NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The Intellecap Impact Investment Network (I3N) has announced a partnership with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) to facilitate the creation of a powerful ecosystem for entrepreneurship development in Eastern India. This partnership with IIMCIP furthers I3N’s commitment and ability to generate impact in Eastern India.

Commenting on the partnership, Subhrangshu Sanyal, CEO, IIMCIP said, “The entrepreneurship ecosystem is still developing in Eastern India and so, it is wonderful to see growing interest of intermediaries and investors. I3N is the largest angel network focusing on social enterprises, and hence, this partnership will give our enterprises access to a large set of relevant investors. Intellecap’s virtual incubator StartupWave effectively complements our physical incubator as well, and will allow us to greatly expand our mentoring footprint.”

Founded in 2012, I3N is the largest angel network facilitating investments into early stage for-profit enterprises in the sectors of agriculture, clean energy, education, financial services, healthcare, and water and sanitation. I3N sources and screens enterprises, and provides them with extensive consultations before showcasing them to its members.

Sohil Shah, who leads enterprise sourcing and screening for I3N, adds further, “Investors often shy away from investing in Eastern India because of the distance from investor hubs like Mumbai and Delhi, the difficult terrain, and perception of political instability in some states. IIM Calcutta is at the forefront of building innovative solutions in Eastern India, and our partnership with them will enable us to have a strong on-ground liaison increasing investor confidence. We are also excited to serve on the Jury of IIMCIP’s business plan competitions – the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) and Idea to Implementation (i2i) – and will be showcasing finalists from these competitions to our angel network, which now has over 85 investors.”