Business Incubation in the Eastern Cape: A Case Study

Business incubation is a concept that describes a business development process that is used to grow successful, sustainable entrepreneurial ventures that will contribute to the health and wealth of local, regional and national economies. Incubators provide a platform for businesses to build their foundations. Incubators are part of a larger value chain that connects businesses to a vital support system, such as local service providers (including lawyers, corporate service providers or accountants) to establish relationships that will last after the business leaves the incubator. This paper investigates whether the performance of the Seda Nelson Mandela Bay ICT Incubator is in line with generally accepted performance standards. These standards are identified as a strategic alliance of the business (vision, mission and strategy), financing principles, management principles and human resource development and growth opportunities. Alignment to these standards was investigated through surveys with members of the board, employees and incubatees. The findings show that the incubator in the case study was aligned to generally accepted performance standards but that there is room for improvement in market alignment, incubate compliance and periods of incubation