Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Zwickau

What Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Zwickau does

BIC Zwickau GmbH is a publicly-affiliated innovation and startup center (Innovations- und Gründerzentrum) headquartered in Zwickau, Saxony, Germany, operating since 1991 and formally incorporated as a GmbH in June 2011. The company provides flexible workspace rentals at multiple locations, including offices (12–170 sqm), workshops, production facilities, laboratories, and conference/event venues, alongside individual consulting services for startups and established SMEs. Revenue is generated through subscription-based office, workshop, and production rentals, pay-as-you-go event venue rentals (€80/h and €98/h at the Innovationszentrum at Villa Falck), and professional services including support for innovation vouchers (Innovationsgutschein) and innovation management programs. The customer base spans 30+ tenant companies across technology, automation engineering, surface technology, education, and IT services, with primary segments being startups and established SMEs in the Zwickau region.

The company operates a portfolio of sub-branded projects and initiatives, including Gründerzeit Zwickau (startup support), Welcome Center (skilled worker recruitment), BioRegio Modellregion Landkreis Zwickau (biotech networking), NET4DIGI (Saxony-Czech SME digitalization), Fachkräftesicherung (workforce retention), and the legacy 3D-Laser Demonstrations- und Bearbeitungszentrum (established 2008). The company is owned by shareholders including the City of Zwickau, IHK Chemnitz, and Kreissparkasse Zwickau, with the broader network also encompassing Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau and cross-border Czech partners. It holds the EC-BIC Licence from the European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN Brussels) since 2006 and ISO 9001:2000 certification since 2004, with annual re-certification maintained. The management team is led by Geschäftsführer Torsten Kunz with ~13 named staff coordinating the various project streams.

Name

Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Zwickau

Legal name

Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Zwickau GmbH

Website

https://bic-zwickau.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BIC Zwickau GmbH is a publicly-affiliated innovation and startup center in Saxony, Germany, providing flexible office, workshop, production, and event space rentals, plus consulting and EU-funded cross-border SME digitalization programs, serving 30+ startups and SMEs in the Zwickau region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Incubation Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices (551114)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Operators Of Nonresidential Buildings (6512), Services-Miscellaneous Equipment Rental & Leasing (7350)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Platform, BI & Analytics Integration (BPAEAAAI)

Keywords

• Business incubation services
• Innovation center management
• Workspace rental
• Startup consulting
• Regional economic development

Headquarters

HQ city

Zwickau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Office Space Rental: Rental of flexible office spaces ranging from 12-170 square meters at Stenn and Lessingstraße locations, including partially furnished options.
2. Workshop and Production Space Rental: Rental of flexible workshop and production facilities with modern infrastructure for business establishment and company settlement.
3. Conference and Event Venue Rental: Rental of conference rooms and event spaces including technical equipment, cafeteria services, and flexible seating arrangements accommodating up to 220 persons.
4. Event and Innovation Center Rental: Rental of Cross Innovation and Eventfläche facilities at the Innovationszentrum (Villa Falck) at rates of 80€/h and 98€/h respectively.
5. Advisory and Consulting Services: Individual consulting offerings for startups and established companies, including support for innovation vouchers (Innovationsgutschein) and innovation management programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BIC Zwickau GmbH operates as an innovation and startup centre providing flexible office spaces (12-170 sqm), workshop and production facilities, and conference/event venues across multiple Zwickau-region locations. The company complements its real estate offerings with individual consulting services for startups and established SMEs, funding programme advisory (Innovationsgutschein, innovation management), and coordination of regional projects including Welcome Center, NET4DIGI, and BioRegio.

Product overview

BIC Zwickau GmbH operates as an innovation and startup center (Innovations- und Gründerzentrum) offering a diversified portfolio of rental services and project-based initiatives. The core rental offerings include flexible Büro (office) spaces ranging from 12–170 sqm at multiple locations, Werkstatt- & Produktionsfläche (workshop/production areas), and Tagungszentrum/Konferenzräume (conference/meeting facilities). Supporting services include the Innovationszentrum at Villa Falck for premium events, and the NET4DIGI project for SME digitalization support. The company also operates several coordinated projects including Welcome Center (skilled worker recruitment), Gründerzeit Zwickau (startup support), BioRegio (biotech networking), and Fachkräftesicherung (workforce retention). The offering functions as a unified ecosystem where physical workspace rentals are complemented by advisory services, networking programs, and EU-funded projects to foster regional entrepreneurship and innovation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gründerzeit Zwickau: A project/initiative under BIC Zwickau focused on supporting founders and entrepreneurs in the Zwickau region.
• Welcome Center
• BioRegio Modellregion Landkreis Zwickau
• die Box
• NET4DIGI

Products and services

• Büro (Office Rental) Flexible office spaces available at multiple BIC Zwickau locations: Stenn (22-130 sqm), Lessingstraße (12-27 sqm single offices), and Büromodule (25-170 sqm modules), offered to startups, SMEs, and tenant companies on monthly subscription terms.
• Werkstatt- & Produktionsfläche (Workshop & Production Space) Flexible workshop and production facilities with modern infrastructure, offered to technology and manufacturing companies for business establishment and company settlement at BIC Zwickau locations.
• Tagungszentrum (Conference Center) Conference and event venue at BIC Zwickau Stenn for conferences, congresses, meetings, exhibitions, presentations, seminars, and trainings, equipped with technical equipment and cafeteria services.
• Konferenzraum (Conference Rooms) Conference rooms with flexible seating arrangements accommodating up to 220 persons, featuring comprehensive technical equipment including projectors, microphones, video conferencing, and simultaneous interpretation systems.
• Innovationszentrum (Innovation Center at Villa Falck) Premium event venue located in Villa Falck offering Cross Innovation spaces (€80/hour) and Eventfläche (€98/hour) for cross-sector innovation events, conferences, and gatherings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Certified innovation center operating since 1991 with ongoing EC-BIC certification since 2006

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ICUK – Innovationszentrum der Region Ústí nad LabemcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Czech partner in the NET4DIGI project focusing on Saxon-Czech cross-border cooperation for digitalization of SMEs. Located in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic.
• Innovationszentrum Karlsbad (KIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in the NET4DIGI project from the Czech Republic, supporting innovation in the Carlsbad region.
• Technische Universität DresdencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025German university partner in the NET4DIGI project, providing academic expertise in digital transformation research.
• Technologie- und Gründerzentrum Bautzen GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Technology and startup center partner in the NET4DIGI project, supporting SME digitalization in the Bautzen region.
• Stadt Zwickau (City of Zwickau)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal shareholder and founding partner of BIC Zwickau GmbH, providing regional support and governance.
• IHK Chemnitz (Chemnitz Chamber of Industry and Commerce)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChamber of commerce shareholder supporting BIC Zwickau's mission to foster regional economic development and business support.
• Kreissparkasse ZwickaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal savings bank shareholder contributing to regional economic development and BIC Zwickau's initiatives.
• Westsächsische Hochschule ZwickaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of applied sciences partner, located near the Lessingstraße location. Supports knowledge transfer and provides opportunities for student involvement.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Factory Berlin: Berlin-based innovation campus offering flexible offices, event spaces, and curated programs to startups and corporates; larger-scale private peer to BIC Zwickau's incubation and event model.
• Mindspace: European flexible-workspace operator with German locations, providing offices, meeting rooms, and event venues to startups and corporates; directly comparable workspace rental product.
• betahaus Berlin: Berlin coworking and innovation hub offering flexible office rentals, event spaces, and founder programs; comparable startup-focused workspace and event rental mix.
• Impact Hub Germany: Global network of innovation hubs with German locations (Berlin, Munich, Dresden); combines coworking, incubation programs, and events for impact-driven startups, mirroring BIC's innovation mandate.
• Innovationszentrum Karlsbad (KIC): Czech innovation center partnering with BIC Zwickau in NET4DIGI; offers workspace, advisory, and SME support programs in the Karlovy Vary region with comparable EC-BIC-style mandate.
• ICUK – Innovationszentrum der Region Ústí nad Labem: Czech innovation center partnering with BIC Zwickau in NET4DIGI for Saxon-Czech cross-border SME digitalization; similar consulting-plus-workspace offering in Ústí nad Labem region.
• Technologiezentrum Dortmund: Founding inspiration for BIC Zwickau and a German technology/startup center offering office and workshop space to founders and SMEs in North Rhine-Westphalia; comparable model, governance, and tenant mix.
• Technologie- und Gründerzentrum Bautzen (TGZ): Saxon technology and startup center that is itself a NET4DIGI partner of BIC Zwickau; provides office and conference rentals plus SME digitalization support in the Bautzen region.

Others

• IHK Chemnitz: BIC Zwickau shareholder and broader Chamber of Industry and Commerce serving Saxony; provides SME advisory and innovation support with overlap in target customer base.
• Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau (WHZ): University of Applied Sciences partner of BIC Zwickau that supports knowledge transfer and student entrepreneurship in the same region; adjacent ecosystem participant with overlapping founder pipeline.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLtmzqGft9Xjc01doW20ivw
• Facebookfacebook.com/gruenderzeitzwickau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/businessandinnovationcenterzwickau
• Instagraminstagram.com/gruenderzeitzwickau

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Zwickau