A new hub to nurture creative ideas and help them grow was yesterday officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Economy Minister Chris Cardona.

Spread over 170 square metres, the Smart City hub will be accepting students and software developers to build on their ideas.

This is the second government agency to open an office at Smart City after the Lotteries and Gaming Authority.

Describing it as a small but significant step forward, Dr Muscat said the government wanted to reinforce nurturing of young people and ideas, helping them reach the market.

Over the next few days, the government will launch another initiative related to venture capital to help young people and entrepreneurs who had innovative business ideas to set up their own companies.

He said the office was the government’s “symbolic gesture” to show it believed in the “national project” and to send a strong message to the remote gaming and ICT industry that Smart City was available for them.

Occupancy level had increased to 70 per cent from 15 per cent just after the election as Dr Muscat reiterated the plan is to fill the complex by the end of December.

Work will then start on another phase of the project.

Mita chairman Anthony Sultana said the agency was investing heavily in innovation, to compliment the digital strategy issued earlier this year.