Incubate the Emerging : The Role of Incubators in Emerging Countries

Abstract: Entrepreneurs from emerging countries lack the human capital that is critical to the success of ventures besides their limited resources, poor infrastructure, and low pre-entry knowledge. As a result, ventures in these countries face low business growth and performance. Incubators are an efficient solution to overcome these challenges. This research answers the question: “How can incubators help increase the human capital in order to improve the performance of the ventures in emerging countries? And how can financial support and networking help leverage the human capital gained in incubator programs?”. The paper adopts a qualitative study by interviewing participants of a Berlin-based organization that helps entrepreneurs in Egypt. The findings show that companies grew by 32% in revenue by providing entrepreneurial learning, financial support, and network to participants. Furthermore, the study shows the impact of learning on both networking and financing sourcing skills for entrepreneurs in Egypt. These findings have implications for ways to support emerging economies through incubation by offering effective solutions for the challenges of the entrepreneurs.