The Dilemma
As part of the founding Stewardship Group of Pollinate Impact and heading up the organization’s Executive Coaching program, I have been privileged to have had many conversations with impact incubators in the global south over the last twelve months. In these conversations, the types of challenges they were expressing and struggling with concerned me.
For instance, one incubator was in the final stages of signing a large grant agreement and everything looked rosy and at the last minute the donor pulled out, leading to a complete halt of operations! In another incubator, the founders were struggling to co-work with each other and had serious tension that needed to be resolved.
Another incubator founder relocated back to their country after many years of work in the US and was struggling with the work culture in their country, leading to severe attrition in that incubator.
Another incubator was incubating many enterprises, but the incubated companies weren’t growing!
These are just a few examples of the types of issues that haunt incubators and why they need support.
Our member base consists of diverse incubators and accelerators, varying in focus, experience, and the entrepreneurs they support. Some work with refugee and migrant entrepreneurs focused on livelihood creation, others support slow-growth enterprises often overlooked by VC investors, while others assist high-growth startups seeking significant capital. These organizations range from well-established entities with over a decade of experience to newer incubators just a few years into their journey.
This diverse membership brings with it a range of needs within Pollinate Impact’s network.
Early-stage incubators often require support to set themselves up and launch operations. Mid-stage incubators seek support in improving efficiency and effectiveness, while late-stage incubators look to evolve, pivot, or explore new directions, such as launching an investment fund or expanding into new geographies. Each of these situations throws up choices followed by decision making and execution to solve for them.
In this process these incubators have many dilemmas –
“Can I share about this? If I do, how will others take it and will they see this as my incubator’s weakness and not be supportive?”
“I want to validate that my diagnosis about issues facing the incubator, is indeed right| I know what to do about it, but how will I get funded to solve this?”
“ I am neck deep in operations and the day to day fires. How do I find time and space to address these important and critical issues?”
Such dilemmas are what needs to be invested in and invested for the long term by foundations, philanthropists, and corporates in order to solve fundamental issues that will make incubators stronger & resilient.
And that’s why it really becomes an investor’s impact. Something that investors will be proud to have supported and solved. This is exactly what donors such as the Lemelson Foundation and Argidius Foundation have done over the last many years. I am certain that their journeys with incubators, accelerators and ESOs have been mutually impactful.
How did Pollinate Impact Address this Dilemma?
Pollinate Impact, in the way it’s structured – a member-led network of incubators in Africa and Asia – is inherently unique to the impact incubation sector. Our goal is to transform the industry by bringing together this community with the chief goal of breaking free from the day-to-day ‘hamster wheel‘ and to approach their challenges from a strategic and empowered perspective. Their unique sense of individual purpose will be complimented by a shared purpose to mature the incubation industry and deepen its efficacy, as we shift mindsets from a “me” to “we” mentality.
Organizational development is critically important to build strong organizations, but a collaborative effort is needed to transform.
In this first phase, we are focused on building community and strengthening the capacities of impact incubators while in the subsequent phases we will work to reform and transform the system. The existing gaps incubators face related to talent, governance and financing, and efficient systems and processes, ultimately prevent them from becoming more relevant, effective, and sustainable.
One of the many ways we are working to transform the system is by providing one-on-one, executive level, coaching for our members. We launched our Growth Guidance Program in 2024 with the intention to…
(1) Gain a deep, intimate understanding of the unique challenges faced by each member incubator
(2) Design and deliver tailored solutions to address one or more of these challenges. Potential solutions included a fundraising strategy, an HR development plan, refining governance structures, and creating a CEO succession plan, amongst others
(3) Provide guidance through close collaboration with the CEO or leadership team of the member incubator
The process began with a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI), where members were invited to participate in this pilot effort. Our first cohort of the program consisted of 9 incubators.
Among our participants, the majority (94%) are either based in Africa or have ties to the region. There is more female gender representation, with a 53/47 split between female and male participants. In terms of professional experience, the majority of participants (47%) have 11-19 years of work experience, with 29% having more than 20 years and 6% under 10 years.
Their technical expertise covers a range of fields, including finance, operations, project management, and consulting. A significant portion of participants (65%) hold top-level or executive management roles, while the remaining 35% are mid-level managers.
Additionally, 76% of participants have been with their respective incubators for less than 10 years.
Regarding the incubators themselves, there is an equal split between early-stage (44%) and mid-stage (44%) and one incubator classified as late-stage, with more than 16 years of operation (12%).
Attendees included senior level team members and CEOs. Attendance was strong, with an impressive 95% attendance from CEOs, CXOs, Founders, and Co-Founders across all 53 sessions.
Zooming in to Provide Tailored Support
Guidance sessions were held bi-weekly, Each guidance session lasted an hour, with incubators dedicating an additional 3-4 hours of preparatory work between sessions to implement and build upon the inputs received.
On average, each incubator participated in 5 to 6 sessions, with more mature incubators often engaging in 6 or more sessions. The session agenda was designed to address the key challenges identified during their initial expression of interest in the program.
The first two sessions focus on diagnosing these challenges, while the subsequent sessions were dedicated to strategizing and developing solutions. The sessions, complemented by reading materials, recommendations, and suggestions, inspired innovative approaches to address the dilemma and issues faced by these incubators.
The guidance areas sought varied, with 45% focusing on their incubator products, and services; 22% on governance and finance; 22% on systems and processes; and 11% on people and culture. All incubators who completed the end-of-program evaluation found that their expectations were met and exceeded.
One of the most impactful outcomes of the program is that incubators have started implementing ideas and suggestions generated during the solutioning phase.
Crescendo leadership was coached on how to lead a motivated and independent multicultural team by implementing retention strategies such as team-building activities, learning circles, a book club, exposure to diverse clients, performance feedback systems and opportunities for professional development through training and conference attendance. By the end of the program, the team drafted a comprehensive HR development plan.
Villgro Africa was strategizing growth plans for its BioTech Hub. However the activities of the Hub were slightly earlier stage than the incubator & hence needed a different environment. With facilitation through the guidance program, the co-founders have successfully decided to launch the biotech hub as a spin-off.
Wylde International was shown how Villgro underwent a strategic planning process in 2017, navigating growth options and transitioning from a founding CEO to a board selected CEO, an approach that Wylde is considering. Pollinate shared insights from their experience, covering topics such as making a clean break, board structure considerations, and developing a leadership team for the succession.
Opero Services highlighted the need for a clear vision and strategy to support WASH enterprises. After an initial assessment, it became apparent that at the core they had a compelling strategy, but had not been clearly articulated. Examples of strategic planning done at other incubators were shared, which Opero Services applied in their own strategic planning immediately after the program.
Shared Value Hub gained valuable clarity on why their fundraising efforts weren’t yielding the desired results. With Pollinate’s support and data-driven approach, they were able to identify key areas for improvement. By analyzing team responsibilities, donor profiles, new donor acquisition over the past five years, donor renewals, total funds raised, donor satisfaction, and the time spent weekly on fundraising, they pinpointed specific aspects of their process that needed adjustment. This enabled them to refine their fundraising strategy, addressing sustainability challenges and fostering a more focused approach moving forward.
Pollinate reinforced the need to strengthen WISH’s value proposition to its parent organization, Jhpiego. During their sessions, they explored how innovations from across the world could be integrated into Jhpiego’s projects. Pollinate recommended crowdsourcing health tech innovations from the Global South through Pollinate Impact’s network. The aim is to leverage the network for stronger health incubation connections and enhance market access opportunities for some of the sourced innovations.
BongoHive is one of the self-sustaining incubators within the Pollinate Impact network, and they are exploring how catalytic grants can further fuel their growth. Pollinate guided them through strategies for securing these grants to expand into new geographies and thematic areas, introduce an investment fund, and enhance their existing services. Additionally, guidance was offered around succession planning and leadership development at BongoHive, with them expressing appreciation for Pollinate and the extensive industry experience and the in-depth examples shared during the sessions.
Sparks for Collaboration
As a result of this program, we saw clear opportunities for collaboration within the cohort to strengthen each other.
Villgro Africa and WISH@Jhpiego are already collaborating outside the network through Jhpiego’s HealthTech Hub initiative. By leveraging Pollinate Impact’s membership, Pollinate Impact’s network can accelerate WISH’s mandate of being an innovation enabler in partnership with other healthcare-focused incubators and accelerators across the world.
As a first step, it was decided to organise roundtable discussions with specific incubators to move forward the discussions on collaboration.
Participants’ feedback emphasized the thought-provoking nature of the sessions and the relevance of real-life examples shared by the guide, which many expressed resonated with their own circumstances and experiences. These insights have been instrumental in guiding them to evaluate their existing systems, processes, and performance.
By providing targeted support, expert guidance, and tailored strategies, the growth guidance program has empowered these nine incubators to address challenges more effectively and strengthen their impact
But, how can donors and incubators ease this dilemma?
Based on our experience guiding these incubators, here are some takeaways for donors, incubators & ESO networks
1. Create safe spaces to discuss and solution
The organisational issues that incubators face need safe and secure spaces to discuss. Organising convenings around these issues will go a long way in bringing such issues to the forefront and in finding solutions from the wisdom of other incubators and accelerators. Networks like Pollinate Impact, ANDE, AVPN & convenings like Socap, Skoll Forum, Sankalp can also play a big role in creating these safe spaces.
2. Invest in incubator organisational capacity building
Funding incubatees is critical. At the same time, donors should ensure that adequate allocation is provided for organisational development issues such as training, leadership building, improvement of governance etc. This is likely to make incubators stronger & resilient while making donor funding truly catalytic. The Argidius Foundation is a great believer of this and their experiences and findings are captured in this very interesting report.
3. Financial sustainability is a challenge but diversification is an opportunity
All incubators should try everything possible to get towards financial sustainability. No doubts. However, even established incubators rely on grants. Hence, diversification of donor types and revenue types is critical and needs to be attempted. This needs to be experimented by incubators while being patiently supported by donors. This white paper from Atal Innovation Mission, discusses the experiences of revenue diversification & financial sustainability from incubators in India.
4. Annual grants to long term commitments
Building an ESO or incubator takes time and effort. Annual grants are great but with a strong commitment to renew for multiple cycles is what’s needed. My experiences with the Lemelson Foundation taught me how long term grant support can go beyond just funding an organisation, but to build an institution; transcending geographies, expanding the mission & deepening impact. At Villgro, with patient & generous funding from the Lemelson Foundation, we were able to scale up the incubator to newer geographies Villgro Africa & Villgro Philippines, build an investment fund, Menterra and play a significant role in building Pollinate Impact, the global network of incubators & accelerators.
5. Build a cadre of mentors to guide incubators & accelerators
Incubation and acceleration is a relatively new phenomenon and has only existed in the global south for not more than two decades. There are relatively few people who have built and nurtured incubators. Programs that allow such founders & CEOs to become coaches and mentors are missing. There is also absence of guidance programs like the one initiated by Pollinate Impact. Senior incubation leaders should consider becoming mentors & donors should invest in building a cadre of such mentors and matching them with incubators that they fund. This will allow early and mid stage incubators to ensure that their organisational development issues are diagnosed and solved for.
Incubators and accelerators have a vital role to play in inspiring, immersing, incubating & investing in early stage impact entrepreneurs in the global south.
Donors & investors need to support them in building strong and resilient organisations that can be financially sustainable, evolve and expand their missions to ultimately create greater societal impact.
Through this, I am certain we will build a better planet!
Have you experienced similar challenges as these incubators? How did you overcome them and were you successful?
Our Growth Guidance program is for members only. If you have been thinking about whether membership to our network is something your incubator would benefit from, let’s talk.
Written by Paul Basil, in close collaboration with Sophia Morita.
Paul Basil
Paul Basil is co-founder & Partner of Menterra, an impact investment fund. He is also the Founder and former CEO of Villgro Innovations Foundation, and an Ashoka Fellow. Over the last decade, Paul and Villgro have incubated over hundreds of innovative enterprises.
