Visakhapatnam, Sept 2 (KNN) IIM-V Field, the incubation and startup hub of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) has been chosen in the list of top 25 incubators selected for the 12-week ‘national incubator capacity development programme’. 

The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) launched the initiative as part of Startup India to propel the innovation and startup ecosystem at these incubators. 

It chose 25 top incubators of the country fr0m the applications it received fr0m various states, including fr0m IIM-Vizag.

IIM-Vizag director Prof M Chandrasekhar said the support to incubators and its teams in terms of training, sensitisation and knowledge building have largely remained limited. 

“To close this gap and support incubators in establishing their operations, a certain level of understanding and training is required. The national incubator capacity development program, a hands-on training module designed for incubators, has been planned in this direction to help incubators become sustainable,” he explained.

IIM-V Field chief operating officer Prof Shameem Jawed said the prime objective of the hybrid program is to build the capacities of incubators. 

“Apart fr0m providing long-term handholding and mentorship support to incubators, this will also help enhance their capacities. The training programme includes self-learning modules, group and in-person sessions, boot camps, etc.,” he said.

This is the first of its kind capacity building initiative taken up by the Union government to nurture and build the capacities of incubators on various fronts such as mentoring funding, infrastructure, peer learning, etc. 

There will also be sessions on efficiently managing the Startup India seed fund scheme. 

A panel will diagnose imminent challenges/risks in all areas of the incubation model for incubators and build a 100-day action plan.  (KNN Bureau)