Unlock the Full Potential of Your Business Development Services with SCALE 360

The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is launching SCALE 360, a new global initiative aimed at strengthening Business Development Service (BDS) providers, including accelerators, incubators, and other entrepreneurial support organizations.

Drawing on insights from the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI) and the latest academic research, SCALE 360 applies the SCALE framework—Select, Charging, Address, Learning, Lead by Example—to equip BDS providers with evidence-based strategies that drive real impact.

This program brings together carefully selected cohorts of participants for an immersive learning journey, providing hands-on guidance on implementing best practices in BDS programming. Developed in collaboration with local ANDE members and partners, SCALE 360 delivers practical, actionable tools to unlock the growth potential of small and growing businesses (SGBs).

From Insight to Action: Selecting the Right Enterprise

In an evolving entrepreneurial landscape where impact and scalability are increasingly intertwined, ANDE South Asia launched its SCALE 360 India initiative with two intensive sessions on April 21st, setting a purposeful tone for enterprise support in the region.

The day’s proceedings opened with a foundational session on ‘Selecting the Right Enterprise’, foregrounding a critical question for entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs): How do we ensure we’re backing the right startups—not just in mission, but in momentum?

Defining the ‘Why’

Deepak Menon of Village Capital led the conversation by urging organizations to be explicit about their ‘Why’. For example, Village Capital aims to create impact through scaling entrepreneurship and thus focuses on companies that need support to begin moving towards scale. He also discussed their Venture Investment Readiness and Awareness Levels (VIRAL) pathway and peer due diligence process.

Ajay Menon discussed the selection strategies of TechnoServe’s Greenr accelerator, including driving applicant mobilization through multi-channel communication. The Greenr accelerator optimizes startup selection through data-driven filters, and applicants are specifically categorized based on the clarity of their environmental offering to prevent greenwashing.

Matching Fit to Thesis

Vaikunt Prasad spoke of how NSRCEL employs focused marketing and partnerships for selecting startups aligned with their incubation thesis. He highlighted the need for focused marketing as ‘misfit cohorts’ can drain energy and dilute impact. NSRCEL takes the support of thesis-aligned communities and partners who can act as quality gatekeepers to reach out to the right candidates.

Tom Sebastian rounded off the ‘S’ session by describing SeedStar’s selection strategy, including a clearly defined selection criterion and a multilevel selection funnel. He also showcased their SMART, an AI-powered, scientific-based, and applied entrepreneur support methodology.

The session saw rich engagement with Professor Srinivas Chary from ASCI, highlighting the need for prioritizing impact and selecting portfolios that can solve large problems such as  Bangalore’s water crisis. The consensus was that there was a need to focus on both impact and scalability/revenue generation potential. 

Cohort Insights: Transparency, Stakeholders, and the Data Dilemma

The cohort members shared the following insights during the peer learning session, where they reflected on the SCALE principles, the experience shared by peer experts, and what resonated with them

• Setting clear expectations and transparency resonated with them from the SCALE reading materials. For example, if a program does not provide funding to enterprises, communicating it clearly would help eliminate cohort misfits. 
• The participants also echoed the importance of having stakeholder participation in the selection process. Referrals from partners, active involvement of sponsors, and including investors early in the program were highlighted as strategies that worked. 
• Challenges in selection included the difficulties in getting data from startups and the time-consuming nature of due diligence. 

Charging for Enterprises: A Necessary Disruption?

ANDE South Asia conducted the ‘Charging for Enterprises’ session of its SCALE 360 program on the afternoon of 21st April. This was a much-anticipated session as charging enterprises is not widely practiced in the Indian Entrepreneur Support ecosystem.

Nachiket Kulkarni from NSRCEL set the tone for discussions by giving an overview of common entrepreneur support models, ranging from traditional ones such as incubators, accelerators, and science and tech parks, and modern support models such as pre-incubation programs, co-working spaces/communities, startup studios/venture builders, and venture capital/advisory firms. He then discussed diversifying income streams by targeting the intersection of ‘what can be charged’ vs ‘willingness to pay’.

This context setting was followed by a peer learning session where the cohort raised the following points:

• Incentivizing enterprises for performance improvement is an effective strategy.
• Funders often restrict charging, especially for non-profit organizations and organizations affiliated with academic institutions.
• Lack of precedent was another challenge to charging. Additionally, the importance of free public funding in accelerating innovation was highlighted.
• For-profit incubators use individual consulting and sweat equity as charging approaches. 
• Some organizations also charge for value-added services such as bringing in technical experts. 
• It was suggested that organizations can set up a mentor pool of alumni and charge for access to the mentor pool to achieve financial sustainability.

As ANDE’s SCALE 360 India program continues, one thing is clear: South Asia’s ESOs are increasingly willing to confront the hard questions. From filtering for fit to building sustainable revenue streams, the focus is no longer just on supporting enterprises—but on doing so strategically, transparently, and sustainably.

Cracking the Code: Addressing the Real Problems Entrepreneurs Face

ANDE South Asia held its third workshop in the SCALE 360 series on 15th May virtually. This session on ‘A – Addressing the Problems’ was co-facilitated by Abby Davidson, former ANDE Research & Impact Director, and Aleena Khan, Head of Programs, Invest2Innovate.

The session began with Abby explaining the evidence on how firms learn based on the research on effective SGB support. As per research, learning is fueled by peer engagement (ideally from those ahead of you), transparency and collaboration, and customized training/mentorship/consulting. While classroom learning ensures the cohort has a common baseline understanding and can help build specific skills such as finance or marketing, it is also time spent away from running the business, and knowledge is not often translated into action. However, growth stages and BDS goals ultimately determine the approach.

Aleena began her session by highlighting the key dimensions of SCALE: diagnose precisely, build real trust, leverage peer power, make learning practical, and apply what is learned. She used the example of their i2iScale, a three-month accelerator, to illustrate how they work with startups to address their problems and to facilitate learning by doing. She also mentioned some of the ways they embed peer learning in their programs, such as ‘breakout brainstorms’, ‘master-mind sessions’, and ‘hot-seat problem solving’.

The session ended with breakout sessions where participants discussed their learnings, strategies, and challenges, and learned from each other.