EDI to set up incubation centre for social innovation

Joining the incubation bandwagon along with the likes of IIM-A, NID, MICA and Ahmedabad University (AU), the Entrepreneurship Development of Institute of India (EDI) alongwith Saath is now planning to set up an incubation centre at its campus.

Eyeing projects in the grass-root technology and social innovation, the Aashray Incubation and Research Centre will be set up in consortium with Ashoka India and social venture fund Incube Ventures. Promoted by Saath Livelihood Services, the incubation centre will have EDI as its nodal management agency while Ashoka India and Incube Ventures will offer their expertise.

"The aim of this initiative is to "create an enabling and inclusive Incubation Ecosystem" that can provide the capacity building, hand-holding and incubation support to social enterprise incubators' who are working towards creating appropriate, sustainable and scalable social enterprises that have a significant social impact," said Shalabh Mittal, faculty member at EDI.

While initially the incubation centre will have around 25 incubatee start-ups, by the end of third year, the consortium plans to take up the number to 60. According to Saath, the centre's objective will be to assist innovators, entrepreneurs, and researchers to build a pipeline of innovative business ideas and/ or seed early stage enterprises that have the potential to benefit the poor.

The consortium will focus on building a pipeline of innovative business ideas and/ or seed early stage enterprises by assisting innovators, entrepreneurs, and researchers. In terms of facilities, the lab-cum-working incubation spaces will provide fully serviced, furnished, plug and play offices including conference rooms, training rooms, superior IT infrastructure, photocopying, printing, fax, computer, courier and postal mails.

"The centre will provide mentoring of the incubatees through a panel of experts in the domain areas and business/management aspects. The ecosystem would also have experts on call in the areas of company law, taxation, regulatory, commercial, IPR and other related areas," said Mittal.

What's more, the incubatee start-ups will be provided appropriate fellowship of six months with a business entity in the same/identical line of business as envisaged in the project. The ecosystem would provide/facilitate angel funding to the idea till it is converted into a sustainable project of its own.

Meanwhile, according to Mittal, the ecosystem, through its mentors, would facilitate the structuring of the projects, incorporation and funding in the most optimal manner.

It would continue to monitor and nurture the enterprise all the way till take-off stage.