Business Incubation and Acceleration

Through the execution of projects in the field, Alexius has gained meaningful experience in supporting small businesses, both established and recently formed.  As the largest employer in most nations, small businesses serve as the backbone of economic growth.  In developing countries, economic growth is seen in the revenue generated by and maturation of small businesses. 

Though most small business owners are experts in the service they provide, they often lack the knowledge needed for their businesses to become long-term successes.  The performance of a business can be severely hindered when it lacks organizational resources, inventory and client management systems, or market development resources like advertising tools and market intelligence information (be these directly for the business, sector associations, or guilds).  In addition, many small business owners do not have the basic skills to create business plans, fulfill legal requirements, or adhere to best practices in their industries.  In order to foster small businesses in the communities in which we work, Alexius provides tools and helps develop skill sets through business incubation and training. 

One of the keys to incubating a successful business is properly managing information and transitioning skill sets. There are many free and low-cost solutions for managing a small business's critical information, from simple spreadsheets for developing business plans to complex enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems. Using these tools in combination with basic business administration training and Internet-based research and development, we have successfully supported entrepreneurs in taking their ideas from concept to reality.  Managing information and business relationships from the beginning gives the entrepreneur the edge they need to accelerate growth and succeed.

 

Alexius has worked on several projects with business incubation components, including:

 

IT Enterprise Incubator

Alexius helped develop an IT incubator for Armenia in order to increase economic development.

Last Mile Initiative

Overview of LMI.

LMI Colombia

Alexius helped expand telecommunications access into rural Colombia, which helps institutionalize democracy and involve people in the nation's economy.

LMI Ecuador

Alexius partnered with USAID to deploy a high speed Internet connectivity through the Credit Union network in order to service rural communities.

LMI Guatemala

In this project, Alexius created the Oportunet brand, under which micro-telcos operate. Through this, rural communities gained access to telecommunications, which then delivered new social and economic opportunities to those communities.

LMI Paraguay

LMI-Paraguay provided internet access to 100 organizations throughout Paraguay, before the private sector brought internet access to them, in order to help them learn how to maximize the community benefits of internet access.

LMI Peru

Alexius and partners deployed one of the first micro-telcos in Peru, giving various organizations internet access. After seeing the vast development potential, the Peruvian government allocated more funds to create more micro-telcos in rural areas.

Micro-Telco in a Box

An integrated kit composed of basic telecommunication hardware and a set of Open Source applications and platforms.

National Smart Card Retail Payment System

Alexius helped plan and implement a credit/debit card system for Armenia, allowing for increased business transactions and from that increased economic growth.

Sourcio

Alexius helped the incubation and business plan of sourcio.com, an Armenian company working with open source outsourcing and development.