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

Friday, July 26, 2013

Startup incubators and accelerators have been cropping up across the country in the recent times (which is good news for the domestic startup ecosystem). Now Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta is planning to set up an incubation centre which will focus on social enterprises addressing the problems of people living at the bottom of the pyramid.

The on-campus incubation unit has no name yet, but it will be part of the institute’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI). The faculty and alumni of IIM-Calcutta will be the mentors and the principal mentor of the incubation unit is Ashok Banerjee, dean of new initiatives and external relations at the institute.

“The incubation facilities at IIM Calcutta will include mentorship support from faculty and alumni. We have developed a unique model of mentorship to ensure better monitoring and effectiveness of the programme,” said Banerjee in a statement. The incubator will not be providing funding directly, but the alumni (who will be the mentors) will help startups secure funding.

As of now, IIM Calcutta has signed agreements with four social entrepreneurs—Mumbai-based Doctors For You (DFY), a social enterprise in the healthcare space; Kolkata-based SwitchON-ONergy, a startup focused on renewable energy; Uttarakhand-based Edwell Solutions, which offers multimedia based tuition classes; and Delhi-based Utopia, an eco-friendly rickshaw maker.