Establishing Business Incubation Centers for Social Impacts and Smart Education Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindset

While many business incubation centers (BIC) exist in universities worldwide, establishing one in developing countries is always challenging. In doing so, what is often overlooked is that while business incubation centers are established very formally, they usually do not meet the desired key performance indicators. Failure to meet fundamental key performance indicators eliminates incubation's true spirit that focuses on smart education, entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and uplift of intellectual capital. This paper shares the methodical practices and terms of reference (TORs) that explain how business incubation centers should be established in universities in developing countries. The paper presents establishment and operational methods that were formulated for two live cases. These methods were formulated after consultation with a large set of stakeholders, such as the university's leadership, academicians from a wide range of faculties/departments, and administrative departments concerning quality, technology, strategy, research, commercialization, and product innovation. The terms of reference presented in this paper are found to ensure the business incubation center’s conformance to performance criteria for better social impacts, smart education, innovation, and entrepreneurial mindset.