Innovation Center Iceland

What Innovation Center Iceland does

Innovation Center Iceland (Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands, "ICI") was a government state entity under Iceland's Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation (háskóla,- iðnaðar- og nýsköpunarráðuneyti) that functioned as Iceland's primary public innovation and entrepreneurship support body. Its core offering was a free library of templates, methodology guides, and educational resources for early-stage founders, including the Business Model Canvas framework adapted from Denmark's International Center for Innovation, an Entrepreneur's Toolkit ("Verkfærakista frumkvöðulsins") of downloadable business plans, financial models, and market-analysis frameworks, and dedicated modules on company formation, marketing, and funding/grant sourcing. The organization also acted as Iceland's national contact point for Horizon 2020, hosted Enterprise Europe Network activities under Rannís, ran the Nýsköpunarstyrkur (Innovation Grant) program jointly with Vinnumálastofnun, and coordinated with seven regional development institutes and the national Fab-Labs network.

There was no commercial revenue model — all resources were provided free to Icelandic entrepreneurs through the nmi.is portal. ICI was officially dissolved on July 1, 2021 under law no. 25/2021; R&D activities were transferred to IceTec (Tæknisetur), chemical analytics projects to Hafrannsóknastofnun, Rb-paper publication to Húsnæðis og mannvirkjastofnun, and consolidated entrepreneur resources to nyskapandi.is. Concurrent with closure, Iceland expanded rural innovation support via the Lóa nýsköpunarsjóður fund and increased Fab-Lab funding.

Given this is an already-dissolved government entity, there is no operating company to assess for private-equity, venture-capital, or M&A suitability. The remaining analytical value is in understanding the successor entities (IceTec, nyskapandi.is), the underlying methodology IP (Business Model Canvas localization), and the public funding ecosystem that absorbed ICI's functions.

Name

Innovation Center Iceland

Legal name

Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands

Website

https://nmi.is

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Closed

Short description

Innovation Center Iceland (Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands) was a government-supported innovation entity that provided free entrepreneurship tools, Business Model Canvas templates, and funding guidance to Icelandic early-stage founders; it was dissolved on July 1, 2021 under law no. 25/2021.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK), Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business (EDAMAHAI), Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills (EDAMAHAG), SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE)

Keywords

• Innovation support services
• Entrepreneurship development
• Business model canvas
• Startup advisory services
• Business planning resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Reykjavík

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Innovation Center Iceland (Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands) provided free entrepreneurship support resources to Icelandic early-stage entrepreneurs and startups, including Business Model Canvas templates and methodology, an Entrepreneur's Toolkit with downloadable business planning and financial modeling documents, company formation guidance for Icelandic business entity types, marketing and export resources, and comprehensive information on funding sources and grants. The organization served as Iceland's central government-supported innovation and entrepreneurship center, operating as a state entity under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation until its closure on July 1, 2021.

Product overview

Innovation Center Iceland (Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands) was an innovation support organization that has been dissolved as of July 1, 2021. The current website serves as an archive of entrepreneurial resources including Business Model Canvas templates and methodology guides, an Entrepreneur's Toolkit with downloadable business planning templates and financial models, company formation guidance for Icelandic business entities, marketing resources, and comprehensive funding/grant information. Research and development activities have been transferred to IceTec (Tæknisetur).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Model Canvas Templates

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vinnumálastofnun (The Icelandic Employment Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative partnership for the Nýsköpunarstyrkur (Innovation Grant) initiative, an action program to facilitate companies in hiring university-educated, technical or vocational staff who are unemployed.
• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) - EvrópumiðstöðcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean business support network operating under Rannis, assisting small and medium enterprises, universities and public bodies in strengthening their competitiveness in international markets through the world's largest business contact network.
• International Center for Innovation (Denmark)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Business Model Canvas methodology and materials, adapted from Danish innovation center resources for Icelandic entrepreneurs.
• Svæðisáætlanir (Regional Development Institutes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional development institutes supporting regional entrepreneurship and innovation throughout Iceland, including Uppbyggingarsjóður Austurlands, Vestfjarða, Suðurlands, Suðurnesja, Norðurlands vestra, Vesturlands, and Norðurlands eystra.
• Rannís (The Icelandic Research Council)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRannis administers technology development funds, national grants, and European funding programs including Horizon 2020, where NMI served as the national contact point.

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• MIT Innovation Center (Martin Trust Center): University-affiliated innovation center supporting entrepreneurship through education, tools, and resources. Comparable as an academic/institutional model delivering entrepreneurship curriculum and support programming.
• Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC): Major operator of innovation campuses serving startups and entrepreneurs with workspace, programming, and resources. Comparable as an established institution supporting early-stage entrepreneurship at scale.
• MaRS Discovery District: Large-scale innovation hub in Toronto providing entrepreneur support, advisory services, and connections to capital. Comparable as a national/regional innovation-center model serving entrepreneurs with tools, networks, and funding pathways.
• Y Combinator: Premier global startup accelerator providing founders with education, mentorship, and funding access — comparable in its entrepreneur-support playbook (curriculum, templates, network) though operating as a private venture-backed model rather than government-funded center.
• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): European business support network that ICI partnered with through Rannis to help SMEs access international markets and funding. Operates as a broad incumbent across all EU/associated countries with overlapping SME/internationalization services.
• Business Iceland (Íslandsstofa): Icelandic government agency promoting Icelandic industry abroad — overlapping with ICI's export-support use case for Icelandic companies seeking international market expansion.

Direct peers

• International Center for Innovation (Denmark): Danish innovation center whose Business Model Canvas methodology and materials ICI adapted for Icelandic entrepreneurs. Direct functional peer in the Nordic innovation-center space with comparable entrepreneur-support services.
• IceTec (Tæknisetur): Direct successor entity that absorbed ICI's research and development activities in technology fields upon the July 2021 dissolution. Closest institutional peer within Iceland's innovation support ecosystem.
• Rannís (Icelandic Research Council): National research council that administered technology development funds, grants, and the EEN partnership for ICI. Functions as an adjacent institutional peer in Iceland's public-sector innovation ecosystem.

Regional players

• Startup Iceland: Icelandic grassroots startup community organization focused on building the local startup ecosystem. Comparable in mission to support early-stage founders but operates as a community/grassroots entity rather than government-funded center.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/midstod
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/innovation-center-iceland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Innovation Center Iceland