Incubators are a growth industry 

Many communities have developed “business incubators” to protect new companies in their formative years of development. Business incubators are proven tools for creating jobs, encouraging technology transfer, and starting new businesses. Designed to assist in the growth and development of new enterprises, incubators themselves have become a growth industry.

According to the National Business Incubator Association (NBIA) surveys:

• The number of incubators in the U.S. has increased from 12 in 1980 to more than 1,400 in  2007.
• On average, one new business incubator opens each week in the U.S., and over 45 countries now have incubator programs.
• Over the past few years, for-profit incubators have been opening at the rate of nearly four per week. Many serve as vehicles for owners’ investments in a portfolio of companies.
•  Over 35,000 small firms currently reside in incubators.
• An estimated 900 business incubators currently operating in North America.
•  Clients have an 85% survival rate.
•  Incubated businesses typically stay in an incubator for a period of two to three years.
  

Incubators make sense for the community

According to studies conducted by the NBIA and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration:

• About 84 percent of incubator graduates stay in their communities and continue to provide a return to their investors.
• In North America, incubator clients and graduates have created about half a million jobs since 1980 — enough jobs to employ every person living in Denver, Colorado.
• Every 50 jobs created by an incubator,client generates another 25 jobs in the community.