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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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Setting up Startup Incubator In India [Metrics & Milestones for Successful Incubator Development]

  • 5 Views

A whitepaper for the Department of Science & Technology (DST) to institute standards for the establishment and working of incubators in India, titled “Guidelines – Metrics & Milestones for Successful Incubator Development.”

The whitepaper aims at setting some of the much needed guidelines for incubation of startups in India and includes recommendations to set the motion for analysis, discussion & debate for policy review and modifications, for the benefit of both funding and host organizations that set up incubators.

Though developed for the government of India, this White Paper provides useful insights which incubators in the African context can take with them. Sections 2 and 3 are particularly useful. Their practical insights provide adaptable frameworks for incubators. It explains how to measure the success of the incubator, deal with commonly faced challenges, and conceptualise long-term impact.

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

Organization: Wadhwani Foundation NEN

Handbook for Non-Profit Incubator Managers

  • 5 Views

This handbook provides a deep explanation on how to set up and run an incubator. It provides examples, step-by-step guides, and frameworks. The annexures in particular provide useful templates for determining elements of a successful and effective incubator.

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

Organization: Launch League. Published by GIZ & Authored by CIIE

Greentech

  • 3 Views

These resources cover key concepts in the green economy, and give insight into how to support green businesses and skills development.

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

Organization: Launch Leage

Launch League Cybersecurity and Data Protection

  • 4 Views

The Cybersecurity and Data Protection toolkit, developed by the British High Commission Pretoria and the South African Department for Communications Digital Technology, contains free open licence tools, templates and guides that equip small businesses with the foundational training materials and resources they need to increase their cybersecurity resilience and become compliant with the POPI Act.

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

Organization: Launch Leage

Launch League Let’s Talk Financing

  • 4 Views

The Launch League Let’s Talk Financing toolkit, developed by the UK-South Africa Tech Hub and Viridian, is a set of open licence resources for hubs to use in running a workshop or guiding a conversation with entrepreneurs through a step-by-step process.

By completing their Financing Card, entrepreneurs will understand their business’ stage, revenue model, assets and risk appetite, and growth plans — and therefore determine what financing options are available to them.

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

Organization: Launch Leage

Launch League Idea-stage Programme

  • 4 Views

The Launch League Idea-stage Programme toolkit, developed by the UK-South Africa Tech Hub and Viridian, consists of all the open licence resources you need to run an idea-stage programme for the entrepreneurs in your community. The programme is designed to help entrepreneurs understand the different parts of their business and how these hang together as a viable business model.

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

Organization: Launch Leage

5 Questions to Help Your Team Make Better Decisions

  • 3 Views

Five questions to help sharpen your decision-making process, whether in personal matters or business strategy.

  • Category: Talent
  • Type: Media Resources

Organization: Steven Morris

A Playbook for Employee Ownership in Sub Saharan Africa

  • 5 Views

It provides a roadmap to
pursue EO across seven countries and offers an
analytical approach that could be replicated in other
regions where EO remains nascent.3

  • Category: Governance
  • Type: Handbooks

Organization: Pre Distribution Initiative

Unlocking New Capital for Social Enterprises and Nonprofits

  • 3 Views

Funding models for SEs and non-profits

  • Category: Financial Sustainability
  • Type: Research

Organization: Eliana Summer-Galai

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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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