Corona discount and extra support for startup companies

SmiLe Incubator is launching support measures aimed at startup companies to help them cope with the corona situation. SmiLe is lowering the membership fee to SEK 0 for three months, offering member companies the opportunity to apply for verification support that the company can use for salaries, and providing free business advice to entrepreneurs in general as part of the “Lund Support” collaborative initiative with other stakeholders in the region.

 

The corona pandemic has forced several participants in the innovation sphere to freeze their activities. As a result, many startups and small companies are facing a difficult liquidity situation. Hopefully, conditions will gradually normalize, but until then SmiLe wants to do everything the organization can to assist the entrepreneurs.

 

“With such dramatic differences among innovation companies, it feels absolutely necessary that we all do what we can to help life science startup companies to cope through this difficult time. So much has come to a halt. It is difficult for the companies to obtain new funding and to access the hospitals to conduct clinical trials,” says Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator.

 

In addition to being extremely active and guiding the companies through the public support packages,
SmiLe is now implementing its own support measures:

 

1. SmiLe incubator companies will have the incubator fee lowered to SEK 0 for three months. The companies pay this fee to cover access to infrastructure and services.  The services that SmiLe provides in business development,

 

2. The verification funding from Vinnova that SmiLe received and is tasked with distributing to startup companies will be used during the rest of the year to provide entrepreneurs with salaries. The total amount is more than SEK 1 million. SmiLe has previously distributed a total of about SEK 3 million since 2018 to those SmiLe companies that need to verify their business concept or their product by purchasing consultant hours or other services. Now they can “pay themselves” to carry out verification. The companies still have to motivate their applications.

 

3. As a third support measure, SmiLe is offering free business advice to entrepreneurs outside of the SmiLe sphere through the “Lund Support” initiative. This is being carried out in collaboration with organizations such as Ideon Innovation, Future by Lund, Venture lab, Lunds Nyföretagarcentrum, Medicon Village Innovation and the municipality of Lund.

For more information, contact: Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator, +4673-4000433, ebba@smileincubator.life

 

Link for photo downloading, etc: presskit

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