In this Seeds of Success session, Pollinate Impact partnered with the William Davidson Institute (WDI) and Sankalp Dialogues to convene ecosystem leaders and unpack the evolving realities facing enterprise support organisations (ESOs), 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., and accelerators across the Global South.
We drew on WDI’s research into the interconnected challenges shaping ESO effectiveness from financial sustainability and program design to trust gaps, talent retention, and misaligned incentives across funders, investors, and entrepreneurs.
Rather than treating these issues in isolation, the session applied a systems lens: tracing how ecosystem dynamics create reinforcing loops, and identifying practical, field-tested solutions that can be adapted, piloted, and strengthened across regions.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the webinar, participants were able to:
- Understand the interconnected nature of ESO challenges and how different ecosystem actors reinforce or break vicious cycles
- Identify 25+ documented solutions being piloted by ESOs across regions and assess which align with their context
- Explore practical alternatives to over-reliance on donor funding, including revenue generation and innovative finance models
- Recognize talent as a critical bottleneck and understand strategies for making ESO careers more visible and attractive
- Connect with peers facing similar challenges and identify collaboration opportunities
- Contribute to ongoing research by sharing their own solutions, experiences, and priorities for future inquiry
This webinar helped participants see their individual challenges as part of larger systemic patterns and opened pathways for collective action that goes beyond any single organisation working in isolation.
