Best practice guidelines for accelerators

Written By SECNA Accounts Access

By Kylie Flament, CEO of SECNA. Published 27 July 2026.

There are almost 300 accelerators, incubators and coworking spaces in NSW & ACT [1] and while only a few focus specifically on social enterprises, many help social enterprises to ideate, launch and scale.

Unfortunately no one has evaluated the success of these programs side-by-side and feedback varies considerably. Even discussing how to measure success is met with more questions than answers - is it based on participant satisfaction, achieving milestones like time in business, growth, securing funding, or can an outsider like a pitch judge or mentor decide how successful a program is based on what they see? 

Furthermore, when would an organisation attempt to evaluate the success of the program?Is it at the end of the conclusion of the program, or 6, 12, 24 months later, or longer still?

What is abundant, however, is anecdotal feedback from social enterprises about what works and what doesn’t. 

Here at SECNA, we want every accelerator program to be as effective as possible: to help social entrepreneurs to have the best possible chance of running a financially viable business that makes the world a better place; and to fail early and cheaply, and pivot to a better idea if there’s little chance of the current one being a success rather than pouring time, energy and money into something that may burn them and others out.

Tips for accelerators

  1. Bring together a cohort that are at a similar stage and prioritise learning from and helping each other (tap into each other’s knowledge)

    “In my experience, I've gotten the most out of peer learning / sharing knowledge + experiences. And I think that's where some of the greatest value in these accelerators comes from – especially for those who are already further along in their journey.” - social entrepreneur

  2. Find ways to motivate them but don’t pit them against each other (such as having them compete for money at the end of the program where only one ‘wins’)

  3. Flip the classroom. Have participants learn the theory in their own time (pre-reading, recorded lectures, online modules, etc) and spend time together applying those learnings in an interactive, practical and tangible way 

  4. Pay social enterprises to come in and share their learnings (don’t ask them to do it for free, and minimise the corporate ‘experts’ who have never run a social enterprise)

  5. Have deliverables such as a business plan, theory of change and a pitch (participants need to walk away with something tangible and these are things every social enterprise needs). Offer templates and examples so participants have a good starting point. Or better yet, provide resources.

    “I'd love for these programs to orient around taking jobs off my plate (particularly by commissioning other social enterprises) rather than spend time being taught how to do it (as I still don't have time to get it done!)” - social entrepreneur

  6. Give participants assets such as photos and videos (and raw files) if you take them throughout the program

  7. Actively connect participants with resources, support, funding, customers (the networks you can open up to them are incredibly valuable!)

  8. Get feedback (honest, unfiltered feedback) from participants. Anonymity matters because social entrepreneurs don’t want to hurt any longterm relationship with a funder, so consider having a third party get the feedback. And a quick phone call will get you more feedback than a survey. 

  9. Follow up 6, 12, 24 months later so you know how well they do after your program

  10. Balance business and impact. A social enterprise is a mix of both so any accelerator or incubator needs to provide skills, knowledge and support for both.

  11. If you provide funding to participants, split it between core operating costs (let them spend it on their own time if they need to) and an identified need (which could still be spent internally)

  12. If you are working with established social enterprises, tailor your program to suit each one. If you have experts working with them to identify their gaps or needs, design your expert program to minimise conflicts of interest (i.e. ensure your experts recommend what the enterprise needs and opts out if they can’t provide it, rather than experts who recommend what they can be paid more to provide)

What social enterprises want most from accelerators

  1. Funding and/or a big step forward in revenue generation

  2. Introductions, connections, networks

  3. Mentoring, coaching or advice that solves real-time problems

  4. Access to expertise and experience, including pro-bono support (e.g. legal, HR)

  5. Opportunity to showcase their work and impact

  6. Being part of a community of peers. Meeting likeminded people and forming strong connections with them outside of and for longer than the accelerator runs for.

  7. For early stage social entrepreneurs, the feedback is often that “we don’t know what we don’t know”, so a program that takes them through all the elements of building a social enterprise is helpful 

  8. For late stage social entrepreneurs, if they’re coming to an accelerator, something is not working or needs to change. They are often highly skilled in some areas but they either have blind spots (which an expert could help uncover) or skills gaps (that they’re looking to fill). They want a tailored program, mentors/coaches who know more than they do, and tangible outcomes (expert help, funding, promotion, introductions to potential customers, etc)

  9. They want to learn from other social entrepreneurs. Experience matters, especially if it is recent. And from a range of social enterprises so that they’re likely to find one or two that are similar to their own. 

  10. They want to walk away with clear progress made. They want (and need) to have a validated business plan, theory of change, a sharp pitch and know where they will focus their efforts for the foreseeable future.

Tips for social enterprises considering doing an accelerator

  1. Be very clear what you want to get out of it and make sure it aligns (see the list above and compare which items you want with which ones the accelerator you’re considering offers)

  2. Consider how else you might solve the same problem (e.g. if you’re applying for an accelerator mainly because it comes with $40,000 investment but requires one day per week for six months, what could that time be spent on that could also bring in $40,000)

  3. Check if there are any strings attached (e.g. if they are offering you cash to participate, are they taking a stake in your organisation; do you have to attend a certain percentage of the course and what happens if you don’t; are you expected to promote the company if it is a business-sponsored accelerator?)

  4. Get feedback from social entrepreneurs who have done that accelerator previously (hint: ask them “who would this accelerator be good for and not?”, not just whether they liked it or not. See list of social enterprises that have done various accelerators below.)

  5. Make sure you understand the time commitment, cohort size and mix, what you can expect to get from the program and what you are expected to do (attendance, homework, pitch, etc)

  6. Put the time aside, including learning time if you’re expected to do online modules or pre-reading; class time if there is a group component; and thinking time to consider, consolidate and apply what you have learned

Find an accelerator

Search our Services Directory for Accelerators and Fellowships to find one that suits you.

Find an accelerator

Recent social enterprise accelerators

(Tip: Click for more information. If you are thinking of applying, reach out to a social enterprise that has done this accelerator to get their feedback and decide if it is the right fit for you.)

Glossary

Definitions from NSW Government [2]:

Accelerator:

“An accelerator is a support program that is cohort-based and of fixed duration. Accelerators provide mentoring, peer-to-peer interaction and business skills training, as well as investment readiness training and connections to investors. Such programs are typically selective, based on criteria such as sectoral focus and growth potential.” 

Incubator:

“An incubator is a startup support organisation that provides physical space to startups, along with additional growth-related services. It is neither cohort-based nor fixed-term, though it may impose a maximum residence duration. The provision of services is an important distinction between incubators and coworking spaces: most incubators also provide services such as investment readiness training, connections to investors, intellectual property advice (directly or via thirdparty service organisations), technical support, and peer-to-peer interaction.”

Coworking space:

“A coworking space is a flexible, shared office space. These are usually available on short-term contracts. Unlike incubators and hackerspaces, coworking spaces usually provide minimal business development services and no technical facilities.”

Startup hub and innovation hub:

“Startup hubs and innovation hubs are physical spaces (buildings, campuses) where startup support organisations/ initiatives (such as accelerators, incubators and coworking spaces) are co-located. Hubs involve some form of intentional coordination between the entities/initiatives.”

References

[1] NSW Government, August 2023, ‘Accelerating NSW – the impact of coworking spaces, accelerators, incubators and startup hubs’, page 7, https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/investment-nsw/nsw-innovation-and-productivity-council/reports/accelerating-nsw-caish-series

[2] NSW Government, August 2023, ‘Accelerating NSW – the impact of coworking spaces, accelerators, incubators and startup hubs’, page 5, https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/investment-nsw/nsw-innovation-and-productivity-council/reports/accelerating-nsw-caish-series

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