The Venice City Council took part in European Union financing projects that promote urban recovery and sustainable development, environmental studies and projects, together with the uphold of research and energy progress that facilitate the achievement of policies that pursue the conversion of urban areas and the stimulation of local economies in a social and even way.

The EU Projects helped to fire up a deep makeover of urban declining economies making easier to start innovative companies. The Venice Cube Incubator, builted up in the Giudecca island, right in the heart of Venice’s historical downtown, represents one of the projects made possible by the co-financing of the European Found for Regional Development - FESR, Part 2.1, DOCUP 2000-2006, Veneto Region.

The Total value of the project is € 5.1 milions:

€ 3.3 milions (65%) were provided by the European Commission inside the part 2 of Docup 2000-2006, Veneto Region paragraph 2.1 ('Infrastructures for the regional economies competitiveness, areas equipped for oriented companies services location').

The remaining € 1.8 milions (35%) were co-financed by the City of  Venice. The City Council, together with the making of  Venice Cube Incubator, developed and tested new businesses opportunity and development ways for technology knowledge in order to promote the Incubator as connection point between the local population and their territory.

This helped to foster the born of 30 new business ideas, 21 of whom became SMEs those are located in the Venice Cube Incubator. All these thanks to a scheme called “economy animation” co-financed by the European Program Interreg IIIB Cadses “Lhasa”.

Among others activities included in this plan were: several courses and meeting 'Get Started Up 2005' about self employment and the availability of financing facilities.  With “Lhasa” funds a computer lab was realized in the Venice Incubator building, equipped with 14 pc, where many courses were held between May 2005 and March 2006.

The courses were attended in total by approximately 1100 people, 400 of whom followed the courses about entrepreneurship culture and 700 took part on computer learning classes.