Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen - AZO - has helped found 38 companies and create 650 new jobs over the last six years, making it one of the most successful business incubators in the European aeronautics industry. AZO itself was founded as a public-private partnership with 10 shareholders in 2005; it is supported primarily by its largest shareholder, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the Free State of Bavaria. AZO's close ties with the community of Oberpfaffenhofen and the ambitions of DLR - particularly in positioning their common location to play a major role in the implementation of the Galileo satellite navigation system with the support of the Free State of Bavaria - have helped bring about a number of successes in recent years. Focusing on areas of application in satellite navigation has not only clearly established AZO, it has led to its high level of recognition in Europe at large. Working to make the European Satellite Navigation Competition - ESNC - Europe's innovation platform for satellite navigation applications has also been key to the progress made. With 18 partner regions, 150 experts from research and industry, and nearly 300 application ideas submitted in 2009 alone, the ESNC network has grown constantly and now constitutes the ideal basis for attaining AZO's further goals.