Incubators as potential tools for employment creation : policy implications for Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is confronted by a demographic structure that will see a large part of the population reach working age over the next few years. Providing decent work, especially to the youth, will be a challenge and governments are searching for solutions to tackle this problem. There is increasing evidence that start-up incubators boost employment creation. While the early stage incubation programs appear to be effective, there is still a gap when it comes to scaling and deal flow. This paper argues incubators are a potential tool for job creation but more importantly they also empower participants to take charge of their professional future. For countries with a high youth unemployment rate, providing a positive outlook on the future can be seen as a core argument in favour of incubators.