Business Technology Innovation incubator (BTI) |17 November 2021

The National Policy and Strategy 2016-2025 calls for the establishment of a Business, Technology and Innovation (BTI) Incubator to provide a conducive environment for start-ups.

Incubators provide personal attention that many entrepreneurs require to become knowledgeable and successful business owners. The Science, Technology and Innovation Division, within the Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is endeavoring to provide this ideal environment to help ignite and inculcate the culture of entrepreneurship in Seychelles.

Research has proved that up-to 80% of businesses that incubate succeed in business. Only 20-30 percent of those that do not incubate survive leaving most the un-incubated businesses to die prematurely. Incubation birth start-ups that follow the techniques acquired in the incubation process always help them thrive in business stemming from an informed incubation background.

The Cabinet approved the BTI establishment on December 26, 2019. DSTI, formerly National Institute for Science Technology and Innovation (Nisti), has already established linkages and created an ecosystem of stakeholders that is needed for the BTI to thrive. The BTI is an ecosystem of collaborations of various stakeholders through programmes and institutional arrangements, as DSTI cuts across all the sectors of the economy and government.

The Knowledge Based Institutions, the Private Sector and Government can now interface through this ecosystem created by the establishment this BTI. The ecosystem is not only limited to local stakeholders but we have partnerships with international institutions and organisations.

• Do you have an innovative idea that you would wish to turn into a business but have no technicality and resources to do it?
• Are you already in business but have no idea how to effectively manage the business and turn it into a profitable entity?
• Are you running a business that is stagnated and you need it to grow and scale to the next levels?Welcome to the BTI.

The BTI Incubator will be established as per the outline structure depicted in Figure 1.

The incubation phases:

1.                   Pre-incubation phase

In this phase:

• The incubates’ idea is his/her business at this stage. They will receive a start-up tool kit upon admission.
• The incubate will have access to office facilities to grow their idea into a start-up business.
• The incubate shall have access to the innovation system through the partners in the ecosystem and other incubates.
• Access to Intellectual Property where your idea is protected and secured.
• With access to Tech Transfer and self-confidence, the incubate’s idea can grow to commercialisation.

2. The incubation phase

• The incubate builds the foundation: this is idea development and discovery state.
• The incubate needs indefinite amount of time since it is still experimental, trial and error stage.
• No investment is required at this stage as the main aim is to help launch and grow early start-ups.
• All support is given by the incubator in kind, such as free office space, training, mentorship, connections, and other resources required to grow the start-up.
• There is also exposure to expertise in the ecosystem, who are the academia for further knowledge through training, banks and financial institutions for funding and financial advice, government agencies for support and funding.

3. Post incubation phase:

This phase shall serve the incubated entrepreneur and also those in already established businesses that need scaling and acceleration.

The incubate and entrepreneur gets access to:

• Financing;
• Entrepreneurship instituting;
• A simple and efficient Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Regime;
• Provision of access to regional and international markets,
• Mentoring;
• Business advisory and coaching;
• Financial literacy; and
• Marketing strategy.
• Support groups;
• Investor partnerships and through equity funding and venture capitalists;
• Workshops, like Innovation Enabler Workshops;
• Networking events from both local and international investors;
• Demo days;
• Referrals and
• The ecosystem.

The BTI shall benefit the young entrepreneurs and the business community as a whole. The young entrepreneurs and the people with business ideas but with no technical know-how of doing business and lack of financing shall stand to benefit from the incubator as it will be the vehicle that makes doing business easy and informed.

They shall have access to the BTI which shall serve them as:

• A one-stop shop for all business information, whether as a start-up, business idea or accelerator;
• A gathering place for startup businesses and their entrepreneur founders to become inspired;
• A residence for young businesses, surrounded by the tools and resources they need in a co-working space environment;
• An example of entrepreneurship in action for the encouragement of would-be entrepreneurs, and
• An attraction for visitors, offering relationships with the business community.

This created ecosystem of 48 stakeholders shall facilitate the above among many others according to each stakeholder’s institutional mandate.

The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) grant to Blue Economy department through the fund for African private sector assistance (FAPA) grant

The above grant has been extended to the Government of Seychelles through the Blue Economy Department. DSTI is one of the executing agencies charged with setting up of a Blue Economy Incubator and developing a knowledge hub for Marine Data. The BTI is already functional and procedures are in place for the recruitment of the first cohort of incubates in the Blue Economy sector into the incubator. Are you in the Blue Economy Business? Do you have any innovative blue economy ideas? This is your opportunity to incubate and turn into a successful start-up. Get in touch with us.

We are however, admitting incubates from other clusters like Technology, Agriculture, Tourism, among others and also providing some co-working spaces for some start-ups that are already operational, who would need to accelerate in the incubator. This is for the sake of support in their business development journeys so they can gain the knowledge required for weaving their businesses to profitability and prosperity.

There are also global partners who have shown interest in supporting environmental related projects through partnering with the BTI. This is another chance for sustainability in the environment, creation of environmental start-up businesses that will positively impact the effects of climate change.

BTI clusters:

The BTI intends to incubate all types of businesses and with the changing technologies and innovations, the traditional businesses are phasing out or re-inventing. The following are just but the few we are beginning with:

• Blue Economy;
• Tourism;
• Agri-Tech;
• Environmental;
• Kitchen incubation;
• Information & Communications Technology;
• Production of Consumer Goods by SMEs;
• Logistics and Trade (e-commerce);
• Financial Services for Entrepreneurs;
• Bio-Tech; and
• The OASIS Seychelles.

Did you start your business on the wrong footing without the right business information? The BTI gives you the opportunity to salvage your business. Get the right information and tools to help scale your business to the next level.