In the business world, an incubator is an enterprise that is set up to provide office space, equipment, and sometimes mentoring assistance and capital to new businesses that are just getting started (the term is familiar in poultry farming, where an incubator is a specially-equipped home for baby chickens). Business incubators are set up by universities, non-profit groups, and more recently to a greater extent by venture capitalists, especially for new Web businesses.
Since new businesses need numerous asset, experience, and system – hatcheries provide these to the administrations which enable them to overcome introductory obstacles in the onset of a business. These obstacles incorporate space, financing, legal, bookkeeping, PC administrations and different requirements for maintaining the business.
Among the most well-known hatchery administrations are:
- Systems administration exercises
- Promoting help
- Statistical surveying
- Fast Internet access
- Help with bookkeeping/money related administration
- Access to bank advances, credit subsidies and ensure programs
- Help with introduction abilities
- Connections to advanced education assets
- Connections to vital accomplices
- Access to angel attendant speculators or investment
- Exhaustive business preparing programs
- Counseling sheets and tutors
- Administration group recognizable proof
- Help with business behavior
- Innovation commercialization help
- Help with administrative consistency
- Licensed innovation administration
Incubator shape an imperative piece of the start-up ecosystem, especially so in India, where the possibility of business is as yet picking up force. As India develops to wind up noticeably a start-up center point, incubators assume a critical part in this development by giving mentorship, sustaining thoughts, giving specialized help, producing assets and in this manner, getting new clients. The number of incubators have gone up by 40%, with more than 40 new ones in 2016.
Advantages on account of which Incubators are essential in a start-up eco-system:
1. LESS MUNDANE TASKS, MORE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.
Incubators which are flourishing over the world, offer new companies direction and assets. Generally, hatcheries are home to angel (investor) attendant, financial specialists, investors, and other people who can tutor business visionaries. Many likewise offer unmistakable assets, for example, bookkeeping help, office space, and legitimate direction. Having this business foundation set-up enables the startup to concentrate on what makes a difference the most–the center business (and not the unremarkable, everyday authoritative obligations).
2. ACCESS TO “MOVER AND SHAKER” NETWORKS.
One of the greatest advantages of being a piece of an incubator is the capacity to take advantage of a solid system of business accomplices. A powerhouse system can likewise be valuable from an advertising viewpoint. It is just so much you can do as a startup with a restricted advertising and PR spending plan, in any case, being a piece of a gathering of organizations can help to pick up footing and venture into the spotlight.
3. YOU CAN SCRATCH EACH OTHERS’ BACKS.
As an innovation organization, it is imperative for us to habitually discharge new investigation and advancement capacities. As any business person will bear witness to, there is a lot of lessons that he or she has taken in the most difficult way possible. Committing mistakes and gaining from errors is something startup authors possess. Be that as it may, envision being a piece of an emotionally supportive network where you could gain from the missteps of others before you made them yourself.
4. SUPPORT FROM MENTORS WITH STREET CRED.
Our tutors have been business visionaries themselves and, all things considered, have possessed the capacity to test and enable further to characterize our vision, procedure and guide. They couldn’t do this as a result of a business college degree earned at an Ivy League school, yet on account of their own involvement in the trenches.
TOP 10 INCUBATORS OF INDIA
Amity Innovation Incubator
Supported by the DST, Ministry of Science & Technology, GOI, ‘Amity Innovation Incubator,’ in a small span of time, has earned an enviable position for itself among start-ups which have regularly been on top of the innovation curve. The startup incubator has been recognized on platforms like ‘The Power of ideas’, Red Herring Global winner, Tata NEN and NASSCOM Innovation Awards to name a few.
Location: Noida
Launched In: 2008
Sectors: Rural innovation and social entrepreneurship, information and communication technologies (to include social media and e-commerce, mobile computing and technologies, analytics, cloud computing and big data), education and education technologies, food and allied technologies, biotechnology and life sciences, nanotechnology, and material sciences.
Investment Structure: Up to $150K (INR 1 Cr)
Number of Batches Graduated: It doesn’t follow a batch structure
Startups Incubated Till Date: 100+
Duration of Each Batch: Incubator’s mandate is to make sure that incubatee venture graduates within 3 years with commercial success.
Notable Startups Incubated: ApnaCircle.com, Anduril Technologies
Global INcubation SERVices, JSS Institutions Campus
Global INcubation SERVices (GINSERV) is a Technology Business Incubator (TBI) and a business accelerator. The company has been promoted by JSS Mahavidyapeetha, Mysore, with the support of National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India.
Location: Bengaluru
Launched In: 2010
Sectors: N/A
Investment Structure: $75K (INR 50 lakh) in seed funding
Batches Incubated: 40+
Notable Startups Incubated: MineWhat, Carbon Clean Solutions Private Limited
IAN Incubator
One of the popular start-up incubators, IAN’s incubator helps entrepreneurs to convert their ideas into becoming successful and profitable ventures by supporting them in business planning, mentoring, recruiting their top team, commercializing their technologies, developing their products, getting early engagement and customer validations from the market, transfer of technologies, getting early seed funding, help in forging partnerships at the national and global level, advice on intellectual property, training and development and many other things.
Location: Delhi
Launched In: 2010
Sectors: Sector-agnostic (clean tech, manufacturing, IT, web-enabled services, healthcare, food tech, e-commerce, fin-tech, etc.)
Investment Structure: Mentor-centric
Batches Graduated: It follows a cohort model
Startups Incubated Till Date: 60
Notable Startups Incubated: Mukunda Foods, India College Search, Sensible
Number of incubated startups that have received investments: 12
Innovation & Incubation Centre
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University’s 100-acre campus is located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The Innovation & Incubation Centre (IIC), functions with the aim to provide mentorship and financial support to young innovators and entrepreneurs for accomplishing their dreams by developing their ideas. IIC is open to any person with an innovative idea for further development, assistance, and to turn their ideas into viable businesses. It is an 18-month programme.
Location: Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Launched In: 2015
Sectors: New and renewable energy, oil & gas, agricultural, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, transportation, computer technology, information technology, chemical, education, material science, civil & infrastructure, ecommerce, art, automobile technology, aerospace technology, communication, and electronics.
Funding: IIC provides funding assistance in form on a seed loan
Duration Of Each Batch: 18 months
Notable Startups Incubated: PowerTree, Yobo
JSSSTE-STEP
An ecosystem with a peaceful and professional ambiance, with a variety of spaces ranging from co-working, 5-20 seater cabins, and a centralized environment control, this incubator aims at providing the best to startups.
Location: Noida
Investment Structure: Investment of up to $37K (INR 25 lakhs) as seed money, through government supported corpus fund. Later on, investments through angels and VCs on a case to case basis.
Notable Startups Incubated: Unify Cloud, Zolt, RailYatr
Life Science Incubator
IKP Knowledge Park has set up a Life Science Incubator (LSI) with an incubation space of around 3,200 sq.ft. It is built for 8 incubators to encourage and nurture startup companies and spin-offs in pharmaceutical and biotechnology related areas. The LSI was set up with the support of National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of Department of Science and Technology (DST) Government of India. The LSI received $3 Mn seed fund support from National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India in 2008.
The LSI includes a fully furnished dedicated lab space, shared equipment and an assistance program that is expected to benefit innovative startup companies and scientist entrepreneurs.
Location: Hyderabad
Launched In: 2006
Sectors: Pharmaceutical and biotechnology
All the incubators at the Life Science Incubator can avail in-house funding for their R&D and product development activities. The LSI follows well-defined criteria and methods to fund the incubated companies under this Seed Fund Support scheme.
Manipal University Technology Business Incubator
The Manipal University Technology Business Incubator (MUTBI) is an initiative of Manipal University for nurturing and developing innovation and entrepreneurial skills among its faculty and students, as well as people of the region. It is one of the 54 TBI’s funded by National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India to promote innovation-driven start-ups in Udupi District.
Location: Manipal
Launched In: 2010
Sectors: Information technology, renewable energy, and energy conservation system, MEMS/nanotechnology
Investment Structure: Funds of $5-10K (INR 4 to 8 Lakhs) from Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME)
– Funds up to $37K (INR 25 Lakhs) (Soft loan/Equity participation) from Technology Development Board (TDB), DST
– Funds up to $75K (INR 50 Lakhs) (Soft loan/equity participation) from National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), DST, Government of India
Startups Incubated Till Date: 10+
Notable Startups Incubated: Manipal Printronics Pvt. Ltd, The Smart Techies Pvt. Ltd., Fracktal Works Pvt. Ltd
MICA – Incubator
One of the best startup incubators, MICA Incubator (Communication Technology-Based Business Incubator) is an incubation center specifically for the strategic marketing and communication sectors to commercialize and nurture ideas and innovations. It helps ventures conceptualize, develop, and manufacture innovative processes, formats, mediums of communication for reaching out to individuals or masses. It provides them with training, mentoring, intellectual support services and the requisite infrastructure.
Location: Gujarat
Launched In: 2010
Sectors: Communication service technologies, communication product technologies, communication equipment, applications tools for communication business
Investment Structure: Equity
Startups Incubated Till Date: 30+
Duration of Each Batch: 11 month – 12 month
Notable Startups: Shabda Nagri, Don’t Scratch Your Head
PSG-STEP
The PSG-Science & Technology Entrepreneurial Park (PSG-STEP) was established in 1998 with the support from Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, IDBI and ICICI at PSG College of Technology to promote technology-based enterprises in the areas of software, electronic products, hi-tech mechanical products, and eco-friendly textile products & biotechnology using the core strengths of PSG College of Technology. The incubation facility at PSG-STEP is spread over an area of 25,000 sq. ft.
Location: Coimbatore
Launched In: 1998
Investment Structure: A Seed Fund Support Scheme has been constituted by PSG-STEP with support from Technology Development Board (TDB) & National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India to extend financial support to technology ventures to cater to the early stage requirements of start-ups.
Startups Incubated Till Date: 36
Investment structure: Seed funding up to $75K (INR 50 lakh), with a 5% interest rate and a 5 year period of loan repayment.
Sectors: ICT, electronics, and mechanical
Notable Startups Incubated: Cloud Assert India, LifeTex
Seedfarm
It’s a physical incubator spread over 2,000 sq. ft. in Mumbai. Startups being incubated at the Seedfarm get access to inputs from sector experts who come in to advise the startups on various aspects of the business.
Location: Mumbai
Founded In: 2006
Sectors: Consumer internet, e-commerce, sports, education, healthcare, financial services, analytics, services and online ticketing
Funding: $150K (INR 1Cr.), if this works, then Seedfund does a follow-on investment of $2 Mn.
Notable Startups Incubated: MyDentist, Level10 Entertainment, Chumbak
Investment: Invested in 32 companies so far.
