Embroker Team October 20, 2022 15 min read

160+ Startup Incubators and Accelerators Around the World

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Startup companies are like babies, they must be constantly nurtured to survive. And only once proven can they be trusted to survive without any lifelines or support.

Startup incubators and accelerators all over the world have been created as lifelines for companies to take their first steps, grow, and thrive as a sustainable business. Most commonly, they provide resources like office space, mentorship, and in some cases, they even offer seed funding.

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We scoured the internet to find incubators and accelerator programs all over the world. We researched each program to analyze the following criteria for each:

  • Initial funding
  • Mentorship
  • Legal support
  • Office space
  • Demo day

Interactive Table

Below is an interactive table of the 160+ incubators and accelerators around the world. You can filter to find the programs that meet your specific criteria and contact information for each.

Company Country Type Funding Mentorship Legal Support Office Space Demo Day Contact
spring 2 Canada Both No Yes No Yes No help@spring.is
auc venture lab Egypt Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ---
startupbootcamp cape town South Africa Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes cape.town@startupbootcamp.org
techqala South Africa Accelerator No Yes No No No hello@unboxed.co
seed engine South Africa Accelerator Yes Yes No No No enquiries@fcb.co.za
velociti zimbabwe Zimbabwe Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes apply@velociti.co.zw
aurik business accelerator South Africa Accelerator No Yes No No No 27 (0)11 447 5575
brinc io China Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes heriberto@brinc.io
brinc io China Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes heriberto@brinc.io
brinc io Spain Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes heriberto@brinc.io
brinc io Bahrain Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes heriberto@brinc.io
brinc io India Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes heriberto@brinc.io
brinc io Poland Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes heriberto@brinc.io
zeroth India Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes ---
zeroth China Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes ---
zeroth Japan Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes ---
chinaccelerator China Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes cateam@chinaccelerator.com
hax accelerator United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes makeit@hax.co
tribe accelerator Singapore Accelerator No Yes No No Yes hello@tribeaccelerator.co
neoply China Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No contact@neoply.com
the cowrks foundry India Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes thefoundry@cowrks.com
india accelerator India Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ananya.kapoor@indiaaccelerator.co
india accelerator India Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ananya.kapoor@indiaaccelerator.co
india accelerator India Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ananya.kapoor@indiaaccelerator.co
z nation lab United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No No info@znationlab.com
z nation lab India Accelerator Yes Yes No No No info@znationlab.com
nfq asia Singapore Accelerator No Yes No Yes No info@nfq.com
axilor ventures India Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No accelerator@axilor.com
bluechilli accelerator Singapore Accelerator No Yes No No No hello@bluechilli.com
bluechilli accelerator Australia Accelerator No Yes No No No hello@bluechilli.com
h2 ventures Australia Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No contact@h2.vc
anz innovyz start Australia Both No Yes No Yes No info@innovyz.com
startmate Australia Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes hello@startmate.com.au
startmate Australia Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes hello@startmate.com.au
cyrise Australia Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes hello@cyrise.co
sproutx Australia Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes info@sproutx.com.au
sparklabs accelerator China Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes info@sparklabsglobal.com
rcl accelerator Australia Incubator No Yes No Yes No ---
entrepreneur first India Accelerator Yes No No Yes Yes ef@diffusionpr.com
entrepreneur first Germany Accelerator Yes No No Yes Yes ef@diffusionpr.com
entrepreneur first United Kingdom Accelerator Yes No No Yes Yes ef@diffusionpr.com
startup wise guys Estonia Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes zane@startupwiseguys.com
startupbootcamp United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes sam@startupbootcamp.org
axel springer plug and play accelerator Germany Accelerator No Yes No No No plugandplay@axelspringer.de
european pioneers Switzerland Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No 41 78 642 45 55
european pioneers Germany Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No 49 40 299 962 759
zero gravity d14a United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No ---
alpha programme United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No publichall@huckletree.com
alpha programme Ireland Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No d2@huckletree.com
alpha programme United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No soho@huckletree.com
alpha programme United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No west@huckletree.com
alpha programme United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No shoreditchreception@huckletree.com
alpha programme United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No clerkenwell@huckletree.com
alpha programme United Kingdom Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No ancoats@huckletree.com
alpha programme Norway Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No memberships@huckletree.com
founders factory United Kingdom Both Yes No No No No hello@foundersfactory.com
katapult accelerator Norway Accelerator No Yes No No Yes hello@katapultaccelerator.com
hackquarters startup launchpad United Kingdom Accelerator No Yes No No Yes hello@hackquarters.co
hackquarters startup launchpad Turkey Accelerator No Yes No No Yes hello@hackquarters.co
techstars United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes help@techstars.com
startup health United States Accelerator Yes No No No No info@startuphealth.com
startup health United States Accelerator Yes No No No No info@startuphealth.com
startup health United States Accelerator Yes No No No No info@startuphealth.com
500 startups United States Accelerator No Yes No No Yes ---
alchemist accelerator United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No admissions@alchemistaccelerator.com
women s startup lab United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No No Contact@WomenStartupLab.com
gener8tor United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No Yes info@gener8tor.com
gener8tor United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No Yes info@gener8tor.com
gener8tor United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No Yes info@gener8tor.com
Union Kitchen United States Accelerator No Yes No Yes No apply@unionkitchen.com
masschallenge United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No apply@masschallenge.org
masschallenge United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No apply@masschallenge.org
masschallenge Israel Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No apply@masschallenge.org
masschallenge Switzerland Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No apply@masschallenge.org
masschallenge United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No apply@masschallenge.org
masschallenge United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No apply@masschallenge.org
village capital United States Both Yes Yes No No No info@vilcap.com
village capital Mexico Both Yes Yes No No No info@vilcap.com
village capital Nairobi Both Yes Yes No No No info@vilcap.com
clean energy trust 2 United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No Yes info@cleanenergytrust.org
smarter in the city United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No info@smarterinthecity.com
mousebelt United States Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No ---
tandemlaunch technologies Canada Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes No info@tandemlaunch.com
victory square labs 2 Canada Accelerator Yes Yes No No No info@victorysquare.com
founderfuel Canada Accelerator Yes Yes No No Yes Contact founderfuel
accelerator centre Canada Both Yes Yes No No Yes info@acceleratorcentre.com
wow aceleradora Brazil Accelerator Yes Yes No No No contato@wow.ac
start up chile Chile Accelerator Yes Yes No Yes Yes contact@startupchile.org
StartupMarket Turkey Accelerator Yes Yes No No No info@startupmarket.co
FinLeap Germany Accelerator No No No No No media@finleap.com
Investory.io Austria Accelerator Yes Yes No No No support@investory.io
The Birdhouse Belgium Accelerator Yes Yes No No No hello@gobirdhouse.com
The Birdhouse Belgium Accelerator Yes Yes No No No hello@gobirdhouse.com
Tech Family Ventures Bulgaria Accelerator No Yes No Yes No office@tech-family.com
crowdisland Sri Lanka Accelerator Yes Yes No No No info@crowdisland.lk
Fluidra Spain Both Yes Yes No Yes No ---
Building Global Innovators Portugal Accelerator Yes Yes No No Yes geral@bgi.pt
sFoundation United States Accelerator No Yes No No No ---
Startitup United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No Yes yitao@startitup.co
Seed Equity Ventures United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No No ---
Seed Equity Ventures United States Accelerator Yes Yes No No No ---
inQlab Columbia Incubator Yes Yes No No No contactenos@inqlab.co
Egg Greece Accelerator Yes Yes No No No info@theegg.gr
Launch United States Both Yes Yes No Yes Yes contact@launch.co
Capital Factory United States Accelerator No Yes No Yes No melissaschwartz@capitalfactory.com
plug and play ventures United States Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures United States Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Brazil Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures France Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures France Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures The Netherlands Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Germany Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Germany Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures China Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures China Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures China Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Japan Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Japan Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Austria Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Spain Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Spain Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Italy Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
plug and play ventures Germany Accelerator No Yes No Yes Yes ana@plugandplaytechcenter.com
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Accelerators vs. Incubators: What’s the Difference?

Although some people use the terms interchangeably, the difference between accelerators and incubators is usually the size and stage of the companies they seek to assist.

A founder typically enters an incubator with only an idea. The incubator provides a safe place where the idea can be tested, pivoted, and evolved into the early semblances of a real business. Incubators can help with product development, co-founder recruiting, business formation, business development, and more.

An established company typically enters an accelerator with a business plan, founding team, first-gen or later product in the market, and some early signs of revenue. The accelerator program helps these businesses scale their products or services to a wider audience.

What is a Startup Incubator?

A startup incubator is an entity that provides resources to turn ideas into early-stage startups. Incubator programs can be either for-profit or non-profit and operated by governments, universities, venture capital firms, philanthropists, and more.

Incubators are effectively a sandbox for entrepreneurs to build prototypes for their ideas, test those prototypes, and determine whether or not they can find initial product-market fit. Resources for this stage of product development will differ from those of a growth-stage startup that’s already achieved product-market fit.

A startup incubator could, for example, provide 3D printers and CNC milling machines for hardware startups, workflow infrastructure credits and senior consultants for software startups, business formation and startup resources for all startups, and more.

Once a working prototype is built, the product is in the hands of real paying customers, and the company is ready to scale to more customers, the startup could graduate to an accelerator program.

What is a Startup Accelerator?

A startup accelerator is an entity that provides resources to grow early-stage startups into businesses that are self-sustaining or are able to raise additional capital. Many accelerator programs have a rigid time frame, usually anywhere from a few days to multiple months, and a set curriculum for completing the program.

Accelerator programs are usually reserved for startups that have already reached a few significant milestones and are ready to grow their business quickly. Some accelerator programs will offer capital as a means of achieving growth, in exchange for an equity stake in the company. This is where the pros and cons of enrolling in an incubator or accelerator must be deeply considered.

Benefits of Incubators and Accelerators

Although there are some differences between the two, we will discuss the general benefits of both startup accelerators and incubators, although they can differ substantially from program to program.

1. Funding Opportunities

Some incubators and accelerators will provide funding opportunities as investors seek to benefit from equity appreciation or as local governments seek to benefit from economic development.

Accelerator programs have been widely adopted by venture capitalists, who essentially provide training facilities for their portfolio companies. Universities and governments are also encouraged to invest in their constituents and support innovation to reap the benefits of job creation and economic expansion.

Funding amounts from accelerators can range anywhere from a few tens of thousands of dollars to more than half a million dollars. For example, StartMate, an Australian accelerator, offers $75,000 honoring the terms of the most recent round of funding.

If the accelerator doesn’t provide initial funding, this doesn’t mean there aren’t funding opportunities available. Many accelerator programs have a network of angel investors, venture capitalists, and more who can assist with fundraising.

2. Free Office Space

Most accelerators provide co-working office space and a limited number of conference rooms. Office space is a huge win for startups for a number of reasons, including limiting recurring expenses, increasing collaboration, and more.

First, the cost of leasing office space for an unproven business model is extremely risky. Signing a six-month or longer lease on office space comes at a substantial cost which would certainly limit how long your company can survive pre-revenue.

Co-working space in an accelerator program is also beneficial for teams to gain exposure and learn from like-minded teams experiencing similar problems and discovering unique solutions. The office space also provides a professional place for meetings with investors, customers, and mentors.

3. Mentorship

Warren Buffett summed up the benefits of mentorship when he said, “It's good to learn from your mistakes. It's better to learn from other people's mistakes.”

As an entrepreneur, you will make many mistakes along the way, and the best way to limit those mistakes is with a combination of mentorship and open-mindedness. Every successful company or entrepreneur has been built on the backs of many more failures.

Accelerators bring the best and brightest in any given field to help the next generation achieve the same success. Learn from those who have been in similar situations before and can help you successfully navigate a tough industry.

4. Resources

Accelerators can also offer additional resources and strategic partnerships that can be vital to growth-stage startups.

Some accelerators, for example, will provide legal counsel that can help protect intellectual property, prevent expensive litigation, and provide other legal advice. Accelerators will also often have established partnerships with companies that will offer free or discounted products and services for startups.

Cloud computing credits, discounted SaaS subscriptions, and more resources are commonly available to the startups that join an accelerator. These resources will vary greatly depending on the accelerator program you decide to apply for.

Demo Day is also a common perk of going through an accelerator program. This is where the companies pitch their ideas, showcase their products, and network with investors to raise additional rounds of capital and build relationships.

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Disadvantages of Accelerators

1. Giving Up Equity

Many accelerator programs come at a hefty price: equity in your company.

Equity in a successful business is finite and therefore a highly valued resource. Whenever new investors, advisors, employees, or anyone else joins the cap-table (the breakdown of equity ownership in a company) it’s important to think about how they will continue to contribute over the lifetime of the company.

In startup funding, this is known as smart money versus dumb money. Smart money is when an investor comes with more than just money, like a passion for the business and resources above and beyond the money — and they continue to help after the money has been spent. Dumb money is when an investor provides money but nothing else and only cares about their return on investment.

If the accelerator program lasts for only six weeks but takes six percent of the business, it’s important to consider how this dilutes the founding team’s equity, the ability to raise future rounds of funding, and whether the accelerator program will continue to provide support after the program ends.

Some accelerator programs tout follow-on funding rounds but again, it’s important to understand equity dilution and the impact on motivation. If the founding team gets diluted too much too early, they may not be motivated to pour their heart and soul into the company.

2. Not Enough Time or Funding

Another consideration when weighing the pros and cons of any given accelerator program is duration and funding amount. Startups are not built overnight, and if the program is too short, and funding inadequate, you might leave the program with little progress to show and even less money.

If the sales cycle in your business, for example, is six or more months and you join a three-month program with enough funding to give your company a six-month runway, you will leave the program with zero revenue and insufficient funds to survive until reaching revenue.

Scenarios like this force companies to raise more funding in a pinch and with no proven business model, which can result in a down-round — raising funds below the last round’s valuation.

Is an Incubator or Accelerator The Right Choice?

There are many stories of companies that went through an incubator or accelerator program and went on to achieve success. Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox, and many more are rock-solid examples.

Decisions that will impact the business for the rest of its life should be thought about deeply — from deciding whether to incorporate as a c-corp, s-corp, LLC, or otherwise to deciding on your insurance coverage.

If your business needs support to get off the ground and into the stratosphere of success, incubators and accelerators can be viable options. Make sure you research the reputation and specifics of any incubator or accelerator program you enroll in.

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