On 2 March 2020 the first week of the Political Start-Up Incubator, a launchpad for centrist political start-ups in African countries started.
The Incubator is operated by the Innovation in Politics Institute in co-operation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and Liberal International. The curriculum is based on the research and methodology as presented in the book “Political Entrepreneurship: How to build successful centrist political start-ups” by Josef Lentsch. Its core consists of three intensive week-long blocks, and a Demo Day.
During the cutting-edge programme, a world-class faculty of practitioners and international experts work intensively with political start-ups on their ideas, to get them in the best possible shape and to refine their pitch to voters. Each cycle culminates in Demo Day, when political start-ups present themselves to a carefully selected, invitation-only audience. Over time, the Incubator contributes to building a worldwide community of liberal political entrepreneurs and innovative politicians.
„I am thrilled that together with our partners Liberal International and Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit, we successfully launched the first-of-its-kind Political Startup Incubator”, says Josef Lentsch, Partner at the Innovation in Politics Institute. “Based on what we learn from the prototype, the Innovation in Politics Institute will look to replicate and scale the programme globally.”
