When we first started thinking about hosting our first, in-person, bi-ennial Potluck – in Bangalore, India -, we did so because we realized through all our workshops – whether virtual or in-person – that impact incubators were experiencing the same surface challenges and the similar deeper challenges. As a member-led network for impact incubators for the Global South, we are working to change the overall dynamics of impact incubation in emerging markets – and we realized that the best way to effect this change was to bring them all together, to learn from one another and to share with each other – regardless of where they are from within the Global South – they can and should be working together.
And The Pollinate Potluck 2024 was born with our theme, Nirmaan – Shaping Tomorrow for Impact Enablers, and how we structured our three days in Bangalore at the IIMB │NSRCEL campus.
We didn’t just have Keynote Speakers – Seemant Dadwal (Meraki Foundation) and Akshita Sachdeva (Trestle Labs) and Anand Sri Ganesh, NSRCEL CEO – but we played Human Bingo and workshopped value propositions and impact measurement.
We had escape rooms and ecosystem tours.
We cooked together, we celebrated together and we walked the Garden of Life alley together!
“Incubators fundamentally shape not only entrepreneurs but also the future. Like a parent to a child – Parents understand they are the soil and not the source. Parents who are ‘harbours’ benefit children more than ‘anchors’ and Parents are a season and not a sky” – Seemant Dedwal- Meraki Foundation.
Our keynote speakers touched on so many important elements of incubation, like productive uncertainty, having a global perspective and understanding entrepreneurship as a science. That momentum within an impact incubator is important and essential to ensure its full potential economically and socially.
Incubators are pivotal in nurturing entrepreneurs, fostering diverse collaborations and addressing global challenges. They offer unique value at every stage of an entrepreneur’s journey and in driving innovation, scalability and societal growth.
On our first day, our participants worked together in our Capacity Building Workshops where the goal was to equip them with tools and frameworks to improve their practices continuously as well as provide insights into ecosystem relationships that allow them to engage more effectively while helping to attract the right entrepreneurs, donors and partners.
“Collaboration among key stakeholders – government, corporations, nonprofits, universities and investors – is crucial for impactful solutions.” – Prateek – AssisTech Foundation
They first worked on establishing a framework for incubators. To base one’s value proposition on the needs of entrepreneurs and the gaps they face. To align the stakeholders – identify and address the specific priorities of ecosystem actors, whether that is governments, corporations, nonprofits or foundations, investors and even universities. And finally to utilize technology as a core lever.
They then shifted to activities around scouting & selection of the right entrepreneurs that are aligned with the incubators value proposition; capacity building with masterclasses, diagnostic tools and training for local investors in order to develop local investor groups; ecosystem building with summits and VC funding competitions and start-up-investor events; and lastly fundraising and investor readiness.
We know that incubators must continuously evolve to address changing ecosystem dynamics and that by leveraging tailored value propositions and fostering collaborative ecosystems, they will be able to drive meaningful impact.
They then pivoted to a Toolbox Workshop on Impact Measurement – Where they discussed, the group worked on a single indicator from one of the participants, heard from experts and shared their own experiences. Highlighting the very unique aspect of the Potluck. They weren’t just listening to experts, they were solutioning and workshopping ideas together.
And if that wasn’t enough – the whole group had a rockin’ Gala Dinner, complete with awards from our Human Bingo game earlier in the day, to raffle winners for a Human Edge’s Mentoring Course, not to mention an awesome DJ and dancing! Because, at the end of the day – the Secretariat of Pollinate Impact really does know how to have fun.
Our participants started their day with a fun networking activity where relationship’s were intentionally brokered to better facilitate each one’s collaboration needs.
We then shifted into another Co-Creation Workshop around Diversifying Revenue Streams. Here the group learned about different revenue models from various incubators like Vijaya from Social Lens with their consulting-based model, to Chris from Wylde and their SNDBX model, to Alok at IIT Delhi and their government funding model, Thinzar of ONOW’s white label model to Shreya of NSRCEL and their Corporate Funding Model.
From there, we shifted into a Catalyst Kit Workshop for Managing and Deploying Funds. This was a ‘fish bowl’ type conversation where everyone was in a circle sharing. In this gathering, they discussed debt capital from Villgro Innovations Foundation, convertible equity from Indigram Labs, equity & blended finance from Villgro Africa, recoverable grants as well as outcome-based financing from Upaya.
The overall theme from these workshops was to explore a diversity of revenue models for incubators i.e. first-loss guarantees, convertible notes, blended finance, and outcome-based mechanisms. By doing so, it helps to de-risk investments, scales impact, and enables financial sustainability through diversified funding mechanisms.
We then had to dig into the Escape Rooms around Talent and Quality of Incubation and all that this entailed with everyone having to work together to ‘escape’. And we ended our day by Mapping our System with the renowned June Holly and walking the Garden of Life where reflections, actions, collaborations & relationships that were formed were all featured.
We visited incubators within Bangalore – Villgro, C-Camp and IKP Eden to learn more about their offerings and how they have set themselves apart from other impact incubators.
In the end, our intentionally intimate gathering of impact incubators came together in journeying toward becoming a unified voice in this sector. If you joined us in Bangalore – thank you! We would love to hear your thoughts about your experience at the Potluck. If you couldn’t make it – we hope to see you in 2026!
If you can’t wait until 2026 to join this movement of impact enablers – who want a collective voice, a shared sense of agency and to be part of a network working toward change – then join our on-going virtual webinars that we host every month and our in-person workshops, or monthly meet-ups.
More so, we hope you will join us as a member to effect the change we are looking to make on behalf of impact incubation. We know that when we work together, we can go far!
Arielle Molino
Arielle Molino is the Chief Convener of Pollinate Impact. She has 15 years of experience in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and non-profit sectors in Africa, India, and the United States.
