Business incubators are organizations geared toward speeding up the growth and success of startup and early stage companies

By on 13-11-2018

GETTING STARTED WITH BUSINESS INCUBATORS IN INDIA

Business incubators are organizations geared toward speeding up the growth and success of startup and early stage companies. They’re often a good path to capital from angel investors, state governments, economic-development coalitions and other investors. Incubators vary in their strategies. Some are located in an actual physical space meant to foster networking among entrepreneurs and their coaches. Others operate on a virtual basis.
Incubators sometimes call themselves accelerators instead, often when they’re geared toward jumpstarting businesses that are more developed. Many have potential capital to invest, or links to potential funding sources. There’s access to services such as accountants and lawyers -not to mention invaluable coaching and networking connections through the staff and other entrepreneurs.

 Startup Incubation Centers in India

 Currently there are about 200 incubation centers supported by the ISBA which is the apex Indian professional body supporting business incubators. Private incubators are a handful, but gradually growing. These numbers are expected to double within the next two years. Let’s take a look at some of the good business incubation centers in India.

1.SINE

 SINE, Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, hosted by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay- IIT Bombay is an umbrella for promotion of entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay. SINE administers a business incubator which provides support for technology based entrepreneurship. Thus, SINE extends the role of IIT Bombay by facilitating the conversion of research activity into entrepreneurial ventures

Main Activities at SINE are:

•  Incubate early stage entrepreneurial ventures based on technology and innovation.
• Create physical infrastructure and support systems necessary for business incubation activities.
• Facilitate networking with professional resources, which include mentors, experts, consultants and advisors for the incubate companies.
• Identify technologies/innovations which have potential for commercial ventures.
• Promote and foster the spirit of entrepreneurship.
• Carry out activities that facilitate knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship activities.

2.Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI), Kerala

 Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI), is the India's first and Most successful Non Academic Business Incubator, hosted and housed inside the Asia Largest IT Park Technopark. Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI), a joint association of Technopark, Trivandrum and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, to help the technology business start-ups, started operation during 2007. Over the years T-TBI worked towards building successful companies from the incubator by designing and offering whatever is needed to make a start up successful. Technopark TBI (T-TBI) has been registered as a Society during 2006 under the Travancore Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act XII of 1955 of Government of Kerala
TBI provide startups with fully furnished office spaces, mentoring support in developing business and technology plans, networking of business resources, seed capital assistance, marketing assistance, professional assistance, conference facilities and video conference facilities.

 3.Indian Angel Network (IAN)

 AN in an equity based business incubator center that gives priority to ventures in the areas of healthcare, gaming and animation cloud computing, retail, mobile VAS, media and entertainment, alternative energy, education and clean technology. It has been established with the support of the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board and the Department of Science & Technology of the Government of India.
In addition to the regular functions of a business incubator, the IAN incubator helps startups to get seed funding and pre angel funding through its tie-up with Small Industries Development Bank of India. The IAN also has strategic alliances with DST supported incubators, corporate, R&D labs and many industry associations.

The IAN incubator is particularly famous for the activities it organizes – from its ‘Open Saturdays’ to angel investors meet to workshops for training entrepreneurs.

4.Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad

 Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship was setup by IIM Ahmedabad with support from the Government of India and Gujarat Government and operates through an autonomous not-for-profit entity.
CIIE incubation endeavors keep evolving to best meet the gaps of the Indian entrepreneurship landscape and the needs of the Indian entrepreneurs. We understand that enterprises across different sectors and stages have different mentoring, infrastructural and investment needs and have therefore developed specialized incubation initiatives to meet the needs of the ventures. These initiatives are geared towards providing relevant networks, business advice, mentoring and investment support for diverse startups.

 5.Angel Prime

 AngelPrime was launched recently in 2011 in Bengaluru by well known names in the Indian tech industry like Bala Parathasarathy, Shripati Acharya and Sanjay Swamy. The areas that AngelPrime aims to incubate in are mobile payments, e-commerce and smartphone / tablet apps. It has already begun incubating a mobile payments company and a smartphone and tablet startup.
Unlike the CIIE, AngelPrime believes in incubating their ventures at their office space so that they can be closely monitored. AngelPrime has an edge in its services because the founders bring their previous corporate networks and experiences into incubating new ventures