Innosuisse’s innovation promotion bolsters startup development

The impact studies conducted by Innosuisse examine the performance and effects of its promotion in greater depth. In the second phase in 2018, which has now been completed, the focus was on the impact aspects and benefits of the funding instruments.

According to the new study, more than half of the companies supported as part of an innovation project are small firms with a maximum of 50 employees, just under one-third of which are micro-enterprises with ten or fewer employees. More than half of the companies surveyed stated that they benefited directly from the promotion, be it through sales or employment effects, productivity increases or the acceleration of market entry.

Support for knowledge and technology transfer between enterprises and universities is also highlighted as a key element of support. Nine out of ten companies see an increase in knowledge in research and development, eight out of ten companies strengthen their networks and six out of ten companies gain new project ideas. Radical technologies and disruptive innovations are playing an increasingly important role in funding: almost one innovation project in five is based on radical technologies or disruptive innovations which are expected to considerably change the market or a company significantly.

Startup coaching accelerates the success of startups
The startups coached by Innosuisse are science and research-based. More than half are spin-offs from research institutions. The startups also see significant benefits for themselves in the support provided by Innosuisse: they state that coaching promotes, in particular, their entrepreneurial abilities and skills in the management team and the development of networks. Coaching makes a significant contribution to the success of startups: along with the founding team and the availability of equity financing, it is ranked as the third most important success factor. For almost a quarter of the startupscoached, radical innovations are an important part of the business idea.

The impact on startup competence can be demonstrated
Participants in Innosuisse’s training courses rate their skills in setting up a startup significantly higher after the course than they did before. The intention to found a company increases in the modules examined, but the training modules also lead to a more realistic assessment of the chances of success for some of the participants and thus to a reduction in the propensity to found a company.

This second phase of impact studies conducted by Innosuisse adds to the first phase of external impact analyses commissioned by its predecessor, the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI, in 2016. The innovation projects included in the study in this second phase were all still approved by the CTI. Since the funding instruments have not changed fundamentally as a result of the change to Innosuisse, the findings can nevertheless generally be applied to Innosuisse’s current innovation funding.

(Press release)