What is a Business Incubator?
A Business Incubator provides hands-on management assistance,
access to financing and orchestrated exposure to critical
business or technical support services. Most also offer
entrepreneurial firms shared office services, access to
equipment, flexible leases and expandable space —
all under one roof.
Business incubation is a dynamic process of business
enterprise development. Incubators nurture young firms,
helping them to survive and grow during the start-up period
when they are most vulnerable. Business incubation catalyses
the process of starting and growing companies. A proven
model, it provides entrepreneurs with the:
- expertise
- networks and
- tools
they need to make their ventures successful. Incubation
programs diversify economies, commercialize technologies,
create jobs and build wealth and reduce the risk of failure
and investment.
An incubation program's main goal is to produce successful
graduates — businesses that are financially viable
and freestanding when they leave the incubator, usually
in two to three years.
Like venture capitalists, incubators impose selection
criteria upon prospective clients. Some accept a mix of
industries, but others concentrate on industry niches.
Incubator clients are at the forefront of developing
new and innovative technologies — creating products
and services that improve the quality of our lives —
on a small scale today, and on a much grander scale tomorrow.