Dr Jill Sawers

www.infodev.org

Best Practice Models for Technology Business Incubation

South African Business Incubation Conference, 10 March 2016

Dr Jill Sawers

jsawers@worldbank.org

Contents…..

• Who is infoDev….

• Business Incubation Models promoting technology incubation (AICs; Mlabs & MHubs; Climate Innovation Centers; Women entrepreneurship)

• Additional models….FEMTECH; Hubba

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Who is infoDev

infoDev is a multi-donor program in the World Bank Group that supports entrepreneurs in developing economies.

It oversees a global network of business incubators for climate technology, agribusiness, and digital entrepreneurship.

It also publishes educational toolkits for business incubator managers and development professionals.

www.infodev.org

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Pre-Seed/

Seed

Start-up Early growth Growth Developed/

Established

FIRM CAPABILITY

MARKETS

FINANCE

ENVIRONMENT

Limited Human Capital (Skills mismatch)

Information Failure/ Knowledge Gaps

Barriers to Entry

(Uncompetitive Markets)Barriers to Exit

Credit Constraints / Limited Access to Finance (Financing Gaps)

Regulatory & Institutional Constraints

Underinvestment in Public Goods (Infra, Basic R&D, Education,…)

Weak Managerial Capacity

NEW, HIGH GROWTH FIRMS GENERATE MOST JOBS AND

REVENUE GROWTH, AND BRING LASTING INNOVATIONS

Underinvestment in Skills & Training

Weak Absorptive Capacity

AGRIBUSINESS: ADDING VALUE LOCALLY

Agribusiness Innovation Centers in

Tanzania and Nepal

AICs provide:

• facilities

• early-stage financing

• business and technical training

• market research and linkages.

They generate revenue through a

combination of royalties, incubation

fees, and equity.

The potential of agricultural growth to reduce poverty is four times

greater than the potential of growth from other sectors.

Successes of AIC Pilot in Tanzania

Tanzania AIC pilot of 9/50:

• One company doubled its sales from

$85,000 to $170,000 in six months.

• Two companies began selling to

large supermarkets rather than via

informal sales channels.

• Through assistance with packaging

and production flow charts, two

companies reduced their operating

costs by 20 %.

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Digital Entrepreneurship

Program:

• mLabs,

• mHubs

DIGITAL: NEW TOOLS FOR OLD CHALLENGES

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the mobile industry is expected to reach

$119 billion in 2020.

Successes of MLabs & MHubs

South African GoMetro is a startup winner of the Gauteng Innovation Competition – app adopted by Metro rail.

• offers a mobile service that provides over 450,000 Metrorail commuters with updated information on travel routes.

• Since June 2013, mLabs and mHubs have

– Created approximately 1000 high-skills jobs, 300 of which were held by women.

– Created 100 startup companies with over 500 products successfully marketed

– Over 200 of startups earning over $1,000,000 in revenues

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CLIMATE TECH: TAPPING GREEN OPPORTUNITY

Turning climate challenges into growth

opportunities…..

• Seven Climate Innovation Centers• Grants and seed investments ($50k –

1mil)

• Business Advice and training

• Market intelligence

• Access to facilities

• Government advisory

Garbchar: No waste should go to

waste: energy briquettes

US$70-100 billion per year through

2050 for developing countries to adapt

to a 2 degrees celcius warmer planet.

TAILORING SUPPORT FOR WOMEN

• 80% of women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan

Africa operate in low-productivity sectors

• Over 200 million women live in countries where

they need their husband’s permission to start a

business

• 70% of women do not have a bank account in

their own name

• Less than 5% of SME loans go to women-owned

businesses

• Women worldwide have greater fear of failure

and lower confidence in their entrepreneurial

abilities than men

• Women globally have smaller and less diverse

networks and are less likely to seek advice and

broaden their networks

Co-Working Space – Hubba, Bangkok

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FEMTECH – innovative women entrepreneurs

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Thank you………

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infoDev FY14-15 Disbursements by Theme & Region

Region