Business Models for Incubators and Accelerators in Emerging Economies

Developed countries have seen the establishment of many business incubators and more recently of business accelerators that strive to get startups ready for investment within 3 months rather than leasing office space to them for 2-3 years. There are significant differences in culture, level of education, number of startups, absence of a venture culture and other factors that should be considered in the business models of incubators and accelerators in emerging economies. We investigate how a critical mass could be reached by scaling programs beyond one city to areas of innovation and how accelerators and incubators could engage with startups in a way that addresses the challenges discussed above. We outline options for creating investor communities but also address alternative models for funding startups with emphasis on the situation in emerging economies.