Project leaders, try business incubators!
7 December 2010
Read by 1931 persons
About ten incubators, most of them located in public higher education institutions, are operational.
Due to lack of resources and private sector involvement, the number of businesses created in incubators is not very significant.
An ideal environment to test and develop one's skills.
Many people have a business creation idea, but very few take the plunge, for fear of failure or lack of resources. For several years, the State, whose concern is to reduce unemployment and find jobs for the thousands of young people who leave the education system each year, whether or not they have diplomas, has increased its efforts through the implementation of certain development mechanisms and programs to increase the number of businesses and encourage self-employment, such as Moukawalati run by the Anapec.
Among these mechanisms, business incubation occupies a special place. A business incubator is a structure that supports business creation projects. It targets very young or newly created companies to which it offers a range of adapted services. Incubators differ in the services they offer, whether or not they are for profit, or the type of projects they target.
They differ from business nurseries, which are also structures that host and support young businesses. Indeed, creators approach the latter just after the creation of their business, during the first months or sometimes even the first years of activity. Nurseries offer collective and shared services to help young businesses increase their chances of success. They do not take any risks because their existence and success are not dependent on those of the young businesses they host.
In Morocco, incubation was introduced in the early 2000s, particularly in universities, under the impetus of Law 01/00 on the organization of higher education. No fewer than ten incubators have been created since that date. These include the Technological Innovation Center (CIT) of the Mohammadia School of Engineers (EMI), the Marrakech University Incubator (INMA), the Center for Incubation and Reception of Innovative Businesses (CIAEI) of the National School of Mining Industry (ENIM) and the Al Akhawayn University incubator. According to M'Barek Benchanaa, director of the INMA incubation center in Marrakech, "the first incubation centers were created as structures for the valorization of scientific research". The main mission of these first structures, generally located in universities, was to support research projects or businesses created by graduates. In France, for example, most of the grandes écoles de commerce or engineering schools have their incubators, very often sponsored by large companies. The private sector's mission is mainly to provide financial support. For the sake of profitability, private companies or other equity investors do indeed take stakes in the supported company to achieve a capital gain, in the event of a resale, or (this concerns the company) to exploit an idea that has successfully passed the testing phase.
The real advantage of these support structures remains the support
In Morocco, the private sector is still underrepresented. It must be said that the growth of incubators is partly linked to that of venture capital, which is still in its infancy - in Morocco, specialized structures mainly do development capital.
Naturally, the first steps are not easy. The Morocco Incubation and Spin-off Network (RMIE), which includes the country's main incubators, indicates that since the network's launch in 2004, only about ten businesses have been created thanks to incubation. The reasons are often well known: problems of access to financing, administrative delays, heavy social and tax burdens, insufficiently valued image of the successful entrepreneur...
"In any case, the real advantage of these support structures remains training and above all support," notes M'Barek Benchanaa.
The CJD, for example, offers its members several-year courses, which must correspond to progress in terms of involvement and commitment for them, and in terms of performance for their business. For its part, the Association of Women Business Leaders (AFEM), created in 2000, launched its incubation center, "Casa pionnière", at the association's headquarters, which aims to support women with projects over a period of 2 years. "This formula makes it possible to offer project leaders premises, a structure offering common services at reduced costs and adapted material logistics while ensuring a support program in the development and technical finalization of their business project. Advice is also provided, particularly in the legal, technological, financial, commercial and human resources fields," explains Naoual Bakry, general delegate of the association. This support is supplemented by training based on the needs identified or expressed by the business creators. "Some candidates were also able to create their business even before the end of their incubation period because their projects were good," notes Ms. Bakry.
There are no prerequisites for joining "Casa Pionnière". It is enough to have a project that "holds up", she points out, but above all to have a good command of the field of activity. "Many candidates were unable to continue the incubation due to a mismatch between their profile and the nature of their project," continues the Afem's managing director. Business creation requires in-depth knowledge of the sector of activity in economic, financial, legal and accounting terms. Therefore, calling on a business creation support structure as soon as you plan to start is not compulsory but rather an act of good management to save time, secure your take-off on aspects not always correctly understood when you have a commercial or technical profile.
Published on December 6, 2010
Posted online on December 7, 2010
lavieeco.com
Due to lack of resources and private sector involvement, the number of businesses created in incubators is not very significant.
An ideal environment to test and develop one's skills.
Many people have a business creation idea, but very few take the plunge, for fear of failure or lack of resources. For several years, the State, whose concern is to reduce unemployment and find jobs for the thousands of young people who leave the education system each year, whether or not they have diplomas, has increased its efforts through the implementation of certain development mechanisms and programs to increase the number of businesses and encourage self-employment, such as Moukawalati run by the Anapec.
Among these mechanisms, business incubation occupies a special place. A business incubator is a structure that supports business creation projects. It targets very young or newly created companies to which it offers a range of adapted services. Incubators differ in the services they offer, whether or not they are for profit, or the type of projects they target.
They differ from business nurseries, which are also structures that host and support young businesses. Indeed, creators approach the latter just after the creation of their business, during the first months or sometimes even the first years of activity. Nurseries offer collective and shared services to help young businesses increase their chances of success. They do not take any risks because their existence and success are not dependent on those of the young businesses they host.
In Morocco, incubation was introduced in the early 2000s, particularly in universities, under the impetus of Law 01/00 on the organization of higher education. No fewer than ten incubators have been created since that date. These include the Technological Innovation Center (CIT) of the Mohammadia School of Engineers (EMI), the Marrakech University Incubator (INMA), the Center for Incubation and Reception of Innovative Businesses (CIAEI) of the National School of Mining Industry (ENIM) and the Al Akhawayn University incubator. According to M'Barek Benchanaa, director of the INMA incubation center in Marrakech, "the first incubation centers were created as structures for the valorization of scientific research". The main mission of these first structures, generally located in universities, was to support research projects or businesses created by graduates. In France, for example, most of the grandes écoles de commerce or engineering schools have their incubators, very often sponsored by large companies. The private sector's mission is mainly to provide financial support. For the sake of profitability, private companies or other equity investors do indeed take stakes in the supported company to achieve a capital gain, in the event of a resale, or (this concerns the company) to exploit an idea that has successfully passed the testing phase.
The real advantage of these support structures remains the support
In Morocco, the private sector is still underrepresented. It must be said that the growth of incubators is partly linked to that of venture capital, which is still in its infancy - in Morocco, specialized structures mainly do development capital.
Naturally, the first steps are not easy. The Morocco Incubation and Spin-off Network (RMIE), which includes the country's main incubators, indicates that since the network's launch in 2004, only about ten businesses have been created thanks to incubation. The reasons are often well known: problems of access to financing, administrative delays, heavy social and tax burdens, insufficiently valued image of the successful entrepreneur...
"In any case, the real advantage of these support structures remains training and above all support," notes M'Barek Benchanaa.
The CJD, for example, offers its members several-year courses, which must correspond to progress in terms of involvement and commitment for them, and in terms of performance for their business. For its part, the Association of Women Business Leaders (AFEM), created in 2000, launched its incubation center, "Casa pionnière", at the association's headquarters, which aims to support women with projects over a period of 2 years. "This formula makes it possible to offer project leaders premises, a structure offering common services at reduced costs and adapted material logistics while ensuring a support program in the development and technical finalization of their business project. Advice is also provided, particularly in the legal, technological, financial, commercial and human resources fields," explains Naoual Bakry, general delegate of the association. This support is supplemented by training based on the needs identified or expressed by the business creators. "Some candidates were also able to create their business even before the end of their incubation period because their projects were good," notes Ms. Bakry.
There are no prerequisites for joining "Casa Pionnière". It is enough to have a project that "holds up", she points out, but above all to have a good command of the field of activity. "Many candidates were unable to continue the incubation due to a mismatch between their profile and the nature of their project," continues the Afem's managing director. Business creation requires in-depth knowledge of the sector of activity in economic, financial, legal and accounting terms. Therefore, calling on a business creation support structure as soon as you plan to start is not compulsory but rather an act of good management to save time, secure your take-off on aspects not always correctly understood when you have a commercial or technical profile.
Published on December 6, 2010
Posted online on December 7, 2010
lavieeco.com
