Building the Innovation Ecosystem in Tanzania: Four Viewpoints to Technology Business Incubation

Abstract

In the developed world, supporting technology startups through business incubation (BI) is common. However, in Tanzania, BI initiatives to support technology startups are only starting to emerge. A developing country poses unique challenges for BI initiatives as compared to the first world, which highlights the importance of research. This research targets five key initiatives that conduct technology-related BI activities in Dar es Salaam, which is the economic hub of Tanzania. These initiatives include two technology hubs, one university-based preincubation initiative, two full-scale business incubators, and one capacity building organisation. The results show a number of crucial factors that affect the incubation activities. The results also show a number of innovation opportunities for tackling the identified challenges, as well as a number of important avenues for future research and development efforts.