Innovation and entrepreneurship through business incubation - Developing a business plan for Aunt Diana's EM Derivatives, a start-up small and medium enterprise (SME).

Abstract

Aunt Diana's EM Derivatives is a start-up SME (small and medium sized enterprise) business that has benefited the targeted support services provided by NUST. These services have been orchestrated by an incubator management team from the Department of Agriculture with the goal of empowering a former student to start a business that produces and markets derivatives of Effective Microorganisms (EM) in Namibia. The company has the potential of commercialising EM derivatives, providing Namibians with an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical products and strengthening Namibia's economy. Critical to the creation of Aunt Diana's EM Derivatives is the continuous assistance by the support team in the provision of a business plan, management guidance and technical assistance tailored to the young entrepreneur and owner of the company. Using Aunt Diana's EM Derivatives as a case study, this paper discusses the process of developing the company's business plan and the unique incubating services that NUST can provide to create the right environment for nurturing young entrepreneurs to create start-up companies.