Startups Valley (AJCE Technology Business Incubator)

Check you fit before you apply

• The policy is open to students, faculty, alumni and the general public with a technology idea. You do not need a company to apply.
• Its thrust areas are rural technology, food technology, green technology, information technology and artificial intelligence. Ideas in those areas are the natural fit.
• It is a physical incubator on the Amal Jyothi campus in Kanjirappally, so expect to work from there.

How applications work

• Download the policy and the application form from the Apply page of the Startups Valley website.
• Email the filled form to the TBI office. An older page on the incubator's blog also asks for a signed hard copy by post or courier.
• The site publishes no dated intake. Ask the office whether it is taking applications now.

What to put in your business plan

• Cover the value proposition, products and services, market and competition, funding needs, milestones and timelines, team, risks, break-even period and projected financials.
• The plan is first screened by an expert team and then judged by experts with technical, business and financial backgrounds.

Terms to know before you join

• A company can stay for up to three years and pays a nominal monthly charge. A stay of up to 12 months more is at the market rate for the facilities used.
• Incubatees report to the incubator every quarter and need its agreement before changes such as new directors, promoters or investors.
• Use of the college's departmental labs needs the department's permission and is charged on a commercial basis.
• The policy does not say whether the incubator takes equity. Ask before you apply.

Startups Valley is the technology business incubator of Amal Jyothi College of Engineering in Kanjirappally, near Kottayam, Kerala. It is also called AJCE TBI and was earlier known as the Amal Jyothi Rural Technologies Business Incubator. It gives technology startups space on the college campus, mentoring and a route to the college's labs, and it takes applications from students, faculty, alumni and outsiders alike.

What it is

Startups Valley describes its own history as starting with an entrepreneurship development cell in 2006 under the Technopark TBI in Thiruvananthapuram. It then became an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre and, in 2015, a Technology Business Incubator supported by the Department of Science and Technology. DST's own list of technology business incubators carries it as serial number 71, with Amal Jyothi College of Engineering as the host institute, Startups Valley as the registered entity and Rural Technology as the thrust area. Its pages also list a BioNEST bio-incubator from 2020, and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) lists the incubator on its BioNEST page.

Who can apply

Admission is open to faculty members, students and alumni, and to any member of the general public with a technology or innovative idea. The policy does not ask for an incorporated company or for a link to the college. Incubatees listed on its pages include student, faculty, alumni and outside founders, and some are registered companies and LLPs. The incubator names five thrust areas: rural technology, food technology, green technology, information technology and artificial intelligence.

How incubation works

Applicants first go through an initial scrutiny and are then asked to submit a formal application with a business plan. An expert team screens the plan, and experts in technology, business and finance then judge its potential for incubation. Admitted companies can stay for up to three years and pay a nominal monthly charge. The incubator may allow a further stay of up to 12 months at the market rate for the facilities used. Its policy asks incubatees to report on their progress every quarter and to get its agreement before changes such as new directors, promoters or investments. It does not say whether the incubator takes equity.

Facilities and support

The policy says admitted companies may be offered office space in air-conditioned rooms with furniture, telecom and internet, a conference room, a meeting room, a library, printing and scanning, and a cafeteria. Incubatees can also use the college's departmental labs with the department's permission, and these are charged on a commercial basis. Support listed on the policy includes a pool of mentors, meetings with industry professionals and networking events. Its list of planned activities adds patent support, technology transfer, business plan preparation, prototype development and introductions to banks and venture investors.

Track record

The home page counter reads 95 registered companies, but its own registered-companies page names 33, and BIRAC's BioNEST table shows 33 incubatees for the incubator. This page therefore does not give a startup count. Its pages list around 37 current incubatees and 30 graduated startups by name.

Who runs it

The incubator is led by Prof. Sherin Sam Jose, who is named as CEO of Startups Valley. It sits inside Amal Jyothi College of Engineering at Koovappally, Kanjirappally, Kottayam district, Kerala 686518. The college's degree programmes are separate from the incubator and are not covered here.

How to apply

The Apply page of the Startups Valley website carries the policy and guidelines and the application form. The older incubator blog says to email the filled form to the TBI office and send a signed hard copy by post or courier to the Manager (TBI) at the college. Check the date of any intake with the office before you apply, because the site does not publish dated calls.