I was working with the government in their Information Technology Wing when it was announced that we had been allocated funds to do something innovative. We were briefed that this innovation should be novel, sustainable, and could solve major governance issues. We locked ourselves in the conference room and started brainstorming about what we could do that was innovative and that maintained the tight processes and procedures of the sector.

A month passed and we presented our shortlisted ideas to the Chairman. He was visibly unhappy. Most of our ideas were about building websites or management portals to update various departments. After the meeting, he looked at me and asked, “Do you know what a business incubator is?”. I did know, but I could never have imagined something like that functioning in a public sector organization. It was at that very moment he announced that we would be setting up an innovation program within the government and that the first step would be to launch a business incubator. We were told that to achieve this, the core team had to imagine an open canvas and forget that we were part of the government. This was our invitation to think bigger and more creatively.

Given the newness of this endeavor for our team, we began by gathering as much information as we could about innovation programs, creating a lay of the land that includes a list of all the best practices. We studied innovation programs and incubation models from all over the world, from both the public and private sectors, to understand their major differences and features. This research process took us around 5 weeks, during which we also initiated a public dialogue with potential entrepreneurs to help us identify the types of problems they were facing. We began noting down the roadblocks and issues they faced when they attempted to enter the market and start doing business. We thought that if we could solve the issues they were facing at this point in their development, then we could provide real and tangible benefits to these entrepreneurs.

Next, we mapped all the features and services that innovation programs around the globe offered, alongside the list of problems our local entrepreneurs were facing. This process resulted in a blueprint for a localized incubation program that had the potential to catalyze the entire innovation and entrepreneurial landscape of our region. Everyone who we explained this model to was very skeptical, primarily because (a) it was totally different from the leading international models, and (b) we were positioned inside the government. This made us realize that for innovation and disruption to happen, you will be faced with exploring unchartered territories.

Finally, in 2013, we launched the program and began inducting potential entrepreneurs through the following domains:

1. Ideation Phase
2. Design Thinking
3. Lean Startup Methodology
4. Business modeling
5. Financial modeling
6. Marketing strategy
7. Legal and IP protection
8. Getting ready for Investment

We also deployed an incubation management system to manage and track the progress of all innovations and to help us scout for entrepreneurs. Having effective tools and processes in place to manage innovations is a very necessary part of the process.

Over the years we applied the lean methodology and rapid iteration of Build, Measure and Learn cycles to our program. This enabled us to keep improving the way we supported entrepreneurs. The success of our program also began to ignite interest in other public sector departments, as more and more began to start solving the issues of their target audience through innovation.

Eight years on, and this incubation program has become the country’s leading innovation support program. Over 500 startups have completed the program and gone on to achieve success in their respective domains.

I am a firm believer that innovation cannot be achieved overnight nor is it a temporary fix, rather it is a long-term strategy that requires an investment of both time and effort. Successful efforts focus on establishing a foundation of the right people and empowering them to contribute innovative ideas.

All articles by Uzair in our Experts in the Field series:

• Setting up an innovation program in the public sector
• Incubators in an Academic Environment
• Innovation Scouting in the Incubator
• Teaching a mindset change from project to product

Other articles and series written by Uzair:

• A Deep Dive into Innovation Scouting