Create a framework of accountability for Incubators and Accelerators
To the best of my knowledge Incubators and Accelerators are only accountable to their investors. Their training and methodologies are very seldom aligned to any authority and there is no cohesion among incubators and accelerators. If there was a framework that everyone had to adhere to it would make it easier to monitor regulate the quality of the business support programmes they’re offering entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship should be looked at as a career and although not everyone will be successful at it, there should be some sort of incentive recognizing the efforts put in by these entrepreneurs. There should be a clear entry and exit point, i.e. if the incumbent chooses to go to another incubator or accelerator after completing a previous programme, they should be recognized for what they have learned previously and the next service provider should then build on the skills already acquired. Unless the entrepreneur can clearly show lack of competence in a certain field, they should not be allowed to continuously apply to more accelerators if they haven’t proven successful application of the skills acquired previously. The framework should be aligned with the various SETAs so that the skills acquired can be transferred to an industry vertical where the entrepreneurial philosophies taught at the Incubators and Accelerators can be applied. Not only should the programmes offered by these service providers be aligned with a national framework, but also a global framework. Entrepreneurship is global and to fix the SA Entrepreneurial Ecosystem we have to see the world as our oyster. We need to develop programmes that will make the entrepreneurs we produce competitive on a global scale.
Accrediting the journey of the entrepreneur
Besides the recognition of prior learning acquired at other incubators and/or accelerators, I also believe it would add great value to entrepreneurs who decide to throw in the towel after a few years to be accredited with some sort of certificate. This certificate should then be aligned to national or international business school curricula so that it can carry some sort of weight in the corporate world where some of these individuals might want to become Intrapreneurs. For many people in South Africa, and probably other emerging markets, the only form of tertiary education they will ever get access to is through these incubators and accelerators. Not everyone might be excellent entrepreneurs or have the access to study for a college degree or diploma, but if they can reuse the skills they have acquired through these programmes it would significantly increase their chances of employability.
The main question now is, are the accelerators and incubators willing to get around a table and discuss a tangible way forward? Are they willing to keep themselves accountable and work towards building credible entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs?