UPR i+c launches call for 2nd cycle of entrepreneurial training
The University of Puerto Rico’s Innovation and Commercialization Support Center has opened a call for people or groups that have a business idea that they wish to promote to request participation in the second round of its business incubator.
UPR i+c Labs is a three-phase program that includes preincubation, incubation, and post-incubation, that can last up to 18 months.
The administrative team will choose between 10 and 15 teams of entrepreneurs who will receive training, support, and free access to all the resources that are offered.
Specialized mentors will assist the participants in the creation of their business plan and will accompany them during the start-up and early development of the company in the market.
In addition, the teams will have access to the university’s resource bank for the possibility of recruiting students in work internships.
“What distinguishes us as a project is that we offer individual and ongoing support according to the needs to each team that participates in the program,” said Marinés Aponte, director of the UPR i+c incubator Labs.
“In addition, they have access to a dynamic workspace and the opportunity to interact and collaborate with other teams that are also promoting business ideas from the Innovation and Marketing Support Center,” said Aponte.
The incubator will receive applications until June 15; the cycle of workshops and support services begins in August.
Each selected group must have a leader available to attend a weekly workshop that will be held on Friday afternoons at the center’s headquarters at the UPR-Río Piedras Campus.
They must also have an availability of 10 hours a week to dedicate to the development of their business plans, and five of these hours must be completed in person.
UPR i+c Labs is part of the Small Business Incubators and Accelerators Program and is subsidized by the Puerto Rico Department of Housing with CDBG-DR funds.
The center that manages the incubator, emerged in 2017 as an initiative of several professors from the School of Business Administration to promote a culture of innovation and provide tools for the commercialization of innovations, the university stated.
The goal of the project is to contribute to the sustainable economic development of Puerto Rico through the creation of a mentoring and support space for innovators and entrepreneurs in the process of bringing new technologies to the market, representatives said.
To participate, interested parties must fill out their form and for more information, visit the organization’s website.
