Changing Systems

Through genuine collaboration, collective efforts, and shared understanding.

“The current landscape underscores the formidable challenges confronting ESOs: persistently seeking short-term program funding with narrow margins, often leaving them in a precarious state. They are compelled to redirect their efforts from aiding enterprises towards appeasing donors.”

– Argidius Foundation Report, Sustain Impact: Donor practices to grow enterprise support organizations.

Yes, our stakeholders are diverse, but we all share the same goal: a healthy, vibrant ecosystem where impact entrepreneurs thrive. are the lynchpin of the ecosystem, holding it all together, yet they’re too often overlooked by a system that keeps them from shining. Let’s flip the script: when get the resources and recognition they deserve, everyone wins—entrepreneurs soar, investors cheer, and communities actually see progress.

The Incubator Challenges We Are Working to Address

We know that solving the biggest challenges of impact incubators‘Incubator’ refers to any organization whose programs primarily focus on vetting and selecting, promising social enterprises, and providing them with a comprehensive range of support services aimed at building and growing them to achieve maximum sustainable impact. requires a bold, holistic approach to scale the quality of impact incubation. We want to build a virtuous cycle of success for the industry and are working to eliminate the vicious cycle that exists today. Together, we can accelerate this transition.

Sustainability & Governance

Impact incubators‘Incubator’ refers to any organization whose programs primarily focus on vetting and selecting, promising social enterprises, and providing them with a comprehensive range of support services aimed at building and growing them to achieve maximum sustainable impact. are stuck in survival mode, rather than developing strategic pathways toward sustainability.

Philanthropic capital for impact is often short-term, program centric, restrictive, and doesn’t help build organizational capacity.

Without efforts to diversify and explore alternate revenue streams, they are increasingly dependent on diminishing volumes of donor funding.

Without a clearly defined value proposition, they struggle to attract the right donors and partners.

Talent & Culture

Impact incubators struggle to attract and retain quality talent, constraining their efficacy.

Because the impact incubation industry is not widely recognised, its career paths are not perceived as credible options. Entry and growth pathways into the industry are key barriers limiting the flow of fresh talent.

There’s a lack of understanding of the various skills and competencies needed to work at an impact incubator‘Incubator’ refers to any organization whose programs primarily focus on vetting and selecting, promising social enterprises, and providing them with a comprehensive range of support services aimed at building and growing them to achieve maximum sustainable impact., including both hard and soft skills.

Promising talent exits the industry due to lack of advancement opportunities leading to high turnover, high operational costs, and inconsistent quality of delivery.

Systems & Processes

Impact Incubators lack robust and sustained project management, knowledge management and monitoring, evaluation & learning systems, inhibiting them from delivering more effective, evidence-based services.

Implementation of systems requires considerable financial and non-financial investments, both of which are in short supply.

Tools, resources, and best practices are not shared across the industry leading to widespread inefficiencies.

Systems for managing data, performance, and learning are rudimentary with a disproportionate emphasis on donor engagement. By focusing on the data that donors want, rather than on data to improve operations and delivery, incubators‘Incubator’ refers to any organization whose programs primarily focus on vetting and selecting, promising social enterprises, and providing them with a comprehensive range of support services aimed at building and growing them to achieve maximum sustainable impact. continue to be trapped in a donor-dependent cycle.