Fabrice Marquet, Director of the Monegasque incubator MonacoTech, is a scientist and has the pragmatism of one. After a PhD in biomedical engineering, he became a researcher at Columbia where he stayed for three years. For over a year now, he has headed up MonacoTech, the Principality’s first incubator, a challenge he could not resist.
How many businesses are there in MonacoTech?
We now host 18 businesses from the just over 230 applications received.
What is the selection process?
Firstly, we communicate on specialised start-up platforms, and we use Monaco’s diplomatic network, the Monaco Economic Board. This enables us to become known and to invite calls for applications.
We use a selection committee comprising different profiles in order to compare different points of view. It includes entrepreneurs, investors, an economic development bureau representative, a National Council member. The selection criteria are quite simple: the human factor, meaning the leader’s personality, and sharing MonacoTech’s values. The project potential, and the relevance of its setting up in Monaco, in the long run.
Does that imply a particular type of business sector?
The vision is that Monaco should specialise in two to three key sectors, while leaving room for satellite projects. We also want to let the market tell us what is relevant for Monaco, and we are very surprised by the diversity of the applications received. At present we are hosting financial technology, medical technology, sustainable development and Smart Cities activities, but also innovative projects in yachting, fashion and events management etc.
In your opinion what is the distinctiveness of MonacoTech, while many incubators are emerging, in many countries?
Our way of seeing support. For us, neither grouping entrepreneurs together in common structures nor proposing a multitude of events without targeted objectives can create value. The chosen positioning is based on several key principles: high selectivity, high standards, an attractive, high-end and collaborative environment, tailor-made follow-up and constant challenging of entrepreneurs. The start-ups are challenged and evaluated in order to enter the programme, but also every three months to remain there. We want to give ourselves the means to support our businesses until they gain long-term anchoring in the local economic fabric. Over 90% of start-ups fail today. Our analysis shows that the vast majority of these failures are more due to self-destruction than to competition. This is why each business has its own development time and, through a tailor-made programme, different methodological blocks are developed in it in a studied and adapted way.
What practical assistance do you give businesses?
Our two key value propositions are the attractive environment and the programme set up. We want to give all businesses a common base and to foster collaboration between them. The main objectives are to help businesses build a personalised roadmap and give them a common language to facilitate their interaction and also allow them to communicate in an intelligible way, adapted to their interlocutors. We want to enable them to evaluate accurately the progress of their project, their strengths, weaknesses and shortcomings. This allows us to identify the needs of each business exactly. In this way, we can plan external experts’ interventions or contacts with the right mentor, provider or investor, at the appropriate time.
Photo credit : Philippe Fitte
