IIM-C's new incubator not just a rental space says Professor Ashok Banerjee, dean of new initiatives and external relations

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C) announced yesterday that it has set-up a business incubator at its campus in Kolkata. The incubator will be part of Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI). The current batch of incubatees were the finalists of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge, a joint initiative of the Tata Group and IIM-C, which was held earlier this year, which attracted 164 social venture participants. I spoke on the phone to Prof. Ashok Banerjee, dean of new initiatives and external relations (also principal mentor of the incubator) about the vision, benefit to incubatees, funding and goals for the incubator.

SS: Does the incubator have a name? Who is funding it?

Prof. Banerjee: We have just started it and have not formed a separate entity yet. At the moment it is under CEI. But going forward we have plans of incorporating it as a society or Section 25 company in the next 6-8 months.

For funding we need an organizational structure, currently its supported by IIM-C. We have signed an agreement for a year with the companies and will renew it after a year.

SS: What is the vision or goal for the incubator and why is IIM-C doing it?

Prof. Banerjee: At IIM-C teach principles, theories and applications. At the incubator we want to marry principles into practice, that’s why the faculty are so involved. This is not just rental business for us, it is an integral part of the overall vision. Big businesses don’t require incubation, it’s the small and medium ones that do. They are the ones that come up with solutions for social change and generate employment. India needs SMEs. Especially in eastern and north-eastern part of country, there’s a huge potential for SMEs, but there not enough incubation centres to mentor and support them. Our incubator will try and address these lacunae.

Going forward we will collaborate with IITs if we require technical assistance, although we do have faculty who are engineers, but if needed there’s always IIT-Kharagpur nearby.

SS: What is the support that the incubator will provide to the enterprises?

Prof. Banerjee: Mentoring is real benefit, for each incubatee there are two dedicated mentors, one from faculty mentor and one of them will be an alumnus who must have a track record of being a successful entrepreneur. Faculty will help with the business plan and getting research studies done by the students. The alumni will help with mentoring, networking support and getting funding. There will also be a monitoring group of people, consisting of two full-time staff and three part-time, who will monitor progress on a quarterly basis.

SS: Will there be funding support?

Prof. Banerjee: We will not be providing funding support directly, but the alumni, who will be the mentors, will help secure funding. Our model will be different compared to the other incubators. The main benefit being the two mentors for one startup principle.

SS: Was there any incubator model that was kept in mind while designing this?

Prof. Banerjee: We did check other incubator models like that of IITM, IIM-A, MIT and Harvard. The US model cannot be followed because in India the alumni can’t get equity. While the incubatees benefit so do the faculty who will learn the process of executing an idea. They can take these learning back to the classroom.

SS: Are you entertaining applications? What are the criteria for selection?

Prof. Banerjee: Currently, other than the Tata Enterprise Challenge route, we only entertain referrals through our alumni, they are part of many angel networks and have the nose to pick out the right projects. Presently, at CEI, we don’t have the wherewithal to check credentials of the applicants. Direct applications will be opened up after a window 6-8 months. We won’t incubate more than 10 companies in a year.

SS: Are there any sectors that the incubator will focus on?

Prof. Banerjee: We will look at all sectors that have a social impact. That will be the overriding principle. Are you these social enterprises helping society, rural areas, the disabled or the climate?

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