Incubators provide cutting-edge support for your start-up

the concept has been around since the 1950s.
In Zimbabwe, however, business incubators have not been a popular phenomenon. Some developments have taken place over the past few years that have seen the emergence of the Harare Institute of Technology as an incubation centre. With the collaboration of the Embassy of India in Zimbabwe, HIT has been involved in the promotion of the incubation concept laying the foundation for entrepreneurial development.
The institution’s mandate is for the development, incubation, transfer and commercialisation of technology as well as human capital for greater national industrialisation.
The Indo-Zim Technology Centre at HIT promotes technology transfer and also introduces new technology in various fields in support of SMEs. Of particular significance is the training offered to SMEs in manufacturing tools and components.
Such empowerment initiatives augur well for entrepreneurial development in the SMEs sector with the help of the State. Other centres providing incubation facilities include Bulawayo Polytechnic, Sedco and the Chitungwiza Common Facility Centre. Equipment worth more than US$3 million was imported from India and in addition India also offered training to dozens of Zimbabweans in the fields of tool and die making, tool design and computer- controlled technology.
On a global scale, the government of India has announced that it intends to set up 10 incubation centres this year to provide a platform for people in Africa to start small units. According to reports from the Press Trust of India, the National Small Industries Corporation will execute the project in 10 African countries, including Zimbabwe. The corporation has about 45 such centres in India.
Several African countries have embraced the Indian incubation centres to address problems of unemployment. The programme is designed in such a way that it turns unemployed people into entrepreneurs.
While details of how the programmes will be implemented were not immediately available, this comes as an opportunity to enhance the productivity of the SMEs sector. As there are increasing calls to recognise the contribution of the SMEs sector to the Gross Domestic Product business incubators are certain to make their mark.
The success of business incubators in India has spread far and wide and many countries have adapted it as a successful business model.
In the United States, President Obama has pledged US$250 million a year in federal funds to seed a regional network of incubation organisations – an effort aimed at growing jobs and innovation. Arab countries like Iran, Oman and the UAE have also approached NSIC to assist them in enhancing the productivity of their SME sector.
“A lot of governments have approached us . . . They want to implement some policies that India has successfully implemented,” a senior Indian diplomat was recently quoted as saying.
It is imperative that Zimbabwe nurtures the business incubation concept and encouraging the study of entrepreneurship at tertiary institutions can do this. Regardless of what discipline one is taking, entrepreneurship should be instilled in all graduates. Successful completion of a business incubation programme increases the likelihood that a start-up company will stay in business for the long term. Studies in the United States found that 87 percent of incubator graduates stayed in business.
In the face of high unemployment rates in Zimbabwe, business incubators could be the answer to the challenges that young people are facing today. Simple requisites like a business plan appear to be the stumbling block for many when they decide to start a business. There are so many facilities that are being offered through the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment for young people. To access these funds one requires a business plan to justify the release of the money. The venture has to be viable, as the borrowers will be expected to repay the loans.
There are other success stories associated with incubators worldwide. The California Institute for Science and Innovation, established in 2000, is a classic example, with campus-based incubators throughout the University of California system. By partnering with corporations that could benefit from product development (petroleum giant BP, for example, pledged US$500 million to oil research), taxpayers only shoulder one-third of the incubators’ costs.
San Diego Connect was established at the University of California, San Diego, in 1985 as the local economy was reeling from post-Cold War cuts in military spending. A military town that is home to much of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet. Connect’s founders wanted to create fertile ground for tech and biotech industries to grow. Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs was an early participant, and Connect helped him grow his company into a telecommunications juggernaut.
Besides mobile-phone software technology, the incubator also helped Firewire, a business that makes “high density aerospace composite” surfboards, overcome technology and fundraising challenges.
There is room for collaboration with local industries in Zimbabwe and most notable is the association beyween Schweppes Zimbabwe and HIT in the field of food science research. We can do much more.
As always let’s make money.