Towards a typological analysis of business incubators in Morocco

Abstract

Despite the diversity of entrepreneurial support actors, “business incubators” have earned a special attention. The first generation of incubators evolved in the United States of America at the end of the 1950s, to then spread to different countries around the world. They are known by different names, in relation to the socio-economic conditions of the context in which they develop. Thus, several classifications have been studied. Between generational classification and classification for objective, theoretical work in this direction seems to have a practical emanation.

Business incubation in Morocco is seen as a new support practice. Since the year 2000, it has started to spring up among the other entrepreneurial support systems. It is undoubtedly a “growing industry”. However, it can  changes modes depending on the context and the profile of the project leader. Indeed our article will try to appreciate the morphology of business incubators in Morocco. First, we will have the opportunity to see the theoretical perceptions of the classification of business incubators, which will guide our empirical investigation in a second place. To do this, we chose an exploratory scheme that opts for a qualitative approach using interview guides as a survey tool. The main target is the incubators members of the Morocco Incubation and Spin-off Network (RMIE), and then after the business incubation structures that operates outside the framework of the RMIE. The analysis of the results will provide, as far as possible, a panoramic view of the practice of incubation in Morocco. The main axes covered are the typological analysis of the structures, the description of the incubation offer and the identification of the incubator network. Despite the young nature of business incubation in Morocco, the main conclusion of this article is the diversity of the types of these structures.