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Incubator Tool Library

A collection of vetted tools and resources to help impact incubators run smarter, scale bigger, and better support their entrepreneurs.

Pollinate Impact Tool Library

Welcome to your shortcut to the good stuff.

When we say “tool”, we mean anything that helps incubators thrive—software, templates, handbooks, or any resource that lets you level up your game. We’ve curated the best for impact incubators across the Global South, so skip the search, grab what you need, and get back to making magic happen. 

Share your tool! If you have a tool, template, or resource that others could benefit from, submit it for review. 

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Mentor Feedback Template

  • 7 Views

Use this form to gather quick feedback from your mentors, as they meet with the entrepreneurs after each session.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Templates

Organization: UK-South Africa Tech Hub

Mentor Application Form

  • 6 Views

The hub can use this template to collect details of potential mentors.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Templates

Organization: UK-South Africa Tech Hub

Incubator – Mentor SLA Document

  • 8 Views

Outline of an agreement / SLA document between incubator hub and the mentor

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Templates

Organization: UK-South Africa Tech Hub

The Hub Specialization Playbook

  • 17 Views

This playbook covers the ten success factors to consider in your specialisation strategy.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Handbooks

Organization: GIZ Make-IT in Africa

Mentoring Assessment Tools

  • 6 Views

Receive personalised feedback and clear recommendations on your assessment, as a mentor, mentee or mentoring program managers

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management

Organization: The Human Edge

Make the Most of Mentoring

  • 4 Views

Whether you’re actively seeking a new mentor or simply curious about the benefits of mentoring, our “Make the Most of Mentoring” course will equip you with the tools and strategies needed to succeed.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Trainings & Capacity Building

Organization: The Human Edge

Tips for Sourcing a Diverse Accelerator

  • 7 Views

Vilcap and IBM share the intentionally inclusive process of reaching founders outside their traditional networks, and using an inclusive and equitable diligence process in their cohorts. Here’s what we did differently – and what any decision-maker in tech: any investor, accelerator leader or corporation, can do to reduce implicit bias when they’re working with early-stage entrepreneurs.

  • Category: Pipeline Sourcing & Selection
  • Type: Best Practices & Lessons Learned

Organization: Vilcap & IBM

Creating an Impact Investment Ask

  • 5 Views

Diagnose a venture’s business growth readiness using a structured seven-element framework

Build a four-step impact management process aligned with investor expectations

Integrate business and impact insights to craft a compelling and credible investment ask

Communicate investment needs in a way that aligns with both financial and impact goals

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Trainings & Capacity Building

Organization: CASE

Impact Investment Finance

  • 4 Views

What are impact investors looking for? This course offers a practical introduction to the impact investing marketplace. You’ll learn how the market is structured, including the roles of asset owners and asset managers, and how capital flows between them. The course explores how impact investors pursue both financial and social or environmental returns, and the different types of investors involved along with their motivations, constraints, and preferred investment vehicles.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Trainings & Capacity Building

Organization: CASE

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Empowering FP/RH innovations for scale – Tool Kit

  • 5 Views

Empowering FP/RH Innovations for Scale is a set of resources to provide an approach to stakeholders to better assess and support the scale-up of FP/RH innovations and accelerate progress towards FP/RH goals. Along with a summary, this includes a scale-up guide, toolkits and templates, and scale-up lessons and case studies. These resources are not exhaustive and build off and reference other tools and resources.
Resources include –
1. Summary and user’s guide
2. Scale-up guide
3. Toolkit & Templates
4. Scale-up lessons and case studies

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: USAID & MOMENTUM Innovation Accelerator

Empowering FP/RH innovations for scale – Scale Up Guide

  • 3 Views

Empowering FP/RH Innovations for Scale is a set of resources to provide an approach to stakeholders to better assess and support the scale-up of FP/RH innovations and accelerate progress towards FP/RH goals. Along with a summary, this includes a scale-up guide, toolkits and templates, and scale-up lessons and case studies. These resources are not exhaustive and build off and reference other tools and resources.
Resources include –
1. Summary and user’s guide
2. Scale-up guide
3. Toolkit & Templates
4. Scale-up lessons and case studies

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Handbooks

Organization: USAID & MOMENTUM Innovation Accelerator

The GSBI Methodology for Social Entrepreneurship

  • 8 Views

The Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®), a pioneer in social enterprise capacity development, has continuously improved its methodology since its founding in 2003. The lessons GSBI has learned from working with 365 social enterprises are broadly applicable to capacity development efforts across
sectors and geographies. This paper introduces GSBI and explains the GBSI® methodology, with the goal of helping the global social enterprise movement create more exits from poverty.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Best Practices & Lessons Learned

Organization: Miller Center for Global Impact

The Incubation Toolkit for Africa

  • 45 Views

The Incubation Programme Toolkit for Africa is a free, practical guide designed specifically for hubs, incubators, and ecosystem builders across Africa. It helps them design, implement, and improve incubation initiatives that deliver measurable business outcomes and stronger support for early-stage startups.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: FATE Foundation

How to Measure the Gender Impact of Investments: Using the 2X Challenge Indicators in Alignment with IRIS+

  • 26 Views

A guidance resource for incubators, accelerators, and investors to measure and report gender impact using the 2X Challenge criteria, aligned with IRIS+ indicators.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Handbooks

Organization: GIIN

Gender Toolkit

  • 19 Views

Gender Toolkit is a free, practical online resource designed to help investors, companies and other stakeholders integrate gender-smart approaches into their processes and decisions. It offers guidance, tools, templates and sector-specific insights to support gender-inclusive strategies and investments — with the ultimate aim of advancing women’s economic empowerment and gender equality

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: British International Investment

A framework to Drive Impact

  • 16 Views

This explains how your Theory of Change can be an effective framework to drive impact. The video also highlights three points to keep in mind when creating your theory of change.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Media Resources

Organization: DUKE

Igniting Innovation: A comprehensive handbook for incubators and accelerators

  • 17 Views

Standardized templates and guidelines can greatly assist these entities in establishing a
governance structure, defining eligibility criteria, developing application
processes, and creating agreements with startups in a consistent and
efficient manner. By adopting these resources, incubators can improve
operational efficiency, reduce the risk of non-compliance, and align their
operations with industry standards and best practices. Pg. 377 onwards

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Handbooks

Organization: Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC)

Lab to Market Commercialization Playbook

  • 22 Views

This resource covers the entire commercialization process in one place with highly practical tools, tips, and resources Include general and stage-specific guidance, and pertains to any university or research institution and any technology/sector, with a focus on energy & mobility

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Handbooks

Organization: William Davidson Institute at University of Michigan

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