“The technology startup scene has grown from zero to hundred in the last three years”, a Mobile Monday co-founder in Bangkok recently told us.  Amazingly, the same statement could have been made in Bogota, Kampala, Kingston or Tbilisi (Check out a collection of videos that tell the stories of these mobile startups). Fueled by better and better ICT and mobile Internet infrastructure as well as lower barriers to entry, tech entrepreneurship is on the rise globally, and the World Bank and others are increasingly looking to leverage the trend to foster sustained economic and social development.

In the U.S. and Europe, startup accelerators have been the flavor of the day, whereas in Africa, Asia, and other emerging markets, entrepreneurial buzz was driven more by the rise of tech hubs. For those new to the topic: Tech hubs connect stakeholder groups, leverage resources, and fill gaps in innovation ecosystems, all for the ultimate benefit of grassroots, early-stage entrepreneurs who develop technological solutions like mobile applications.

There is no cookie cutter approach to building a tech hub. Having been involved with several entrepreneurial communities around the world, we can say that tech hubs come in different shapes and sizes, depending on the available people and resources and on the needs of the ecosystem.

Implementation models range from regular meet-ups to co-working spaces with tiered membership, as well as sector-specific startup enablers such as infoDev’s network of mLabs and mHubs. As is the case for startups supported by the hubs, building a well-oiled machine with a business model that can run on its own takes vision and courage from tech hub leadership, while testing hypotheses to learn and iterate is crucial.

At the same time, infoDev’s stakeholders are asking us to provide them with general insights into the sustainability as well as the results and outcomes of tech hubs—both foundations of their long-term legacy, as Tim Kelly pointed out in his recent blog post. Networks such as AfriLabs are important vehicles to ensure learning among peers, but most have no time and resources to codify lessons that could help the global community move from pilot projects towards scaling tech hubs into larger support programs.

To address the knowledge gaps and learn for our own future programming, we took a focused effort to identify the lessons from our global mLab and mHub pilot program, which covered a dozen tech hub initiatives since 2010, covering Africa, Asia, and ECA (Europe and Central Asia).

One of the outcomes of the evaluation efforts is the report ‘The Business Models of mLabs and mHubs— An Evaluation of infoDev’s Mobile Innovation Support Pilots’. We used case studies of mLab and mHub business models (illustrated through the Business Model Canvas), a comparative results mapping, and inputs from over 200 stakeholders to develop a detailed and in-depth analysis that our stakeholders can benefit from.