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Incubation in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

  • 6 days ago
  • 1 min read

Furthr, the Irish BICs and a number of other players in the Irish enterprise support ecosystem contributed to the, just published, OECD Report on Incubation in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. The report runs to 172 pages! But for anyone seeking to deliver innovation in this ecosystem, believe it or not, it's worth the read.


The centrality of coaching/mentoring to a successful enterprise support ecosystem is called out with an excellent exposition of what world-class coaching looks like.


The need for supports around internationalisation, finance for startups, entrepreneurship skills training and specialised (sectoral) incubators is detailed.


Of interest from an Irish perspective, the appropriate role of government and public funding sources is clearly laid out. From my own experience across Europe, Ireland is an outlier as to how incubators are funded. Most incubators in Europe are fully funded from public sources including city governments, regional governments, and EU funding. The flip side of this is that the report advocates for tight performance metrics associated with funding, the professionalisation of the industry, the use of certified and quality controlled coaching practices and the need to mandate impactful coopetition between incubators. The report advocates for governments to "support incubation, not incubators".


Brief overviews are provided of best practice in nine markets around the world, including Ireland. The French tech visa initiative has served to attract internationally mobile talent and make France a global hub for entrepreneurial innovation. Work done in Portugal and Norway to build a high-functioning, connected ecosystem is very relevant to Ireland.


 
 
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