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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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Social Investment Toolkit

  • 5 Views

In 8 modules, the toolkit guides entrepreneurs on each step of the way, from how to define your social mission to creating a compelling investor pitch. It also shows entrepreneurs how social investors think and what they are looking for. There is also a social investment readiness test to help entrepreneurs work out which areas to focus on.

  • Category: Financial Sustainability
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: Social Investment Toolkit

Financial Sustainability of Startup Incubators

  • 5 Views

The primary objective of this report is to
outline various revenue streams (not to be conflated with funding sources) accessible to
startup incubators and recommend a revenue mix which ensures that the incubator remains
focused on its core activities related to provision of entrepreneurial support to its incubatee
startups.

  • Category: Financial Sustainability
  • Type: Research

Organization: Atal Innovation Mission & Niti Aayog

Best Practices for Designing Inclusive Programs & Support

  • 2 Views

This resource is a collection of both the key challenges and the best practices that have been effective in addressing the common challenges faced by ESOs globally in designing inclusive programs to support the diverse entrepreneurs in the ecosystem.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Best Practices & Lessons Learned

Organization: Pollinate Impact

Business Incubator Managers Incubation Management Training

  • 6 Views

The Business Incubation Management Training Program was created for business incubator managers and stakeholders in developing countries and emerging markets. Through its network of certified facilitators, infoDev has helped more than one thousand people increase their understanding of business incubator models, how to finance an incubator, monitoring and evaluation, mentoring programs, and more. The training program was designed for face-to-face delivery with each module requiring one day of classroom learning.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Trainings & Capacity Building

Organization: infoDev, World Bank & IFC

Incubator Collaborative Learnings Document

  • 3 Views

A compilation of the challenges and struggles of incubators and accelerators in the Global South as well as proposed solutions sourced from the dozens of online meetings, and in-person workshops hosted by Pollinate Impact. Spoiler Alert – Irrespective of the geographich location or the type of entrepreneur supported, the challenges and the solutions largely remain consistent across the field.

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

Organization: Pollinate Impact

Landscape Analysis of the Uganda Innovation Ecosystem

  • 4 Views

The report provides an overview of the research on the Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs) in Uganda, how they are set up, what they offer, to whom, and how. It particularly looks at the state and opportunity of collaboration among stakeholders in the ecosystem, especially among the ESOs, but also with the public sector. It gives a list of 16 recommendations to bring the Ugandan entrepreneurship ecosystem forward and ensure that entrepreneurs get better support faster.

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

Organization: Response Innovation Lab & Start Up Uganda

Lean Research: Human Centered Approach to Research

  • 7 Views

Lean Research is an approach and an initiative to improve the practice of data collection involving people and communities in development and humanitarian contexts.

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

Organization: D-Lab

Lean Data Approaches to Measure Social Impact

  • 3 Views

In this course, learn the Lean Data methodology, a new way to collect insights from customers in order to measure your outcomes and make decisions that maximize impact.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Trainings & Capacity Building

Organization: Acumen

Embedding Circularity in Entrepreneurial Support: Learning from Pilot Programs

  • 4 Views

The document enlists the best practices and recommendations for incubators and accelerators to support circularity entrepreneurs. Impact Hub launched the “Circularity by Design” program in 2021 with the hypothesis that just like profitability is a design principle for most businesses, circularity can also become a design principle for enterprises. Impact Hub developed the “Embedding Circularity” toolkit for incubators and accelerators, provided capacity building to business support organizations, and validated the tools with entrepreneurs and businesses through pilot incubation and acceleration programs with 12 Impact Hubs in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.

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

Organization: Impact Hub

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Innovators Academy for Impact

  • 6 Views

The academy aims to empower individuals and organizations to build and scale social business models that not only generate value but also contribute to social and environmental change. This platform provides learning opportunities for growth and resources tailored to the needs of social entrepreneurs and changemakers around the world. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge, tools and networks you need to increase your social impact and turn your vision into action. Whether you’re starting out or looking to expand your skills, our Academy has everything you need. Watch the video to find out more.

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

Organization: Seimens Stiftung Foundation

Incubator Budget and Cash Flow Template

  • 6 Views

This is an example of an incubator’s budget and cash flow tracker.

  • Category: Governance
  • Type: Templates

Organization: SHE Investments

Recruitment, Hiring, Onboarding Processes

  • 6 Views

This is an example of an incubator’s documented recruitment, hiring, and onboarding processes.

  • Category: Talent
  • Type: Templates

Organization: SHE Investments

How to Build Organizational Development

  • 6 Views

Investing in organisational development (OD) to improve impact and sustainability is critical. However, a lot remains to be done for funders and NGOs to more intentionally invest in OD to build a stronger, more resilient NGO sector. This is a long-term journey that requires a commitment from NGOs and funders to engage in honest reflection and continuous action. This toolkit provides some initial guidance and resources to stakeholders in the sector to advance impact through OD.

  • Category: Governance
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: The BridgeSpan Group

Scenario Planning for Non-Profits

  • 6 Views

The scenario planning process helps organization leaders navigate uncertainty while providing structure
around making key strategic decisions. It is critical for organization leaders to engage in an iterative
scenario planning process that accounts for factors outside of your control (e.g., shelter-in-place
restrictions and the pace of economic recovery) and actions and options within your control (e.g.,
operational shifts and cost reductions).

  • Category: Governance
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: The BridgeSpan Group

Non-Profit Board Resources Center

  • 6 Views

A nonprofit board’s responsibilities run the gamut—from fiduciary oversight to strategic planning and from executive evaluation to fundraising. This resource center from The Bridgespan Group and BoardSource provides guidance on how to find a rewarding board position, how to build a board, and what it takes to be an effective nonprofit board.

  • Category: Governance
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: The BridgeSpan Group

Non-Profit Job Description Toolkit

  • 5 Views

The job description is your primary vehicle for announcing the open position to external and internal audiences, and is a valuable tool for finding candidates best-suited to your organization’s needs. This toolkit features a wide range of sample job descriptions for senior nonprofit leadership roles, including CEO/executive director, COO, CFO, board member and more.

  • Category: Talent
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: The BridgeSpan Group

Non-Profit Leadership Development Toolkit

  • 5 Views

Nonprofits and NGOs around the world are more focused than ever on developing and retaining the future leaders who will steward their
organizations toward greater impact. While a robust “corporate” leadership development system may seem out of reach due to resources
or capacity, a few simple practices can go a long way. In Bridgespan’s work supporting hundreds of organizations’ talent development, we have
found that the key to low-cost, effective leadership development is to explicitly define the competencies most important to the organization,
and then to work with emerging leaders on tailored development plans that help them build those competencies over time.

  • Category: Talent
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: The BridgeSpan Group

Non-Profit Hiring Toolkit

  • 7 Views

Hiring decisions are challenging, and engaging in a thorough process requires time and energy.

In addition, every hiring decision contains an element of risk and ultimately requires a leap of faith. No matter how well you know your final candidate, it’s impossible to be 100 percent certain how he or she will perform in the new role. However, executing a disciplined, rigorous search process like the one outlined in this tool kit will help to mitigate the risks.

  • Category: Talent
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: The BridgeSpan Group

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