Newly released Impact Report on Circular Economy Incubation

The Circular Economy Catalyst has provided incubation support to circular economy enterprises and entrepreneurs across diverse sectors in India and Kenya. This report evaluates the mid-term outcomes of these support initiatives, focusing on participants’ development in entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge, and skills, as well as the overall status of their businesses one year after programme completion. 

The mid-term assessment surveyed 200 participants from the CEC incubation programmes, including 121 from the Replicator programme and 107 from the Starter programme. 

Gender and Regional Variations

The assessment revealed persistent gender disparities, with women generally rating themselves lower across mindset, knowledge, and skills. Men reported higher confidence in their entrepreneurial skills, although the gap between genders has narrowed compared to earlier assessments. Cultural attitudes towards risk-taking and the maturity of entrepreneurial ecosystems could have contributed to regional differences in mindset and skills.

Business Evolution, Challenges, and Support Needs

Understanding the evolution, challenges and barriers faced by enterprises is crucial for providing better support. Significant improvements have been reported by supported SMEs, mainly in the areas of Market and Customer Relations (64%), Growth and Expansion (45%) and Financial Improvement (36%). However, SMEs still face challenges, with the most commonly reported being cash flow management issues (42%), limited access to a skilled workforce (40%), and high production costs (40%). 

Regarding the Training of Trainers programme, the mid-term assessment has found that BDS advisors continue to improve their knowledge and skills about the circular economy and how to better support enterprises within. All trained BDS advisors utilise tools provided during the BDS trainings in their daily work by using them mixed with other support tools.