Construction is slated to begin in 2006 on the proposed $8.7 million Mid-Missouri Technology Business Incubator next to the Research Reactor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. This 33,000 square foot technology incubator will specialize in attracting companies to mid-Missouri that offer products or services based on proprietary technology in fields such as life sciences, engineering and information technology. In addition to advancing entrepreneurship in the region, this new effort will nurture businesses by providing start-up help and access to the University’s research facilities and business-management experts. It’s a partnership that will provide an additional pathway to transfer innovations from laboratories to the marketplace.

The incubator is projected to graduate three to four companies annually, with each likely to employ 50 to 100 people after five years. Some of these firms will have the potential to become public companies with employees in the thousands. Long-term plans include a network of affiliated incubators throughout mid-Missouri.