ICT Enabled Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Context for Intervention
infoDev’s Incubator Program applies the program’s guiding mission to help developing countries “as they seek to harness ICT as a tool of opportunity for all.” It is grounded in the theory that business incubation can be a mechanism for helping entrepreneurs to leverage ICT to foster innovation, entrepreneurship and, ultimately, socioeconomic impact.
Business incubation is one of many levers used to promote enterprise-based development. Policymakers and their development partners have invested in a range of initiatives to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, including legal and regulatory reform, mechanisms to expand access to capital, and myriad support services designed to improve the strategy and operations of local enterprises. Business incubation fits in this landscape of services. In many developing countries, business incubation traditionally has focused on young, growth-oriented, technology firms and the delivery of services in shared facilities. This definition has evolved in the last decade, particularly as developing economies have adapted the model to new challenges, opportunities and environments. In general, however, business incubators in developing economies tend to share a mission to support firms with growth potential, and to strengthen the often delicate foundation of skills, experiences and assets that entrepreneurs need to overcome barriers in the business environment and reach significant scale.
As shown below, business incubation occupies the space between mechanisms such as business development services, which target a wide range of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and technology parks and other platforms that help to accelerate the growth of emerging or established businesses. Incubation is arguably most effective in environments where innovative entrepreneurs need support, but where conditions can also sustain them post-incubation. These conditions include a regulatory environment that supports SMEs, a steady supply of risk capital and a culture that rewards entrepreneurial behavior.
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Service |
Target Firms |
Key Features |
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Business Development Services |
SMEs |
- Broad business support, including training and advisory services provided to individual businesses on a demand-driven basis
- Often coordinates other service providers
- Focused on building capacity within the BDS industry
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Business Advisory Services |
SMEs |
- Broad business support, including training and advisory services
- Acts as primary service provider
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Business Incubation |
Start-ups and SMEs with high growth potential |
- Integrated mix of intensive strategic and operational support provided to entrepreneurs and their businesses which have been selected for their potential
- Focused on helping firms to manage risk and build competitiveness through their early, high-risk growth stages
- Support typically ends when clients ‘graduate’ by reaching particular milestones
- May be linked with educational or research institutions
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Technology Parks |
Emerging and established technology businesses, but may target specific industries |
- Focused on helping relatively mature businesses to accelerate their growth
- May use incubation as way to source future clients
- May be linked to national, cluster-driven development strategies
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Industry Clusters |
Related and supporting businesses and other organizations linked by a shared value chain (vertical) or shared final market (horizontal); concentrated in technology industries |
- May be linked with educational or research institutions
- May use incubation as way to source future clients
- May be linked to national competitiveness strategies
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In this section
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