International business. Cosmopolitan flavor. Diversity.
Those themes will drive a new “business incubator” launched Friday at Towson University.
With Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith on hand, Towson University president Robert Caret, said in as soon as 30 days, the school will open Towson University Business Globalization Center to ? for the moment ? be housed on campus.
“There is no incubator in the state that is focused on international business,” Caret told business leaders and government officials attending a press conference.
Business incubators are typically partnerships involving government and academic institutions aimed at providing start-up companies and entrepreneurs with academic research, sometimes student labor as well as subsidized rents. Incubators often provide shared administrative services such as conference rooms, copy machines, Internet access and receptionists.
Maryland has 16 business incubators with some specializing in biotech, telecommunications and e-commerce. They serve 250 companies and employ 1,400 people.
County promises funding
Baltimore County committed $125,000 this year to Towson University?s Globalization Center, with plans for a five-year commitment, Smith said.
“The county must look beyond its borders in order to remain competitive,” Smith said.
He added that every $1 the county spends on an incubator “will generate $30 in private capital investment.”
Caret said the school?s “strong international studies program,” coupled with efforts by the school?s Division of Economic and Community Outreach, should be “excellent leverage” to help the county and the state develop international business.
Officials are looking to lure Pacific Rim companies interested in marketing products on the East Coast. They also want companies hoping to launch business from the East Coast to international markets such as China.
Aris Melissaratos, Secretary of Business and Development for the state, said Towson University?s globalization center is “the kind of international flavor our state needs.”
Business incubators
» Business incubators provide technical contacts, business planning, advise and access to investors.
» There are more than 800 business incubators throughout North America.
» About 87 percent of firms that started as business incubators remain in business today, according to the National Business Incubation Association.
