About iDISC
Who reads iDISC?
iDISC is visited by well over 5000 visitors in over 150 countries every month and more than 1000 people have subscribed to the iDISC monthly newsletter - this is a unique platform for Global Network Members to showcase their incubation activities and best practices.
What is iDisc?
iDISC - the infoDev Incubator Support Center - is an outcome of infoDev’s Incubator Initiative, an Initiative started in 2002 to support organizations promoting ICT-enabled innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries. iDISC builds on previous research and work done by ANPROTEC, the Brazilian Association of Promoters of Innovative Ventures, with support from infoDev and SEBRAE, the Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Enterprises.
Since 2002, infoDev has provided financing (grants) and technical assistance to more than 70 incubators worldwide. Through regional and international conferences, many incubators expressed that a key value of infoDev’s Incubator Initiative was the opportunity to connect with other similar organizations around the world to exchange ideas, lessons and create partnerships across national boundaries.
It is against this background that infoDev provides iDISC as a virtual networking and knowledge-sharing platform for business development organizations leveraging ICT to facilitate entrepreneurship and new business creation in the developing world.
What you can find on iDisc
iDisc provides hands-on and practical information for incubators and other business development organizations, including:
- A “How to” section with guidelines for starting an incubator, selecting clients, managing and financing an incubator, monitoring and evaluation, and engaging partners.
- An overview of our 5 regional networks and activities across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Middle East & Northern Africa.
- An iDisc Network Member Directory that allows you to search and locate incubators across the regions, and to search facts & figures within the global network.
- Network members' Success Stories and Tools that tell us about the impact of business incubation on business start-ups and tools that can be shared among network members to implement best practices.
- Presentations and documents from workshops and specific research themes.
- Information on upcoming events, such as infoDev regional workshops as well as local seminars and symposiums.
Contacts
Check who your Regional Facilitator is to get involved in network activities. If you have general comments, questions or suggestions, e-mail to idisc@infodev.org and we will respond within a few business days.