Report on the impact of incubators and accelerators in Canada

Globally, there has been a trend toward the greater institutionalization of entrepreneurship support through the establishment of various startup assistance organizations. As a result, evaluating the impact of these organizations on startup development is crucial. Hence, the purpose of this study is to apply the paradigm developed by the Social Innovation Monitor (SIM) for evaluating accelerators and incubators in Europe to Canada and determine the efficacy of Canadian entrepreneurship centres. This study also aims to comprehend the industries in which major social impact solutions are employed. The research differentiates between the roles of accelerators and incubators and examines the important services delivered by incubators in Canada. The option of comparison with European counterparts will be possible because this study is an extension of studies conducted on incubators in Europe. To achieve this goal, the following research questions were devised: What are the specialist areas, selection criteria, and services supplied by Canadian incubators and accelerators, and what is the concentration of incubators and accelerators in Canada? What sets apart incubators/accelerators that support entrepreneurial teams and businesses with significant social and/or environmental impact from other incubators, and what challenges do such incubators face? For data collection and analysis, an interpretive approach and a quantitative method were employed to answer the research question and meet the study's objectives. A total of 217 incubators/accelerators were approached for participation in the study, with 47 responding. The obtained data is subjected to analysis, and a conclusion is reached at the end. This study highlights that the major functions of Canadian incubators are considered to be training and network building. Furthermore, it has been discovered that the majority of incubators employ multiple methods for selecting tenants. The study also provides a reliable estimation of the population of incubators in each province and identifies a significant but fragmented startup assistance support system across the country. Financial funding is more difficult to come by, and the biggest challenges encountered in helping entrepreneurial teams and organizations with significant social impact solutions are different objectives and languages for incubating social enterprises.