Kočevje Business Incubator (Podjetniški inkubator Kočevje), located in Kočevje, Slovenia, is a public local development institution established to support startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It was established by the Municipality of Kočevje in 2008 to foster entrepreneurship and support startups through its services, as well as a network of experts and mentors.
It fosters entrepreneurship, supports startups, and connects businesses with experts and mentors. The Incubator also facilitates educational activities, offering hands-on learning in its Makerspace, where individuals can explore and test new technologies.
The Incubator aids business model development, prototype production, and skill acquisition, focusing on both technical and commercial expertise. Increasingly, it plays a key role in teaching robotics and coding in schools, benefiting both teachers and students.
Beyond business and education, the Incubator supports wooden product prototyping and manages a Food Processing Centre, adding value to the local agricultural sector. Through these initiatives, it drives innovation, economic progress, and sustainable development, benefiting businesses and individuals alike.
KEY PROJECTS & FOCUS AREAS
Entrepreneurship: The Business Incubator offers consulting, networking, and support for entrepreneurs, guiding them toward local opportunities and fostering job creation. It provides assistance in evaluating business ideas, developing business models, mentorship, workshops, and financial resource guidance for individuals and companies.
Adult Education: The incubator provides diverse adult education programs focused on personal development, professional skills, and lifelong learning. This includes language courses, workshops, and guidance for groups like young adults, professionals, retirees, and migrants.
Youth Career Centre: it supports young people in career development, offering personalized guidance, counseling, and job search strategies, as well as skill-building workshops to help them transition from education to the workforce.
Career Portal Kočevje: This platform consolidates local educational events, company profiles, and employment opportunities, bridging the gap between job seekers and employers.
Career Consulting: the service provides support with job opportunities, strengths identification, resume writing, interview preparation, and career planning.
Digital Competencies Development: KUBO Robotics Education promotes robotics knowledge among school students. Other projects for improvement of digital literacy enhance digital skills in adults, bridging the digital divide.
ONGOING EFFORTS & ACTIONS
Podjetniški inkubator Kočevje plays a pivotal role in fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and local development through a variety of targeted activities:
Business Development Support: The incubator is a supportive environment that creates the conditions for economic growth. It offers comprehensive assistance in developing business ideas and models, providing mentorship, prototyping services, and facilitating access to affordable business premises. Additionally, we serve as a hub where investors can access all the necessary information, and in collaboration with the municipality, we are actively working towards becoming an attractive economic destination.
Entrepreneurial Events and Competitions: To stimulate entrepreneurial spirit, the incubator organizes events such as the «ZLATA ŠAPA» competition, encouraging individuals with innovative ideas to engage in entrepreneurial ventures.
Youth Engagement and Education: Recognizing the importance of nurturing young talent, the incubator conducts programs like the K3 Creativity Camp, aimed at enhancing creativity and skill development among youth.
Community Integration Activities: Through initiatives like guided forest walks along «The Eagle’s Path» in Kočevska Reka, the incubator emphasizes environmental awareness and community engagement.
LOCAL IMPACT
The Startup Village has impact on the local community in three key areas: business growth, social inclusion, and youth empowerment.
Business Growth: it serves as a development agency for small businesses, it creates valuable opportunities for local enterprises, helping them thrive and expand. This fosters economic development, job creation, and increased entrepreneurial activity in the region.
Social Inclusion: it actively engages individuals, motivating them to develop the skills necessary for success in the labor market. By focusing on competence-building and supporting social inclusion, it ensures that people from diverse backgrounds can participate in and contribute to the community’s growth.
Youth Empowerment: it promotes an active lifestyle among the youth, encouraging them to take initiative and engage in entrepreneurial and social activities. By offering opportunities for personal and professional development, it helps the younger generation build skills that will lead to a brighter future.
The Kočevje Business Incubator faces several key challenges in fostering innovation and economic growth:
Brain Drain – The Challenge of Retaining Young Talent:Many young professionals leave for larger cities, making it difficult to build a strong local entrepreneurial community and ensure long-term growth.
Diverse Entrepreneurial Needs: Businesses require different types of support, from mentorship to infrastructure. The incubator strives to help, but cannot always meet all expectations.
Limited Access to Experienced Mentors: A shortage of experienced mentors affects the quality of guidance and slows down business development.
Lack of Testing and Prototyping Infrastructure: Without proper facilities, companies struggle to develop and refine new products, limiting innovation.
Reluctance to Invest in Modernization: Many businesses operate with outdated equipment, delaying necessary investments and reducing competitiveness.
Resistance to Change: Hesitation to adopt new business models and technologies slows progress and economic potential.
Kočevje Business Incubator and the surrounding region have key growth opportunities:
Green Transition: projects like, Green for Life, Green Youth Empower and Green IT Your Work focus on preparing youth for green jobs. The municipality’s energy efficiency commitment opens doors for businesses in renewable energy and sustainable technologies.
Forest and Wood Industry: with over 80% of Kočevje’s area covered by forests, there’s potential for growth in forest management and wood processing. Digitization projects like Di-Gozd offer innovation opportunities in forestry.
Tourism and Cultural Heritage: Kočevje’s focus on eco-tourism and cultural initiatives enhances regional heritage, attracting eco-conscious visitors.
Technological Innovation: The establishment of robotics companies and the support for startups through the Kočevje Business Incubator fosters innovation, especially in automation and Industry 4.0.
Regional Collaborations: the Incubator collaborates with the Municipality of Kočevje and the Regional Development Agency of Southeast Slovenia to align with local development strategies and access regional funding.
National Collaborations: the Incubator collaborates with public agency SPIRIT Slovenia and with the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology to implement programs supporting startups and SMEs. It also partners with Ministry of Education, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to imlement programs supporting education, digital skills development, and social inclusion.
EU-Level Collaborations: facilitates participation in Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, supports Horizon Europe funding for innovation, and engages in Interreg Europe projects to share best practices and foster cross-border cooperation.
Kočevje Business Incubator, along with the local community, actively contributes to sustainable food systems, circular bioeconomy, and rural resilience through several key initiatives:
Sustainable Food Systems: The region promotes local food production and processing, supporting eco-friendly practices in agriculture, such as organic farming and sustainable herb cultivation, which aligns with regional sustainability goals.
Circular Bioeconomy: Kočevje leverages its abundant forest resources for bio-based products, encouraging sustainable forestry practices and green innovation, which enhances the circular economy through waste reduction and resource reuse.
Rural Resilience: The incubator supports entrepreneurship and job creation in green sectors, fostering resilience by diversifying the local economy. Through projects focused on renewable energy, green jobs, and sustainable agriculture, it helps build a robust, future-proof rural economy.
The hobby of the Tekavec family, which started as an idea born from the monotony of beer offerings on the market, has transformed into a true entrepreneurial story: «All praise to the team at the Kočevje Business Incubator. With their help and advice, the entire implementation of our idea was much easier. They assisted us in developing our business model, applying for grants, and preparing documentation for applications. Their guidance covered marketing, sales, accounting, and the establishment of our new brewery. They are also helping us set up new premises.
