ENSTARTUPS Business Incubator

The ENSTA Bretagne campus in Brest has dedicated incubator facilities. Located in the heart of the campus, this incubator offers future entrepreneurs numerous opportunities to help them develop their project under optimal conditions.

ENSTARTUPS’ strong points

Free access to the facilities*

The incubator has several dedicated offices with shared workspaces that help build a coworking community.
Each office is fully equipped with IT equipment, a landline, a whiteboard, etc.
A mailbox is also included in the services provided.
Joining the incubator also includes access to the sports facilities on campus: weight room, soccer/rugby field, gym, sports hall…

*Access to the facilities is free of charge for the first 6 to 12 months

Prototyping and testing facilities

All technical projects include a prototyping and testing phase. ENSTA Bretagne helps with designing and building prototypes on campus. To do so, it relies on the equipment available on campus and on the support of the mechanical, electronics and IT technical staff.

Numerous processes can be carried out such as 3D printing, machining and circuit board manufacturing.

In addition, the mechanics and ICST (Information and Communication Science and Technology) research centers located on campus provide a wide range of testing equipment.

Numerous Partnerships

Technopôle Brest Iroise: This partnership allows entrepreneurs to attend conferences and receive guidance relevant to their specific needs. It also provides access to a strong network.
YAO (endowment fund for the Breton youth): This fund facilitates networking between business leaders and entrepreneurs, which helps with the sharing of experiences.
Arkéa, with its Innovation unit, conducts various Design Thinking workshops.
The CMB provides expertise with respect to funding.

Students projects to support budding businesses

Startups must often choose between various options, not only for the technical aspects of their products or services, but also in areas such as marketing or communication.

To help with their decision-making, they can challenge ENSTA Bretagne students with projects on which the students can work in teams, as part of their training.

In addition to the technical issues, ENSTA Bretagne students can also work on other aspects such as market analysis, target definition, pricing policy and funding options through the Engineering and Business Science major.

ENSTA Bretagne's business incubator is open to all business start-up projects subject to approval by ENSTA Bretagne's management team. To access the incubator, entrepreneurs must submit an application which is examined by a panel of judges.

RECAP of projects that are newly incubated, have emerged or are under development

INOBO designs transparent, scalable kiteboards. This start-up, imagined and developed by Antonin Raffarin and Thomas Glawnoski, both graduates from ENSTA Bretagne, has taken off. Since then, Antonin has continued to develop new projects while leading the ENSTARTUPS incubator.
FIL&FAB emerged in 2020. Three young design graduates had the brilliant idea of using worn fishing nets as a new raw material, called Nylo®. These granules have clearly identified properties and are upcycled as new objects: spectacle frames, lamp bases, watch straps … several leading brands are already partners. www.fil-et-fab.fr
GWILEN takes its cue from a similar idea (developed in 2020): turning marine sediments into a raw material for making architectural, interior design or decorative items. Yann and his friends are architects, civil engineers and founders of Gwilen. They had the idea of utilizing these sediments, which are extracted during harbor or estuary dredging operations or maritime works. This new, 100% mineral innovative material, which does not require added cement, resin or firing, is then tinted and molded, giving rise to a whole range of objects. “Millions of tons of sediment are discharged in the sea every year. In France, the figure is between 40 and 50 million cubic meters, which you could compare to the volume of a Tour Montparnasse skyscraper being discharged every three days.” www.gwilen.com
IANIRA (under development) is being led by two retired French navy clearance divers and two ENSTA Bretagne engineers. Together, they have created the ACTIUM system which was patented in 2020: an innovative marine marker for the extended marking and geo-location of an object or location on the seabed. The marker activates and rises to the surface at the time set by the divers – whether amateurs or professionals – who then know where to resume their underwater mission or exploration. The Bluetooth-programmable electronic system, optical control and inductive battery charging make it an unprecedented and highly effective solution, which has been tested and validated in test tanks and at sea. More info
TRASH SURFBOARDS (under development): surfboards made from recycled cardboard
ORPHIE (under development): Improving the underwater vision of cameras. Two engineers specializing in optics have come up with a system for the automated processing of images from underwater robots to provide them with greater clarity.
UMOJA (under development): 100% plant-based shoes made from African fabrics. The two partners in this venture are harnessing traditional African know-how, helping these craftspeople – whose methods are environmentally-friendly – to achieve economic self-sufficiency. The project set the stage for the design of 100% plant-based sneakers. Two collections are already available on https://www.umoja-shoes.com
SPLASHELEC (under incubation) is aimed at making sailing accessible to people with disabilities and at automating foils >> http://www.splashelec.com/ /
OX-EYE (under incubation) is a naval architecture eco-design office aimed at designing ships out of new materials >> More info
ARKANE (under incubation) is a startup led by two engineers with PhDs who are developing digital products integrating a layer of artificial intelligence in radar signal processing >> More info
SEEDERAL technologies (under incubation) is the initiative of a young engineer from CentraleSupélec engineering school who is developing an electric tractor. A fund-raising campaign is in progress (?link) for manufacturing a prototype in 2022.
Three surgeons from Brest teaching hospital (CHRU), together with a lecturer from ENSTA Bretagne, have come up with the idea of inventing a new type of plaster which would be made by 3D printing (under incubation)
SKRAVIK (which means tern in Breton) is led by two naturalists, who organize various sea observation missions and would like to develop a new environmental solution for marine expeditions (under incubation) >> More info
Two engineers with PhDs from ENSTA Bretagne are working on the idea of an eco-designed bicycle (under incubation)
EHM project on a new hydrogen-powered motor (just recently joined the incubator)