) are committed to deepening their engagement in supporting technological innovation and competitiveness in order to promote an environment for industrial development and economic progress.

Aware of the importance of communications and navigation technologies - and that the growth of service industries fundamentally affects global economy - the Council has fostered a climate for business investment in research and has created several programmes to fund start-ups, assist SMEs, and support research centres. Its principal objective is to promote development in the region through initiatives that encourage economic growth and job creation.

The Bic Gipuzkoa Berrilan Centre for Business Innovation (CBI), founded by the Council and the Basque Department of Industry, is engaged in a complete set of activities aimed at supporting any innovative business initiative and the incubation of new enterprises.