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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 โ€œtoolโ€, we mean anything that helps incubators thriveโ€”software, templates, handbooks, or any resource that lets you level up your game. Weโ€™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.ย 

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

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Pre-Seed + Seed Investor Database

  • 12 Views

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.

  • Category: Donor & Investor Relations
  • Type: Research, Reports, Data & Insights

Organization: Founding Journey

Business Coaching Playbook

  • 14 Views

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 mentorsโ€™ approaches to mentorship and key lessons that they have learned on their mentorship journey.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Handbooks, Playbooks, & Guides

Organization: Allan Gray Orbis Foundation

The measurement of success in a business incubation projec

  • 9 Views

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 ๏ฌeld by identifying โ€œgoodโ€ practice and considersthe measurement of success within such projects

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Research, Reports, Data & Insights

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

  • 12 Views

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.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Research, Reports, Data & Insights

Organization: Rio de Janeiro State University

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

  • 13 Views

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

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, Reports, Data & Insights

Organization: Wadhwani Foundation NEN

Handbook for Non-Profit Incubator Managers

  • 14 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, Playbooks, & Guides

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

Greentech

  • 14 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

  • 18 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

  • 12 Views

The Launch League Letโ€™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 businessโ€™ stage, revenue model, assets and risk appetite, and growth plans โ€” and therefore determine what financing options are available to them.

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

Organization: Launch Leage

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ENVOY – Making Incubation Management Simple

  • 8 Views

Envoy is a purpose built incubation and programme management software designed for entrepreneurial support organisations and development finance institutions. It enables ESO’s funders and DFI’s to govern complex incubation portfolios with clarity, confidence and measurable control. It reduces the administrative burden, improves funding oversight, preserves institutional knowledge and delivers credible, real time portfolio management. The result is measurable entrepreneur progression, transparent governance, audit ready reporting and the ability to scale programmes sustainably without sacrifice. Beyond programme management, Envoy also gives entrepreneurs their own free business operating system. This supports them in defveloping their business strategy and managing the execution of both strategy and day to day operations.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management, Scaling & Growth
  • Type: Technology Platforms & Software

Organization: Raizcorp

Lend For Good

  • 17 Views

LendForGood is a global platform that harnesses the crowd to efficiently provide affordable, connected and engaged capital to meet the funding demands of impact enterprises. Think of LendForGood as a marketplace or as an exchange, where people who want to lend money to impact enterprises can find them, and can find other people to team up with to lend money to impact enterprises. LendForGood provides the information, connections and technology that enables people to do this easily, and at scale.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Technology Platforms & Software

Organization: LendForGood

Vula Together

  • 23 Views

Vula connects tens of thousands of African SMEs and Startups to the funding they deserveโ€”fast and easy. Now you can spend less time searching and more time growing.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Technology Platforms & Software

Organization: Vula.vc

DayTwo

  • 15 Views

Most entrepreneurs are resourceful, but not always visible, and visibility is the doorway to fundability and investability. ย ONOW’s fintech platform “DayTwo” turns everyday SME behavior, in the form of photos, chat, and voice notes, into clean, dated financial records and lender-ready signals. ESOs use it to see real cash health, coach smarter, and bridge entrepreneurs to capital with less friction.

  • Category: Enterprise Support & Portfolio Management
  • Type: Technology Platforms & Software

Organization: ONOW

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Diagnostic Toolkit

  • 55 Views

This resource is a practical methodology to understand how entrepreneurship ecosystems work, identify their structural conditions, and guide evidence-based decision-making.

The model provides a clear way to analyze entrepreneurship ecosystems based on their core elements: the eight structural domains, the participation of key actors, the stages of the entrepreneurial journey, and digital maturity as a cross-cutting component. It enables the identification of strengths, gaps, bottlenecks, and opportunities for coordinated action in each territory.

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

Organization: ANDE

Reimagining the Future of Entrepreneurship Support Organisations in East Africa

  • 69 Views

The report identifies the interconnected challenges facing entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs), including incubators and accelerators. This WDI report takes a solutions-oriented approach for better serving entrepreneurs, maximizing the impact of limited donor resources, and strengthening the pipeline of investable companies.

  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Research, Reports, Data & Insights

Organization: William Davidson Institute

Supporting Waste Management & Circular Economy Innovation

  • 36 Views

The toolkit brings together lessons from Kenyaโ€™s waste and circular economy ecosystem and global best practices. It is designed to be practical, adaptable, and action-oriented.

  • Clear explanations of waste management and circular economy principles
  • Guidance on designing and running effective support programmes for waste-focused SGBs
  • Real-world case studies from Kenya and beyond
  • Best practices across the full enterprise support journey โ€” from recruitment and programme design to post-programme support and ecosystem engagement
  • Tools and frameworks for measuring environmental, social, and business impact
  • Category: Incubator Design, Strategy & Impact
  • Type: Toolkits

Organization: ANDE

Application Form Template & Program Information Kit

  • 21 Views

This is a sample of a program application form for a University based incubator. It also includes clear description of the program, what is included in the program, and the expectations from applicant entrepreneurs.

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

Organization: Oxford University Innovation

Building Strong Funder Relationships & Navigating Funding Rejections

  • 21 Views

Every nonprofit leader knows the thrill of submitting a compelling grant proposalโ€”and the sting of receiving a โ€œno.โ€ But what if rejection could be a catalyst for deeper alignment, stronger relationships, and future funding success?

That was the heart of our recent Masterclass hosted on the Catalyst NOW platform, โ€œBuilding Stronger Funder Relationships and Navigating Funding Rejections,โ€ featuring wisdom from sector leaders Tia Hodges, President & CEO, MetLife Foundation, Tanya Jaramilla, Director of Impact & Operations, Julian Grace Foundation, and Natalie Rekstad, Founder & CEO of Black Fox Global.

  • Category: Donor & Investor Relations
  • Type: Trainings & Capacity Building

Organization: Black Fox Global

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