A key goal of InfoDev is to broaden the effective use of ICT in developing countries. This article sets out key issues for incubators in establishing the best mix of services and facilitites to enable this support for their client businesses.
Objectives
Structure a situation that fosters and promotes the development of new ICT enterprises, supporting their growth and paving the way for their entry into markets of interest.
The incubator characteristics required to support ICT enterprises should be defined through its focus of activity, which is grounded in its planning process.
Key Issues
- Physical ICT infrastructure, including Internet, logic network, servers and software libraries for shared use. The physical infrastructure is a crucial factor for the support provided by the incubator that underpins the development of ICT enterprises. Most new enterprises have little investment capital or even none at all. If the incubator provides the entire infrastructure required by the new enterprise, it can allocate its funds to other factors that are important for its success, such as human resources.
- Defining the attractive features of the incubator within the ICT industry. Selecting the right attractive features will assist in determining the facilities that the incubator invests in. An incubator focused on a specific field of action can channel its investments towards infrastructure that is better adapted to the enterprises that will be managed, providing specific equipment for supporting this field of action.
- Setting up a Board of Directors aligned with the incubator’s approach and committed to the success of the enterprises. Having defined the incubator’s focus, it is easier to select a Board of Directors that is closely aligned with this approach. The professionals selected to foster the development of the incubator and provide support should have profiles that are closely attuned to its core area of action, and should also be willing to help develop the new incubated enterprises.
- Introducing the incubator and its enterprises into the ICT fields related to its core activity. Universities and ICT development centers should always be the partners of the incubators and their enterprises. The more closely ICT is acknowledged to be the incubator’s core area, the more new entrepreneurs will wish to set up their enterprises in the incubator.
- Formal program promoting incubated enterprises in markets of interest. The incubators should assist the enterprises to attain their strategic objectives. Promoting the incubated enterprises in their markets of interest should be well planned by the incubator. It should draw up a formal program with one of the objectives of its incubator model consisting of the promotion of its incubated enterprises.
Responsible Parties
- Incubator Manager
- Board of Directors
Indicators
- Defining the physical infrastructure requirements
- Defining the incubation model requirements in order to promote the incubated enterprises.
Results
To have a table listing the minimum requirements for underpinning the development of ICT enterprises including physical items and management activities, as well as actions promoting the incubated enterprises.