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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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Women-Inclusive Return on Investment Calculations

  • 3 Views

This work addresses a gap in evidence from firms in lower—and middle-income countries (LMICs) on the ROI of women’s inclusion. This series profiles select small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have implemented women-inclusive (WI) initiatives and can demonstrate returns on investment (ROI).

The case study series features:

1) Grean World: How an Ethiopian energy company utilized female sales agents to attract female consumers and tackle last mile distribution.
2) Okeba: How a Uganda agribusiness provided care support to its staff and ultimately reduced costs.

Other reports include:
3) Navigating Firm Selection for Women-Inclusive ROI—A Learning Note: Provides key insights MSP gained from the process of vetting and selecting companies for WI-ROI.
4) Closing the Gap: A Synthesis Report on the Cases for the ROI of Women’s Inclusion: This report includes the findings, benefits, and considerations of the WI-ROI approach, which can be applied during implementation and to continue building on the evidence for returns on women-inclusive investments.

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

Organization: William Davidson Institute at University of Michigan

Mentoring Skills & Practice Course

  • 2 Views

Learn and practice the science and art of impactful mentoring and coaching with our self-paced Mentoring Skills and Practice Course. You’ll learn how to build meaningful relationships and have purposeful conversations, provide constructive feedback, and create a safe and supportive environment where people can learn, grow and perform.

  • Category: Talent
  • Type: Trainings & Capacity Building

Organization: The Human Edge

Mentoring Question Toolkit

  • 3 Views

Compilation of a number of impactful mentoring questions for you to explore together, support each other during difficult times, deepen your mentoring relationships and enhance your mentoring conversations. These questions are also excellent if you wish to self-mentor yourself and identify and learn about your own interferences, needs and areas of opportunity and growth.

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

Organization: The Human Edge

Mentoring Entrepreneurs

  • 5 Views

Equip people with the skills, attributes, and behavious to be authentic and effective mentors.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Media Resources

Organization: The Human Edge

Incubation Replicaiton Guide

  • 5 Views

The Incubation Replicaiton Guide is organized in four modules: Setting up an Incubator, Incubation Lifecycle, Operating an Incubator, Governance. These modules help you in all aspects of establishing your incubator, setting up effective processes, and having good governance of the organization.

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

Organization: Villgro

Scaling Toolkit

  • 8 Views

The Scaling Impact Toolkit is organised in accordance with the three stages of our unique and proved methodology – strategy, model, and implementation.
Helps you achieve a particular objective, whether it’s getting your scaling plans off the ground, becoming financially sustainable, identifying your ideal pathway to scale and the partners you need to support your model or other challenges you may be currently encountering.

  • Category: Scaling & Growth
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: Spring Impact

Preliminary Assessment Scoring Worksheet

  • 7 Views
  • Category: Pipeline Sourcing & Selection
  • Type: Templates

Organization: Villgro

ESO Mapping Database

  • 3 Views

Mapping and streamlining of what incubators are offering to entrepreneurs at various stages, sectors, and geographies. Sharing information about hubs themselves and other related data, such as who has incubated whom helps us:
1. Understand if the entrepreneur is approaching you in need of additional support for the next stage of their business.
2. Understand if the entrepreneur is accessing another similar program within the same stage of their growth.
3. Identify potential partners with complimentary skills sets.

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

Organization: Pollinate Impact

Best Practices for Alumni Engagement

  • 3 Views

A collaborative resource for ESOs to ensure continued engagement with alumni after the program. 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 engaging alumni after they have graduated from the program.

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

Organization: Pollinate Impact

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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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