The Centre for Research on Start-ups and Risk Financing (CREST) at IIT Madras has launched a one-stop-shop information platform, called Incubators, that gives information on all incubators and accelerators in the country, helping founders to access information various centres that groom start-ups.
The platform provides information on various start-ups being supported by an incubator or accelerator; success ratio of the start-ups there; its investor network and whether it offers virtual incubation support.
The platform was developed in partnership with YNOS, which was incubated at IIT Madras.
One single source
“While India had about 1,000 active incubators, there is no one single source from where you can get information. Entrepreneurs had to spend a lot of time and effort to identify the incubator most suitable for their start-up,” Thillai Rajan, Professor at the Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, said after the launch of the portal.
“The platform developed by CREST addresses this pain-point and helps the start-up founders to identify, compare and analyse incubators very easily. Called ‘Incubators’, this AI-powered platform will help start-up founders to identify incubators and accelerators across India and shortlist one that best fits their requirements,” Rajan, who is also the Principal Investigator of CREST and Founder and Director of YNOS Venture Engine, said.
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The platform was formally launched by Telangana IT and Industries Secretary Jayesh Ranjan in Hyderabad on Monday.
“Choosing the right incubator can significantly contribute to the success of the start-up in subsequent years. The Incubators platform can also benefit the CEOs and managers of incubation centres to get the attention of start-up founders,” Jayesh Ranjan said.
This would also help other stakeholders, such as educational institutions and funding agencies, in the ecosystem to build bridges with the right incubators and start-ups.
“Getting information about various incubation centres has always been a challenge. Since there are information platforms that provided a one-stop resource on the incubation network in the country, entrepreneurs had to visit through multiple websites to get the information they needed,” he said.
Published on November 20, 2023
