The BIC Africa UK–Africa Online Knowledge Exchange Programme Series on University Incubation and Innovation Support successfully took place from 27 to 30 January 2026, drawing strong participation from across Africa, the UK and beyond.
The programme organised by EBN through the BIC Africa project, led by leading UK university business incubations – University of East London (RDCS), Cambridge University (St John’s Innovation Centre), Coventry University, and the University of Warwick Science Park.
The four-day interactive exchange programme, each 2.5 hours long, aimed to facilitate peer learning and exchange with experienced managers from UK University incubators, all EU|BIC certified. They shared their unique offering and effective approaches, tools, and practices to strengthen innovation, entrepreneurship, spinouts and university–industry collaboration.
Through presentations, case studies, best practices, strategic dialogue and Q&A, the sessions explored key themes of Universities as Innovation Ecosystem Leaders, Supporting Spinouts & Student Enterprise, Investment and Mentoring for Start-Ups and Scale-Ups, and incubation and Acceleration Models.
The participants learned strategies to strengthen incubation models, foster innovation ecosystems, and enhance university-led entrepreneurship initiatives. In addition, the programme enabled participants to connect with the University Incubator managers and experts sparking lively exchanges with African counterparts to explore potential future collaborations with African innovation ecosystems and to strengthen the UK–Africa collaboration.
Over 175 participants from different Sub-Saharan African countries participated in the four sessions, underscoring the growing importance of collaborative approaches to innovation support and business incubation. UK presenters shared insights on best practices, case studies, and policy frameworks. Moreover, the participants kept the conversation going after the session to explore opportunities for continued learning and collaboration.
A big thank you to everyone who joined us and to our UK presenters for their invaluable contributions. A special thanks to the European Union for the supporting the programme.
Watch the recoding:
- University of East London (RDCS): here
- Cambridge University (St John’s Innovation Centre): here
- Coventry University: here
- University of Warwick Science Park: here
BIC Africa is funded by the European Union and implemented by EBN.