Benefits of an Incubator

According to a study conducted by Grant Thornton for the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration and released in January, 2009,  business incubators provide communities with significantly greater results at less cost than do any other type of public works infrastructure project.  

In the study of the economic impacts and federal costs of EDA construction program investments, researchers found that business incubators are the most effective means of creating jobs – more effective than roads and bridges, industrial parks, commercial buildings, and sewer and water projects.  

Another EDA-funded study found that 87 percent of all firms that had graduated from NBIA member incubation programs were still in business -- and about 84 percent of those graduates remained in the incubator’s community. “The jobs created by incubators aren’t one-time construction jobs,” Adkins explains, “but enduring, high-paying positions that contribute to community and U.S. global competitiveness.”  

NBIA estimates that in 2005 alone, North American incubators assisted more than 27,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for more than 100,000 workers and generated annual revenue of more than $17 billion. Many thousands more jobs have been created by companies that have graduated from these programs and now operate self-sufficiently in their communities.  

For more information about business incubation and the EDA study, visit www.nbia.org/works.