The International Business Innovation Association has renewed the soft landing business incubator designation for the Louisiana Business and Technology Center at LSU’s Innovation Park, the LBTC announced today.
The center is one of 35 international business incubators out of more than 1,200 to receive the designation, the LBTC says in a news release. The International Business Innovation Association (InBIA), which helps advance business incubation and entrepreneurship, serves more than 2,100 members in 60 nations. Its soft landing designation lets foreign firms know which organizations have the facilities and programs needed to help them break into new markets.
Charles D’Agostino, LSU Innovation Park and LBTC executive director, says the incubators must apply for the designation every three years. He says LBTC is only soft business incubator in Louisiana.
The beauty of being designated a soft landing incubator is that the InBIA will include LBTC’s name on a list of helpful organizations when a foreign entity contacts the InBIA about breaking in the U.S. market.
“I get these calls from people I would never reach,” D’Agostino says.
D’Agostino says the center has worked with companies from China, one from Colombia and has had visits from several others.
“We haven’t landed these yet, but by having these programs we have better luck and potential of landing them,” he says.
Incubators receive the designation by proving they have the assets needed to help foreign or nondomestic businesses tap into the U.S. market.
“You can’t just say I’m a soft landing incubator. You basically have to earn it,” says D’Agostino.
By being a part of LSU, LBTC has access to faculty in the university’s foreign language department who can provide translation services to help foreign businesses.
MBA graduates help with research and analysis, while mass communication grads and others can help foreign companies with social media and branding their products in a U.S. market.
The InBIA has more on the other soft landing designees.
—Alexandria Burris
