These 6 coworking spaces and incubators are empowering startups and entrepreneurs
YourStory has curated a list of startups that are providing well-equipped workspaces and guidance to startups and small businesses.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. As flexibility and working in a safe and healthy environment became the norm, co-working spaces have been attracting many businesses in the last two years as employees are opting for a hybrid work model.
Co-working spaces are a shared location which provide a cost-effective workplace along with networking opportunities, high-tech facilities, as well as offer support through mentorship programmes.
According to reports, the global coworking space market is expected to be worth $28.8 million in 2022 and reach a readjusted size of $50.1 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 9.6 percent between 2022 and 2028.
Here are some coworking and incubator startups in India that are offering affordable working space and an innovative environment to entrepreneurs.
S.PACE
Founded by Taytil Singh, Dhanajay Kothari, Siddharth Dwiwedi, Anirudh Thomas, and Niharika Singh, Bhopal-based provides co-working spaces for companies at lower rents and runs an incubation center.
Bhopal-based coworking startup S.PACE provides office spaces on rent at lower costs. [Image Credit: S.PACE]
The startup also offers support and mentoring to young entrepreneurs. It provides an environment for innovating, connecting, and product enhancement.
Additionally, S.PACE provides office on rent with high-speed internet, on desk café services, networking zone, gaming zone, meeting rooms, seminar halls, mentorship programmes and weekly assessment activity for young startups.
“We provide office spaces to women entrepreneurs free of cost for the first three months as there are fewer women entrepreneurs as compared to men and they sometimes can’t survive due to initial overhead expenses,” Taytil said.
Oplus Coworking
Founded in 2019 by Preetesh Anand, Patna-based coworking space works with startups, freelancers, companies, and small businesses, providing them office space, networking, cost efficiency, and collaboration opportunity.
The coworking space gives entrepreneurs and startups an opportunity to work in a fully equipped office without having to worry about setting up their own.
“Oplus is a workspace to start, manage, and build innovation, education, and growth. We are strongly passionate about entrepreneurship, business, and creativity. We bridge the gap between startups and corporates, and bring them together, setting up ways to connect with, learn from, and grow with each other,” Preetesh says.
DevX
Ahmedabad-based co-working startup was founded in 2017 by Umesh Uttamchandani, Parth Shah, and Rushit Shah. The startup aims to be the channel that connects investors, startups and other pillars of the ecosystem. The platform wants to create a holistic startup ecosystem in Tier II cities across India.
Inside DevX co-working space
The startup offers open and spacious workstations, private cabins, conference and meeting rooms, breakout zones, and well-crafted furniture.
“We strive to provide an environment where entrepreneurs are surrounded by like-minded people. Our office-cum-learning culture enables a person to form networks, and gain access to startups, mentors, and investors,” Umesh says.
CoWorkZen
Founded in 2021 by Nayan Verma and Vishal Datt Wadhwa, Noida-based coworking startup not only manages the office, but also offers incubation and startup guidance.
These mentoring and incubation programmers will be planned twice a year, wherein a select few startups will be mentored by industry experts to assist them perfect everything around running the business - starting from setting up of the company, sales process, HR process, and so on.
Through guidance, startups can pick and choose the required modules and get specific training from the team of experts.
“These things typically take two years for a startup to form a grip around. If a startup is lucky enough to not have these challenges in its initial phase, these become a hurdle in the path of growth,” says Nayan.
iKeva
Founded in 2012 by Monika Misra, Sateesh Andra, and Dr Ramesh Babu, Hyderabad-based aims to help the startup community function in a more collaborative, flexible and productive manner.
The iKeva Team
iKeva co-working offers a variety of services and facilities such as fully furnished workspaces, IT infrastructure, and high-speed internet.
In January 2019, the startup raised an undisclosed sum of funding from Meenakshi Group for expansion across major cities in India.
“At iKeva, we provide premium infrastructure at affordable rates, timely SLA-based service, and a highly motivated customer-oriented team. Our USP is our community of members, who work together and collaborate across domains to help each other in various projects,” Monika explains.
My Place Coworking
Lucknow-based was founded by Vinayak Nath in 2019. It provides well-equipped workspaces to businesses and individuals.
[Image Credit: My Place Coworking]
The startup aims to focus on Tier II regions across the country in order to support budding entrepreneurs in the areas that have been neglected so far.
“The primary challenge that we identified is that although there is a support system for startups in Tier I cities, Tier II and Tier III towns, entrepreneurs have not had the same privilege. We are trying to provide the required infrastructure to entrepreneurs in the ignored regions,” Vinayak says.
The coworking space includes meeting rooms, cafeterias, presentation areas, conferences, and other ancillary services.
Edited by Megha Reddy