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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Fundraising Handbook

Fundraising is both an art and a science, and Black Fox Global has mastered both. Drawing on decades of experience mobilizing resources for mission-driven organizations, the Fundraising Handbook distills proven strategies, field-tested practices, and expert insights into one trusted guide.

Organization: Black Fox Global

Mentor Onboarding Form

This is a sample mentor onboarding form that can be used to learn about new mentor interests, expertise, and availability to serve as a mentor.

Organization: Purdue Innovates

Indicator Tool

We’ve compiled this tool to help make that process a little easier. While by no means exhaustive, the indicators in this database are drawn from a wide range of sources and have relevance across a variety of intervention models and the full spectrum of SDG sectors.

Organization: Segal Family Foundation

Screening Selection & Due Diligence

A collection of templates that are utilized by incubators to screen and select the right entrepreneurs to their program.

Organization: Miller Center / Villgro / Villgro Africa / Villgro Philippines / Impact Hub Abidjan

New Leaders: Here’s how to hire a top talent

A great hiring strategy can have a positive impact on a manager’s career. While you may not always have the power to choose your team, learning how to spot and appeal to high-performing candidates can fundamentally impact your trajectory.

Organization: HBR - Ryan Renteria

Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries: What Works

This paper summarizes the evidence base on women’s entrepreneurship
and serves as an update to the 2022 version, Supporting Women
Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries: What Works?

Organization: We-Fi

Developing a Data Collection Plan

This guide provides accelerators with an overview of how to approach designing a data collection plan to generate actionable insights.

Organization: GALI

Conducting Layoffs with Purpose

A guide providing a structure to conducting layoffs responsibly

Organization: Rippleworks

Defining Success for your Accelerator Program

This presentation provides an introduction to using a Theory of Change to clearly articulate what your program hopes to achieve, and an example of what an accelerator Theory of Change could look like.

Organization: GALI

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Embedding Circularity

A practical learning journey for incubators and accelerators to integrate circular design principles into their entrepreneur support services. This online curriculum will help you identify ways to enable a more circular and sustainable economy by supporting startup and growth stage ventures to apply circular design principles early on.
You will also be generating a pipeline of innovation for key industries and value chains that need to become more circular to build for a just and sustainable society.

Organization: Impact Hub

The Circularity Toolkit

This toolkit offers insights, tools and methodologies for Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) to take a Circular Economy lens to their entrepreneur support programs, particularly incubators and accelerators, in order to mainstream circular design principles across small and growing businesses regardless of whether they are social, environmental or profit-driven.

You can use this toolkit to develop a program explicitly focused on supporting ventures with Circular Economy solutions, or to embed circular design principles into other programs that aren’t explicitly focused on the Circular Economy.

Organization: Impact Hub

Incubation Tools and Templates

A collection of tools and templates that guide you in the process and activities of incubation as laid out in the Innovation Playbook by Villgro Philippines

Organization: Villgro Philippines & USAID

The Innovation Playbook

The primary purpose of this Innovation Playbook is to provide a structured yet
comprehensive guide for stakeholders involved in the creation, management, and growth of
incubation and acceleration programs. The Playbook can serve as a guide to those looking to
support innovations, specifically in the health sector, with a lens of affordability and
accessibility. This playbook has been designed to simplify the processes associated with
establishing and operating successful incubation initiatives, ensuring consistency, efficiency,
and effectiveness across programs and mitigate challenges for new operators.

Organization: Villgro Philippines & USAID

Empowering FP/RH innovations for scale – Summary

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

Organization: USAID & MOMENTUM Innovation Accelerator

Pre-Seed + Seed Investor Database

A database of 1,600+ early stage lead investors curated by Michael Houck, a founder whose built startups that have raised from a16z and others that have bootstrapped to seven-figures of revenue.

Organization: Founding Journey

Business Coaching Playbook

This guide will assist you on your journey as a mentor, and gives you all the guidance you need to perform your duties as a mentor. It looks at proactive mentorship, the mentorship process and provides tips on how to be a good mentor. The guide also outlines the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Framework to coaching. The guide concludes by sharing other mentors’ approaches to mentorship and key lessons that they have learned on their mentorship journey.

Organization: Allan Gray Orbis Foundation

The measurement of success in a business incubation projec

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact and success of a business incubationproject on its participants. The study aims to consider the impact of the project in terms of developingand supporting entrepreneurial activity within Wales. It seeks to build on and enhance existingbusiness incubation literature and contribute to the field by identifying “good” practice and considersthe measurement of success within such projects

Organization: University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, UK

ANALYSIS OF THE RIO DE JANEIRO STATE INCUBATOR NETWORK (ReINC): CHARACTERISTICS AND INFLUENCE ON THE ORGANIZATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF INCUBATORS

The emergence of incubators in Brazil occurred from the bottom-up in the context of the down-fall of the military government and the restoration of civil society in the 1980s. To develop its activities the incubators in 1987 organized a civil association called ANPROTEC. This national association encouraged the setting up of regional/state incubator networks, to bring together local incubators, exchange experience and seek support at the regional level. This paper presents the initial results of a study that is in course, the aim of which is to assess how the regional incubator network in the state of Rio de Janeiro, known as ReINC, has contributed to sustainability, based on theoretical concepts of social networks and social capital.

Organization: Rio de Janeiro State University

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