THE ACTIONS CARRIED OUT BY THE CYBERPARC INCUBATOR OF SIDI ABDELLAH DURING THE PERIOD OF 2010–2020: STATE OF PLAY AND PERSPECTIVES

. This paper aims to describe the actions carried out by the Cyber-park incubator of Sidi Abdellah during the period of 2010–2020 in order to support young project holders. The Cyber-park of Sidi Abdellah is the first Algerian experience of creating a technology park. The project is very ambitious; it reflects the Algerian political will to build an information society and accelerate the transition of Algeria to a knowledge economy. However, through our reading of the statistics provided, we can say that the number of project holders affiliated to the incubator of Sidi Abdullah, especially the number of projects accepted, is still far from the objectives presented by the incubator. On the other hand, we have found that the Cyber-park incubator focuses much more on the training of entrepreneurs, while the financial side is totally absent.


INTRODUCTION
The incubation programme is widely regarded as a critical policy tool for boosting local innovation and economic growth (Wonglimpiyarat, 2016;Lukes, Longo & Zouhar, 2019;Pustovrh, Rangus & Drnovšek, 2020). Incubation programmes rely on the support of business incubators (Baraldi & Havenvid, 2016;Diez-Vial & Montoro-Sanchez, 2017;Xiao & North, 2018). Thus, business incubation is a set of programmes that assist entrepreneurs in growing their businesses more quickly by offering a range of business support services and resources that are formed or coordinated by business incubation management and made accessible both within the incubator through its network of contacts (NBIA, 2007), the use of business support services, infrastructure, and networking.
Incubators have been identified as one of the most important players in the support and eventual development of small businesses (Lose & Kapondoro, 2020;Kiran & Bose, 2020). As a result, a great number of business incubators have sprung up to help SMEs become more sustainable and lucrative. According to Al-Kasasbeh, Alhalameh, and Lehyeh (2017) business incubation helps ailing businesses by providing a variety of services such as business networking, affordable office space, training facility/coaching, legal counselling/ intellectual property, office equipment, business plan and product development, as well as computer equipment/services. According to Zapata et al. (2021) and Lukes et al. (2019), incubators are seen as a great support for entrepreneurs from an operational or business standpoint, as they provide an adequate ecosystem for the formation of new businesses, assisting them in recognizing new business opportunities as well as providing assistance in the three basic functions of entrepreneurship: innovation and technological development, financial risk, and administrative management.
Furthermore, business incubators are not only important organisations for the growth and development of new enterprises, they are also important for their formation (Lukeš et al., 2019). Similarly, it has recently been demonstrated that incubators aid in the development of start-ups and innovation (Lukeš et al., 2019;Zapata et al., 2021).
Few studies have focused on the role of incubators in supporting project holders in emerging countries and, particularly, in Algeria. We were influenced by some of the previous studies, such as a study by Arabeche & El Amin (2021). The authors found that the young age and the lack of practice in the field of the project holder presented difficulty in the creation of a company. Chekroune and Abedou (2020) in their study found that innovative project leaders (ICT) were mainly young men with a high level of education and who were, in the majority of cases, from engineering schools or universities. Their creation projects were not related to the content of their university. The research by Ali (2017) also highlighted that the creation of technological parks in Algeria was part of the process granting a priority to the promotion of the digital economy and innovation in the ICT sector through the creation of start-ups.
To begin with, evaluation studies are carried out in the most developed nations (Hsu et al., 2003). Yet, few studies, particularly statistical studies, have been conducted in poor countries on incubator experience in aiding young project holders (Akcomak & Taymaz, 2007) Second, most research is dependent on incubating evaluations rather than the incubator (Lofsten & Linfelof, 2007).
Thirdly, support increases the chances of survival of incubated projects in addition to creating new projects and job opportunities. Statistics show that survival rates are generally much lower for non-incubator companies. But there is some evidence from studies that do not support these general statistics. In Germany, for example, only 3% of entrepreneurs started their projects under the guidance of an incubator (Tamasy, 2007).
The objective of this article is to show the state of affairs of the incubator of Sidi Abdellah. The paper demonstrates the actions carried out during the period of 2010-2020 to encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. The research problem is articulated around the following question: What are the main achievements led by the incubator of Cyber-park since its appearance until today to accompany the young people? To answer the question, we have formulated the following hypothesis in order to verify it in the second part: The Cyber park has generated satisfactory results in terms of projects completed at the end of the incubation phase.

INCUBATION BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: LITERATURE REVIEW
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital for developing country competitiveness and the development of major innovation systems. It is critical to improve the business climate and strengthen SME capacity to take advantage of trade and investment possibilities in order to promote SME growth (Safari, 2020). Therefore, these companies and especially the start-ups need support and followup, in other words, an incubator.
The concept "incubator" was proposed in the United States by researchers in the hard sciences. The Larousse Encyclopedia (2005) indicates that an incubator is "a device used for the artificial incubation of eggs of hens, geese, etc." Thus, it is a "protective action of the parents, or of one of the parents, when they cover their eggs with their body (brooding birds) or shelter them in a body cavity" (Mohamed, 2007). As a result, this instrument has evolved from a method of assisting live creatures in their evolution to a support framework for young entrepreneurs in their business formation processes and during the early stages of their operations (Arabeche & El Amin, 2021).
In basic terms, a business incubator, according to Setiawan (2003), is a small facility with a group of well-trained management personnel that provides a shared place/space for company, business facilities, and access to technical services and business in one cheap package. This assistance is required for new businesses since it can decrease the burden of early expenditures through the use of cost-sharing system among the tenants. Furthermore, if the business incubator is seen as a system-process, the following indications may be discovered in the business incubator: (1) as a consequence of the selection process, the potential entrepreneurs are referred to as renters; (2) the incubator's and tenant's needed facilities; (3) management personnel who function as a facilitator, trainer, or consultant for tenants; (4) management, technological, or entrepreneurship curriculum tailored to the needs of tenants; (5) teaching or mentoring methods; (6) the local environment in which the business incubator operates, such as farming communities, craftsmen communities, traders, and so on; (7) output, i.e. tenants who have completed a business incubator programme and are now self-employed. As shown in Fig. 1, this explanation might be given in a variety of ways (Setiawan & Fahmi, 2019).
First of all, we need to know the conditions and context of the incubator in order to understand its main roles. Creating an organisation is a very complex process, regardless of the type of project, the level of training of the entrepreneur, or the support available to them. From the intention to create a company through the implementation of all the phases necessary for the creation of this company, it is possible that the entrepreneurs who start their activity can find themselves facing enormous difficulties and problems. For these reasons, there are support mechanisms for entrepreneurship. According to Masmoudi (2007, p. 53), the subject of entrepreneurship support is generally used by researchers to refer to "various mechanisms for assisting entrepreneurs and enterprises in start-up and/or difficulty". For Brazauskaite and Auruskeviciené (2017) SMEs and start-ups need to be innovative in order to ensure their performance. This requires a favourable economic system. Bruyat (1993) identifies three main objectives for support structures. The first objective is to raise people's awareness through communication and information. The second objective is to limit the number of failures by supporting, accompanying, and training project leaders. Finally, the third objective is to ensure that entrepreneurs have greater development opportunities through accommodation and financing systems (Bruyat, 1993). Support in entrepreneurship also refers to other commonly used terminologies, such as coaching and support. Many authors (Bruyat, 1993;Masmoudi, 2007;Cuzin & Fayolle, 2005); admit that the subject of entrepreneurship support has received less attention than other facets of entrepreneurship. Masmoudi (2007) identifies two strands of support for entrepreneurship. The first, retained by Bruyat (1993), is a broad component of support, including all support instruments "with awareness-raising, reception and orientation of new entrepreneurs or project holders, information and networking, accompaniment, advice and follow-up, training (short or long), logistical support (secretariat, management, etc.), financing, establishment, etc." The second component, described as narrow, focuses mainly on a specific aspect of support, such as financial support, advice, coaching, and logistics.

Presentation of the Technological Poles in Algeria
The Algerian authorities have put in place a strategy to establish four technology poles installed on the national territory and it is part of the development plan PNAT 2025 and the economic development plan since 2002. This reflects the Algerian desire to draw inspiration from the experiences of neighbouring countries. Fig. 2 shows the location of the technological poles in the four parts of the country. Starting with the pole of Sidi Abdellah, which is located in the center of Algeria, it is focused on ICT, university research and training and advanced technologies. Thus, there is the Technopark of the wilaya of Oran, which connects the wilaya of Sidi Belabass and Mostaganem for the specialization of organic chemistry, telecommunications and space technologies (western part). In addition, in the east side, the pole of Annaba is set up by connecting the wilayas of Sétif, Bordj Bou Arreridj and Bejaia for the development of the food biotechnology, the plastics industry and production technology. Finally, the Technopark in the south, which connects Hassi Messaoud and Ghardia, specializes in the field of petrochemistry and Saharan agriculture and ICT (Boumedini & Signoles, 2017). The incubator of Sidi Abdellah Cyber-park focuses on the digital sector, it sees itself as a catalyst of new information technologies and communication, the engine of creation and innovation for an objective to move Algeria from a traditional economic mode to a digital mode.
In fact, several applications have been created and developed within the Sidi Abdellah incubator, for example, the "E-Tabib" application in order to fight against the coronavirus epidemic by offering a free virtual medical consultation space (Hamza & SM, 2020). There is also the "MadrassaNet" application, which presents a platform dedicated to online learning for different levels. This approach promotes entrepreneurship and innovation through qualified human capital in the ICT field (Center, 2020).
There is a will on the part of the Algerian authorities to establish real technological poles to diversify the economy and turn to ICTs, however, progress in this strategy remains timid, long and unsatisfactory compared to the objectives set.

Method and Data Sources
The field study included the National Agency for the Promotion and Development of Technology Parks in Algiers, Algeria. We have relied on the case study methodology, which is recommended for use in management science, as it allows the researcher to approach the phenomenon under study in order to understand and deepen it. Documents are an important method of gathering information as they reflect the reality of the Agency in supporting young project holders. Documents were obtained from certain ANPT departments, which provided us with a great deal of information, including information on the number of young project holders who were sponsored and accompanied during the stages of their business creation, the most important scientific events in which the agency participated, in addition to the most important objectives achieved during the period of 2017-2020.

Presentation of the Cyber-park Incubator in Algiers
The incubator has an important role in the accompaniment and the support of the creators of companies. We can notice that they are few in the Algerian context. The Algerian State wishes to diversify its economy and needs much more supervision and support for the different companies by pushing them to develop. We conducted our study in one of the incubators of Algiers, the incubator of Sidi Abdellah (see Fig. 3).  __________________________________________________________________________ 2022 / 36 Park presents the first experience of the creation of a technological park launched in Algeria in 2010. This creation reflects a strong political and economic will to accelerate Algeria's transition to an economy focused on innovation and knowledge. We conducted an interview with the head of the Directorate of Incubation and Training (DIF) on the status of the incubator of Sidi Abdellah and the main actions, objectives and achievements of the incubator during the last years. We retained some answers and documentation that we found interesting (NATP, 2020).

RESULTS AND FINDINGS
According to the survey conducted under the direction of ANPT, we were able to summarise the main actions, objectives, and results during the years 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.

Actions Initiated from 2010 to 2020
We note from the balance sheet of the year 2010, that the incubator of Sidi Abdellah implemented several plans to achieve them for the support of young project holders. The incubator was able to achieve several different actions according to the table below: support and incubation, training of entrepreneurs, conventions, seminars, the concretization of the technological park in ICT, etc.

Actions
− Incubation and support programmes for young project holders and start-ups, consisting of accompaniment and incubation process spread over several phases. − Development of training programmes in the fields of ICT and digital entrepreneurship for young project holders and start-ups. − Development of the network of incubators and technological parks, spread throughout the national territory. − Promotional events on the contribution of entrepreneurship in innovation. − Realisation of technological experience centres in partnership with major publishers or on own funds such as a test platform Pre-5G, and a recording studio. − Launching of calls for tender for the realisation of ICT projects, financed by the FAUDTICRSFR, with a lighter procedure for start-ups.
Objectives − To offer adequate training in the technical fields for the creation and management of the company. − To facilitate the creation of companies and to reinforce the reception capacities of students and young ICT project holders and start-ups. − To develop the network of partners of the young project holders and start-ups supported. − To treat the major subjects of the current events in the field of entrepreneurship, and ICT. − Technological appropriation for the benefit of students, start-ups, and project leaders. − Technical capacity building of students and project leaders and ICT start-ups.
− Contribution of young project leaders and ICT start-ups in the development of partners (access to the order)

Results
− Incubation of more than 500 young project holders. − More than 150 events organised with over 10,000 participants, including: • 15 hackatons in the field of development of solutions and applications of digitization. • 25 workshops and seminars of technological popularization; • 10 international workshops on advanced technologies (ICT). − More than 350 days of training for students, young project leaders and startups. − Realisation of 4 incubators and 4 technological parks specialized in ICT and digitization (3 of which are under development, including an accommodation centre for project holders and start-ups). − More than 15 agreements of cooperation and partnership with ANPT. − Universities/research centres signed and applied. − More than 10 conventions of cooperation and partnership with ANPT-socioeconomic sector signed and applied. − Launching of two calls for tender financed by the FAUTIC, with a pre-award to 2 start-ups. − Participation of the ANPT in the capital of 2 start-ups Source: documents provided by the National Agency for the Promotion and Development of Technological Parks, 2020. All this is part of the efforts made by the national agency for the promotion and development of technological parks whose mission is to "develop an ecosystem conducive to ICT through the creation of technological parks" and to establish an entrepreneurial culture and innovation.

Actions
Development of international cooperation programmes, e.g. Algeria/Tunisia, Algeria/EU, Algeria/Germany, consisting of: Signature of several cooperation agreements with foreign companies and technological institutions.

Signature of a cooperation agreement with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and with foreign companies and technological institutions.
− Organisation of more than 25 study days, workshops and events.

Economics and Business
__________________________________________________________________________ 2022 / 36 The incubator of Sidi Abdellah has succeeded in granting several international conventions with Tunisia, the European Union in order to promote the start-up sector in innovation and ICT. According to the director of ANPT (Abdelhakim, 2020), the Cyber-park incubator operates with its own budget and reinvests in the supervision and coaching of young project holders.
For the year 2017, the incubator has always relied on the rooting of the entrepreneurial culture and the support of young people through training days and awareness.

Actions
ICT training programme (100 days spread over 6 months) of high level for the benefit of students, project leaders and ICT start-ups at the level of the ICT experience centre of ANPT.

Objectives
Technological appropriation for the benefit of students, start-ups and project leaders.

Results
Realisation of 100 days of training with the participation of more than 100 learners.

Source: documents provided by the National Agency for the Promotion and Development of
Technological Parks, 2020.

Objectives
− Retention of new graduates, and facilitating the employability of Algerian talents. − Technological appropriation for the benefit of start-ups and project leaders.

Results
− 2 training sessions organised. − 60 consultants trained, certified and placed in Algerian companies. − More than 30 days of training organised with the participation of more than 100 learners Source: documents provided by the National Agency for the Promotion and Development of Technological Parks, 2020.

Economics and Business
__________________________________________________________________________ 2022 / 36 For the period of 2019-2020, we can point out that the Cyber-park provides more training and coaching sessions to project holders with professional executives. The incubator always has this capital role of support of accompaniment of the companies. It can be stated that the incubator of Sidi Abdellah presents a good public experience in establishing a valid ecosystem that aims at developing the startups in all the sectors and particularly in ICT to promote the economic growth of the country.

Summary of the Work Done by the Cyber-Parc Incubator in 2020
The National Agency for the Promotion and Development of Technological Parks organises and manages these structures. which are located in Bel Abbes (SBA), Oran, the University of Bord Bou Arreridj (BBA), Annaba, Bel Abbes and Ouargla. Thus, it provides them with various technological means necessary for the establishment of poles of excellence in new information technology and communication.
According to Fig. 4, we can notice that the young project holders register in an important way during Phase 1 and Phase 2. The carriers of projects in these phases present their projects in front of the persons in charge of the incubator to take their validation. In fact, several meetings can be fundamental for the persons in charge in order to have a precise knowledge on the completeness of the project. After an analysis and study with the members of the incubator, the direction decides whether to continue the project set up. This way, a few "valid" projects pass to the launching phase. Also, it can be noted that there are few project holders who have launched their businesses, much more in the Cyber-park of Sidi Abdellah. This is explained by the seniority of this structure compared to other annexes installed in Oran, Bord Bou Arreridj (BBA), and Bel Abbes as part of training and awareness.  ; however, we note that start-up realization remains low compared to the registered projects. This weakness can be justified by the incubator's lack of expertise, lack of funding, and lack of qualified human resources to make these start-ups a success. The Sidi Abdellah incubator offers several different trainings and courses. Fig. 6 shows that the training "Web Development" is a priority for a significant number of participants, 109 people between project leaders and employees of the ANPT. Then, the courses "Digital Transformation" and "Entrepreneurship and Business Creation" come in the second place in terms of training courses followed in the first quarter of 2020. Finally, "Security of Information Systems" and "Office  According to Table 6, the number of events elaborated by the incubator of Sidi Abdellah has evolved since 2013 from 13 events until 24 events recorded in 2019. At the same time, 3300 participants were committed to participate in this kind of event in 2019 after 1200 in 2015. This demonstrates awareness of business creation and support mechanisms.
During the year 2020, the incubator of Sidi Abdellah set up several and different events in order to develop a favourable ecosystem for start-ups and SMEs through the encouragement of the entrepreneurial spirit among young people and project holders. According to Table 7, we can see events such as the visit of Algerian and foreign officials at the headquarters of Technopark; incubator open days and the inauguration of the recording studio dedicated to women entrepreneurs.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Incubators play a key role in increasing the performance of start-ups and SMEs by developing their competitiveness. Incubators enable start-ups and SMEs to meet several challenges by providing the necessary climate to support projects, by continuously monitoring the ideas of incubator-affiliated project holders, and by discovering creative abilities and turning them into productive projects. From what we have noticed through our work, Algeria has issued several decrees to set up incubators, including the Sidi Abdallah incubator, which is the first incubator in Algeria and works to accompany start-ups from the appearance of the idea until its realization. Therefore, since its inception, it has tried to give a distinct image as a leading project within the technological incubators by educating young people in general and project holders in particular, as it has worked since its foundation to offer many meetings, seminars, open days, in order to raise awareness and root an entrepreneurial culture and innovation.
It has also linked the university to the external environment through the establishment of business incubators near universities, research centers and scientific cities (The Scientific Village of Sidi Abdullah), concluding many agreements with partners inside and outside the country in the field of innovation and new technologies, all these works worked by the incubator Sidi Abdullah since its establishment today. However, through our reading of the statistics provided, we can say that the number of project holders affiliated to the incubator Sidi Abdullah, especially the number of projects accepted, is still far from the objectives presented by the incubator, and should therefore not only strengthen the side of events and study days. This finding is related to the work of Taouaf et al. (2019), who state that in the Moroccan context the number of projects supported by the various Moroccan support mechanisms remains very low and the number of enterprises created is even lower.
This allows us to say that our hypothesis has not been confirmed; the incubator must have a strong will to strengthen its place in the whole national territory by listing the most important services it provides to project holders and being able to find funding for projects because we want it or not, new projects need mainly funding, so the incubator must implement a radical solution to this "classic" problem, which still preoccupies entrepreneurs to this day.
The results of the study are closely related to the research of Masmoudi (2017), Bizindavy (2014), and Wang et al. (2020) who confirm that incubators present a tool that can help young project holders to become real entrepreneurs and create employment opportunities for graduates, also reducing the unemployment rate. Incubators, therefore, present a factor for idea creation and business development and commercialization. The results of our study are also related to the work of Zhao et al. (2017) and Bruneel et al. (2012) who focus on the role of incubators in three main services: basic services (coaching, secretarial support, workspace), financing services and incubation.
However, in terms of financing, our investigation shows that there is a significant lack of financing for innovative projects, which reflects a sad reality for the initiation of value-adding projects. It is due to the fact that the Algerian financial support landscape has long suffered from a lack of formal commitment from its traditional financing institutions in favour of business creation. They focus on very strict granting criteria that are unsuitable for project holders. On the other hand, in the Tunisian context, there are more facilities for entrepreneurs to have access to financing through several financing mechanisms (incubators, SICARs, FOPRODI) (Masmoudi, 2007).

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY AND FUTURE STUDIES
Despite the efforts of the author, this article has some limitations. The first limitation is the sample size. Future studies should use a bigger sample size to achieve a better understanding of the research phenomena or make a comparison between incubators in Algeria and/or outside Algeria.
Secondly, the use of a questionnaire intended for project leaders will be better for having a precise analysis of the role of incubators in supporting entrepreneurs. The third limitation is the research methodology. Future studies should use quantitative methodology to better understand the phenomenon.
Future study will be able to test the link between young project leaders' assistance and economic performance in Algeria, specifically in the case of the Sidi Abdellah incubator.