Incubation Programs Research Articles

Tech Start-up Incubation Program: Business Model Evaluation on Government Based Incubator in Indonesia

This research evaluates business model in an incubator company using a framework that consists of 21 assessment components. It is required to examine and measure the efficiency of the incubation program. The incubation program is an intensive mentoring service for start-ups and connects them with the related support system. Analysis conducted using a qualitative approach and matrix scoring generated from N-Vivo. Bekraf Incubator is a government-based incubator in Indonesia suitable for early stages of start-up. Bekraf Incubator successfully demonstrates an effective and flexible business model by focusing on 16 sub-sectors under their incubation program.

Designing an incubator for social innovations in libraries: Learnings from the Research through Design approach

Promoting social innovations in libraries requires a new approach to designing innovation programs. In order to provide the effective learning program on social innovations for libraries, the Research through Design methodology was selected as a tool for setting the program for the needs of participants as well as for providing scalable approach to designing innovation programs aimed at increasing the innovation competencies of librarians. Design thinking and the design process are a suitable basis for incubating new socially innovative services. However, the design process needs to include the subsequent phases of the social innovation life cycle, such as demonstrating the impact, its successful presentation or scaling. For a higher social impact, it is necessary to strengthen the importance of participatory community network mapping as a key input in solving community problems and the role and future direction of the library. When designing, it is necessary to integrate all these components into one whole, and when facilitating, it is necessary to pay attention to all these parts. Four runs of the incubation program are described as well as their results, outputs, and learnings from the whole designing process. Gasparini’sconcepts of openness, dialogical spaces and temporality have proven to be applicable also for designing the incubation programs for public libraries. Within the incubation programs attention should be paid both to user-oriented and inner organizational social innovations.

Entrepreneurship in Turkey and other Balkan countries: are there opportunities for mutual co-operation through internationalisation?

PurposeThe aim of this study is to evaluate the entrepreneurship activity in Turkey and the Balkan countries and to show in which fields they can cooperate in the future.Design/methodology/approachDocument analysis was used in the research. In this context, taking into consideration the Global Entrepreneurship Index data published in 2019, the entrepreneurial potentials of Balkan countries, its current status was examined. Therefore, Turkey’s contribution to the development of entrepreneurial activities in the Balkan countries is shown in the study.FindingsThe results of the research show that entrepreneurship activities in the Balkan countries are not at the expected levels. In addition, it is determined that Turkey is in a central position in the Balkan’s entrepreneurship ecosystem in subjects such as especially, product innovation, risk capital, the ability of entrepreneurial start-up and its enterprises show high growth. Other Balkan countries may cooperate with Turkey about the production of technological products and technology transfer issues. Partner incubation programs can be formed. Training activities related to the entrepreneurship ecosystem can be organised together.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first study that addresses the current situation of Balkan countries by analysing the entrepreneurship index scores of Turkey and Balkan countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, northern Macedonia, Greece and Slovenia). It also formulated suggestions on establishing cooperation with Turkey.

Investigation of the key success factors of ventures incubated at IBA CED incubation center; An Empirical Study

Incubation is being used as a mechanism to promote entrepreneurship across the globe. The Pakistani universities have also followed this and are establishing incubation centers. However, the success rate is not very encouraging. The IBA incubation program is a unique form of incubation programs as it emphasizes more on the understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset and the effectuation theory before pursuing entrepreneurial journey. This paper describes the IBA incubation fellowship model and its practical application on new startups. The paper analyses the companies who were incubated and identifies the key success factors of these firms. This paper adds to the literature on incubation in Pakistan.

Sustainable Government Policy: A Catalyst for Sustainable Incubator Performance

One of the policy tools that a government uses to actualize entrepreneurship development is the business incubation program. These government policies come in several forms: fiscal, financial, as well as developmental. The business incubation program has been acknowledged as an instrument to achieve economic development, hence, the adoption of the concept by various nations. Studies have been advanced concerning business incubation performance, however, empirical scholarly works have shown that such studies have been inconclusive for the reason that results of empirically validated studies were inconsistent. The key objective of this study is to examine the contribution of government policies in the relationship between the critical success factors (CSFs) and the incubator performance. The study involves a data collection process of tenant firms of the Nigerian business incubation program using a population of 253 and a sample size of 153 for questionnaire administration and a focus group interview comprising of 10 respondents, which cut across both tenant firms and incubator managers. The results show that the independent variables and the moderator are indeed predictors of the criterion variable. As the predictors contributed merely 29.4% of the criterion variable, future studies may perhaps examine other critical factors alongside the extant constructs, which may contribute further to incubator performance.

MDA5 Governs the Innate Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Lung Epithelial Cells

Recent studies profiling the innate immune signatures in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) suggest that cellular responses to viral challenge impact disease severity. Yet, the molecular events that underlie cellular recognition and response to SARS-CoV-2 infection remains to be elucidated. Here, we find that SARS-CoV-2 replication induces a delayed interferon (IFN) response in lung epithelial cells. Through a survey of putative sensors involved in detection of RNA virus infection, we found that MDA5 and LGP2 primarily regulate IFN induction in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, we find that IRF-3, -5, and NF-kB/p65 are the key transcription factors regulating the IFN response during SARS-CoV-2 infection. In summary, these findings provide critical insights into the molecular basis of the innate immune recognition and signaling response to SARS-CoV-2.Funding: This work was supported by the following grants to the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute: DoD: W81XWH-20-1-0270; DHIPC: U19 AI118610; Fluomics/NOSI: U19 AI135972, as well as generous philanthropic donations from Dinah Ruch and Susan & James Blair. This work was additionally supported by the following grants to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine: a CTSA supplement to NCATS: UL1 TR002389; a CTSA supplement to NUCATS with the generous support of the Dixon family: UL1 TR001422; and a Cancer Center supplement: P30 CA060553. Development and implementation of iPS cell technology for production of airway epithelial cells was supported by Incubation Program from Office of Society Academia Collaboration for Innovation, Kyoto University. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

O COMPARTILHAMENTO DO CONHECIMENTO EM PROGRAMAS DE EMPREENDEDORISMO E INOVAÇÃO EM UNIVERSIDADES: UM ESTUDO DE CASO DO PROGRAMA FLUX.US DO UNIINOVA-UNIVALI

Goal: One of the main environments that promote innovation and entrepreneurship in universities are incubators. They aim to facilitate the creation and development of companies that have the ability to carry out activities aimed at innovation. This research has a qualitative and quantitative nature, being a case study and developed from studies in the bibliographic and documentary scope. Designï Methodologyï Approach: The field research was carried out at the Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, in the state of Santa Catarina, aiming to obtain the objective “To present the level of satisfaction of the entrepreneurs of the Flux.Us incubation program and the impacts of sharing knowledge for the development of the business". Results: The subjects were the participants of an incubation program developed by the institution's innovation and technology center, UNIINOVA. Based on the scores measured by the entrepreneurs, it can be considered that the Flux.Us program has reached excellence in terms of collective and individual mentorships, organization and content in the vision of the participating entrepreneurs, as well as, they would recommend the program to other people. Originalityï Value: It can be considered that the sharing of knowledge generated through the strategies used generated a positive impact, transforming the way of thinking of entrepreneurs and their businesses.

Impact of Technology Incubation Programme in Promoting Entrepreneurship in Nigeria

Technology incubators are economic development tools used for promoting the concept of growth through innovation and application of technology, support economic development strategies for small business development. It encourage growth from within local economies, while also providing a mechanism for technology transfer. Incubation is the provision of temporary support to start-up enterprises through the delivery of complex services and special environment with the aim of improving their chances of survival in the early phase of the life span and establishing their later intensive growth. Many Incubation Centres were established to influence and promote entrepreneurship thereby adding to economy of a country. However, the established incubation centres need to be evaluated to measure the effectiveness of the incubation programme in promoting entrepreneurship. In this research, we investigate the added value of Technology Incubation to the growth and development of Entrepreneurship, measuring the role of Technology Incubator thereby, finding out the effectiveness of Technology Incubation Centres in the development of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria. We use questionnaires as a tool for data collection. The result from the respondents of the questionnaires shows that Technology Incubation Centre contribute to the development and growth of entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Most of the entrepreneurs make use of the service of the Technology Incubation Centre. The incubation centres also carried out various program and initiative toward the development of entrepreneurs and also involving them with socio-economic development programs.

The role of business incubation in promoting entrepreneurship and SMEs development

The role of business incubation in fostering entrepreneurship and SMEs development has generated a strong interest among policymakers in recent years. Even among scholars, there is a general consensus that entrepreneurship is pivotal to economic growth in both developing and developed countries. This study investigated the role of business incubators on entrepreneurship and SMEs development in Nigeria. The population of this study comprised of 60 incubatees in Oyo and Lagos State National Board of Technological Beneficiaries (NBTI). Yamane formula was employed to determine the sample size. The sample size for this research study was 60 respondents (30 incubatees in Oyo State and 30 incubatees in Lagos State). The sampling validity was used to access the validity of the data. The study made use of statistical tools which include: analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation efficient in testing hypotheses where applicable. The responds gotten from the questionnaire was sorted, coded and the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis. This study found that business incubation coaching has a positive significant on human capital management towards entrepreneurship performance and also revealed that incubation business knowledge has a positive significant on the sales turnover level of entrepreneurship performance. This research has shown that 70% of the all startup ventures that survive the first three years of operations passed through the incubation programs. The study recommended that the incubation centers should emphasize more on their coaching and technical knowledge, as the result of findings shows that coaching and technical knowledge acquisition contributes 61.3% and 73.6% respectively towards entrepreneurship performance in terms of human capital management and their productivity performance level. JEL Classification: L26, M53, M1

Rethinking the Design Principles of Support Systems for Deep Tech Ventures

Starting on the premise that the creation of deep tech ventures is a complex and multi-faceted process, we explore in this review essay important principles to consider when designing support systems to incubate or accelerate deep tech ventures. While many contemporary entrepreneurial support systems cater specifically to the creation of digital start-ups, we know little about the mechanisms that affect important outcomes like investor readiness and attractiveness in the context of deep-tech ventures, i.e. ventures that commercialize early-stage technological innovations and scientific breakthroughs. We summarize the current insight into key learning activities in such ventures and their relation to the lean startup-inspired model of support programs, which currently dominate entrepreneurial ecosystems. Building on recent empirical findings on typical learning activities in deep tech ventures and outcomes patterns, we derive two important design principles that will need to be considered when structuring venture support systems. Contrary to the dominant lean start accelerator model, we suggest that deep tech acceleration and incubation programs will want to consider a loose-coupling in two dimensions: (1) technology from customer problems, in order to build broader application portfolios, and (2) time from outcome milestones, i.e. allow for variation in pace. These insights offer an important starting point for the practice of designing venture support systems, fitted to the specific knowledge context of an entrepreneurial project.

THE EVALUATION OF ENTREPRENEUR INCUBATION PROGRAM AT HIGHER EDUCATION

This research aims to identify the determinant factors of entrepreneurship in the case of university students. Internal and External factors are the focus of this research. We evaluate the perceived opportunity as an internal factor and facilities provided by the university as an external factor. The perceived opportunity is one factor that influences people's intention to establish a business the most. University facilities are an external factor in the most valuable help that university could provide for students to encourage them. This research also more in-depth evaluates student perception of business incubation programs in both universities. This research evaluated primary data from Jenderal Soedirman University, Indonesia, and Debrecen University, Hungary. Data was collected using a questionnaire. The results show that the perceived opportunity has a significant impact on the intention to establish a business. However, the business incubation program from campus does not affect student intention to establish a business. A more interesting finding is that Indonesian students have the lowest belief about the impact of business incubation programs compared to Hungarian and international students. This research's further implication is that the business incubation program needed to be improved to impact student willingness to establish a business significantly.

IMPLEMENTASI TEKNOLOGI DALAM PENGEMBANGAN MAKANAN RINGAN KARAK KALIANG KHAS KOTA SOLOK

Inkubator bisnis memiliki peran sebagai lembaga pendamping yang membantu para pelaku usaha menjadi mandiri. Program pembinaan berjangka dihadirkan dalam bentuk training, coaching, mentoring, dan evaluating dengan tujuan mengurangi resiko kegagalan bisnis, memperoleh akses pasar, akses implementasi teknologi dan akses pendukung lainnya. Kegiatan inkubasi produk unggulan daerah merupakan kerjasama Unit Inkubator Bisnis Teknologi dibawah Science Techno Park (STP) Universitas Andalas dengan Kota Solok yang bertujuan melahirkan wirausaha mandiri yang menjadi cikal bakal klaster industri. Usaha Kecil Menengah (UKM) makanan ringan adalah salah satu jenis usaha yang menjadi fokus pengembangan. Kegiatan yang dilakukan dalam program inkubasi ini dilaksanakan dalam bentuk seminar sehari, workshop implementasi teknologi, pendampingan/inkubasi bisnis, kunjungan industri, Branding dan Packaging. Makanan ringan khas kota solok antara lain olahan singkong yang disebut Karak Kaliang dan aneka keripik dari berbagai jenis bahan baku, diantaranya keripik pare. Karak kaliang dari kota solok memiliki ciri khas yang tidak dimiliki daerah lain yang memproduksi makanan yang sama. Karak kaliang kota solok berwarna putih bersih, ukurannya lebih kecil dibandingkan karak kaliang dari daerah lain. Selama ini karak kaliang dan keripik pare di produksi secara tradisional yang memiliki beberapa kekurangan antara lain, biaya produksi cukup tinggi karena minyak yang digunakan untuk menggoreng hanya bisa digunakan 3 kali ulangan, produk tidak tahan di simpan lama karena mudah tengik, upah tenaga kerja tinggi, pemasaran ditingkat lokal saja. Setelah mendapat sentuhan inovasi munculah karak kaliang yang di produksi secara lebih higienis, sehat dan kekinian dengan packaging dan branding baru, begitu juga dengan keripik pare. Kemajuan ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan segmen pasar makanan ringan khas kota Solok, memperluas pemasaran, meningkatkan daya simpan dan daya saing produk. UKM mitra di harapkan mampu menjadi pioneer bagi kemajuan industri makanan ringan di kota Solok.

Healthcare hackathons: fostering medical education through innovation in a developing country: a case study from Pakistan

BackgroundHackathons aim to develop solutions to preidentified problem domains and catalyse startup cultures. Recently, the teaching and learning potential of hackathons has also been documented. In this study, we make...

Performance analysis of coconut enterprises facilitated through agribusiness incubators

Agribusiness incubators (ABI) catalyze entrepreneurship development by facilitating technology and institutionalized services. The study addresses the performance analysis of enterprises promoted through coconut sector ABIs working in Kerala. Primary and secondary data collected from 30 randomly selected ABI graduated entrepreneurs in business were used to characterize the enterprises. The results indicated that 56 per cent of enterprises joined ABIs at the nascent stage and were able to receive government funding under different subsidy schemes. Majority of enterprises (72%) shared features of micro-enterprises in terms of the number of persons employed (01-10) and annual turnover less than ` 25 lakh. Most of the micro-enterprises (66%) functioned as sole proprietary firms, whereas small enterprises were registered as limited company/partnership firms (20%). Virgin coconut oil (VCO) was the major product in 40 per cent of enterprises followed by coconut chips (20%), coconut chocolates (10%), desiccated coconut (07), neera and tender coconut water-based drinks (07%). Performances of two purposively selected enterprises producing VCO and coconut chips were undertaken using break-even analysis. Production and sales of both VCO and coconut chips were more than the calculated BEP values of 1000 litres and 500 kg respectively. This indicated that both enterprises operated at profitable levels. The findings suggest that the entrepreneurs who completed the business incubation program had greater success in their business irrespective of the business size. This can be attributed to their greater access to technologies and entrepreneurship development programmes under the ABI.

Collaborating against COVID-19: bridging travel and travel tech

The distinction between “traditional” travel businesses and travel tech companies has remained steady for years due to knowledge, resource and financial reasons, leading them to operate in separate bubbles. The massive damages caused by COVID-19 for both sides of the industry pose a unique opportunity for them to ditch the old transactional working model, and to seek for more strategic collaborations in order to weather the storm. This viewpoint article discusses the business potential behind such collaborations in the short and long runs—from improving immediate safety perceptions to building technological foundations for the travel industry of tomorrow. It argues that local government mediation is needed for it to succeed, in formats such as funded hackathons or incubation programs that are targeted at addressing COVID-19 and its unique challenges.

Learning huddles: absorptive capacity and sustainable growth of Chinese incubatees

PurposeThis study explores the different learning practices of Chinese incubators in Chongqing and Chengdu and delves into how these “learning huddles” influence incubatees' absorptive capacity (the ability to apply knowledge) to improve their chance of success (sustainable growth).Design/methodology/approachThis explorative study uses a qualitative case study approach by means of semi-structured interviews with business incubation managers and incubatees across three business incubators in Chengdu and Chongqing. The data are transcribed, coded and analyzed using an analytic map for the explanation of building and reflecting on the theoretical propositions, leading to a further understanding of the “learning huddle” mechanism.FindingsThe study finds that incubatees perceive that their absorptive capacity is increased through vicarious informal learning practices that promote access to networks and thereby builds social capital to improve their likelihood of success.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has limitations in sample size and design. The explorative case study approach uses a nonrandom case selection of three incubators in Chongqing and Chengdu and has a limited number of interviewees, which may lack representation of the general Chinese business incubation population and may not sufficiently be generalized beyond the sample itself.Practical implicationsThese findings have important implications for business incubation programs. Business incubators that build learning huddles (networks) create a nurturing shared learning environment, which is suitable for incubatees to collectively absorb knowledge at the early stage of their life cycle and improve their likelihood of sustainable growth.Social implicationsSince this study is limited to a Chinese context, it is also hoped that future researchers use the typology of business incubator learning practices to explore cross-culture variables, as these may influence the business incubation operations and performance.Originality/valueThis study adds to the discussion on how collective learning practices facilitate absorptive capacity and build social capital, which in turn improves incubatees' chance of sustainable growth and as such the authors hope that the learning practice's typology and how incubatees determine their success stimulates further research for measuring the likelihood of incubatees sustainable growth.

Unique meteorological characteristics in the upper gastrointestinal bleeding by different etiologies in Beijing Area, China.

Unique meteorological characteristics in the upper gastrointestinal bleeding by different etiologies in Beijing Area, China.

Entrepreneurial Strategies and Growth of Women Micro-Enterprises in Kenya: A Case of Ongata Rongai, Kajiado North Sub County

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to examine entrepreneurial strategies and growth of women micro-enterprises in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado North Sub County. The study sought to establish the influence that innovation, networking, entrepreneurial training, and entrepreneurial finance have on the growth of women micro-enterprises in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado North Sub County.Methodology: The target population was three hundred and seventy-two registered enterprises in Ongata Rongai. Sample size determination table by Krejcie and Morgan (1970) was used. Hence, the sample size was one hundred and eighty-nine respondents. Questionnaires were the key data collection instrument. The collected data was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Descriptive analysis and inferential statistics were used. Descriptive data were summarized into frequencies and percentages with the help of the SPSS and presented using tables, figures, and pie charts. On the other hand, inferential analysis helped in establishing the statistical relationship between entrepreneurial strategies and growth of Women-led enterprises. Multiple Regression model was used to present the inferential analysis.Findings: The study found that eighty-one-point seven percent variations on the growth of women-led enterprises are explained by innovation, networking, entrepreneurial training, and entrepreneurial finance. There is a positive association and significant relationship between Innovation, Networking, Entrepreneurial Training and Entrepreneurial Finance.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that there is a need for opportunities to be created that can help women entrepreneurs to network with other individuals from various professions on a regular basis. Women entrepreneurs should also seek more training in entrepreneurship skills. There is also need for mentorship and incubation programs aimed at promoting the growth of women enterprises. Financial institutions should also target women entrepreneurs through easy access to financial support. There is a need for a similar study to be carried out to establish the challenge facing the attainment of entrepreneurial skills among women entrepreneurs in rural or remote areas of Kenya.

Prospek Praktik Mikro Inkubator “Entrepreneur Passion” dalam Membina Wirausahawan Pelajar (Milenialpreneur)

In general, business incubators are created to provide space and facilities, especially for new entrepreneurs pioneering or running a business. Its existence was first initiated by universities so that it is expected to be able to build a sustainable and beneficial business ecosystem for end-users as business stakeholders. During this time the practice of incubators business is carried out in the form of programs or projects for a certain period from the beginning of the registration selection until participants reach the level of business creation, namely by students. While this research was conducted to explore how the implementation of business incubator programs that occur in high schools, even though the type of business incubator is a micro-level business incubator or can be called a business incubator simulation practice. The study was conducted at one of the Private High Schools in Indonesia. By using a qualitative descriptive analysis approach through data collection and interviews with teachers and students, especially for those who are involved in extra activities outside school hours "Entrepreneurship Passion". The results of the study illustrate that the implementation of micro-business incubator practices in schools still shows suboptimal results, which are only able to increase student entrepreneurial interest and have not been able to print a sustainable entrepreneur, so it requires the development of certain curricula that are capable of printing millennial entrepreneurs. The research findings indicate a weakness in the method of implementing the "Entrepreneurship Passion" activity as a means to foster student entrepreneurship seeds at school.

Social incubation: Strategic benefits for social enterprise

This paper aimed to identify what are the strategic benefits that the social incubation process offers for social enterprise. We conducted a case study with a Brazilian social incubator. Social enterprises that participated in the social incubation program were the analysis units. Among the eight strategic benefits found, three of them have never been previously indicated in the studied literature, therefore being a novelty herein highlighted to improve social enterprise's commercial and social missions. By understanding these benefits, social entrepreneurs can make better decisions about joining social incubation. Besides, managers of social incubators can understand the limitations inherent to the social incubation herein stressed, and, from this, improve the programs. Hence, this paper advances knowledge in the social entrepreneurship field.