Akcelera – Innovation Centre of the Banská Bystrica Region

The Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region (BBSK) is the largest region in Slovakia by area, with a diverse economy shaped by mechanical engineering, automotive production, metallurgy and metal processing, forestry and wood processing, and food production. The region is also seeing growing activity in ICT and knowledge-intensive sectors, while facing challenges related to skills shortages, youth outmigration and uneven development across its districts.

Akcelera – Innovation Centre of the Banská Bystrica Region, powered by the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region, is a regional innovation centre focused on developing and connecting the region’s innovation ecosystem. Its role is to bring together businesses, public institutions, schools, research and education organisations, and other ecosystem actors, creating opportunities for cooperation, innovation and growth within the region and beyond.

Akcelera works across several interconnected areas, including business development and company partnerships, talent and skills development, investment and international cooperation, and the development of regional innovation infrastructure. It supports companies in connecting with relevant partners and opportunities, strengthens cooperation across sectors and clusters, and helps connect regional businesses and other actors with national and European innovation networks.

Part of Akcelera’s role is also to create space for trying out new approaches, technologies, programmes and forms of cooperation. Where appropriate, it helps bring ideas into practice, supports their initial development and testing, and works with partners to find ways to make them more sustainable. Over time, some of these initiatives can develop beyond the initial support of Akcelera and continue through their own partnerships, ownership and activities.

A growing network of regional hubs complements this work by creating locally anchored spaces focused on the specific strengths and opportunities of different parts of the region. Their thematic focus include areas such as mechanical engineering, STEM, arts and heritage, connecting local companies, schools, communities and other partners around shared interests and development opportunities.