IIMV FIELD

Sampannakaari supports women who own or lead a self-help-group enterprise in Andhra Pradesh and are already trading. IIMV FIELD runs it with the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and SERP, the Andhra Pradesh state rural livelihoods agency. The last intake closed in April 2026, so check the programme page for the next call.

What you get

• 18 to 24 months of incubation for the selected enterprises, delivered virtually and in person
• One-to-one mentoring and peer training sessions
• Market linkages, business resources including AI tools, and collaboration networks
• Grant or soft-loan support for enterprises that clear the Investment Committee, depending on performance and need

Who can apply

• Women-owned or women-led self-help-group enterprises in Andhra Pradesh
• You must already be running the enterprise

How selection works: background checks are run on the top 500 applicants, up to 250 are shortlisted for a Challenge Fund Competition where they are taught business models, business plans and pitching, and present to a selection committee. The top 150 enterprises go into incubation, and ventures are separately interviewed by IIMV FIELD's Investment Committee for financial support.

How to apply: through the form on the programme page, with brochures in Telugu and English. Help is available by WhatsApp, on a weekday phone line, through local on-ground collaborators, or at samp@iimv.ac.in.

Naaripreneur for Her looks for ventures that are led by women or are building solutions for women, across all sectors and anywhere in India. It is a CSR initiative supported by NBCC (India) Ltd. Cohort 2 runs from May 2026 to March 2027 and its application window closed in June 2026; watch the page for Cohort 3.

What you get

• Online pre-incubation covering ideation, idea validation and the core business model topics for up to 75 shortlisted applicants
• Incubation for up to 25 selected ventures, virtually and in person
• Structured mentorship from IIMV faculty, industry experts and sector specialists
• Access to IIMV FIELD's ecosystem, infrastructure and alumni network
• A two-day on-campus bootcamp on AI adoption and fundraising
• Performance-based grant support for the top five ventures at the graduation ceremony

Who can apply

• Ventures led by women, or ventures building solutions for women, in any sector
• You may apply with an idea or with an existing venture
• Open across India

How selection works: a nationwide call, then up to 75 applicants go through online pre-incubation, submit a lean canvas and a pitch video, and are interviewed by IIMV FIELD's Screening cum Evaluation Committee. Up to 25 are selected for incubation.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page, after reading the brochure. Queries go to nfhp@iimv.ac.in.

IIMV FIELD was selected in 2024 to run the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, which is funded by DPIIT. The scheme backs proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation. Applications are made on the national seed fund portal, and IIMV FIELD's page notes that the scheme's own team has paused applications there, so check before you plan around it.

What you get

• Seed support through grants and investment instruments for selected startups
• Mentorship from faculty, alumni and industry experts
• Networking with investors and ecosystem partners
• Incubation infrastructure and capacity-building programmes such as workshops, masterclasses and founder talks

Who can apply

• Startups across all stages, sectors and locations in India

How to apply: through the national Startup India seed fund portal, choosing IIMV FIELD as the incubator. Queries go to sisfs@iimv.ac.in.

IIMV FIELD is one of 51 TIDE 2.0 centres and holds G3 centre status from MeitY, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The EiR scheme is the ideation-stage half of the programme and is between intakes; the last stated deadline was August 2025.

What you get

• Grant support for the selected founders
• A year of incubation support at IIMV FIELD, virtually and in person
• Eligibility to apply to other seed funds at IIMV FIELD, such as the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
• Additional funding assistance through the EpiFunds angel network

Who can apply

• Startups at ideation stage or beyond
• Ventures using emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, blockchain or robotics, from any sector, anywhere in India

How selection works: up to 15 startups are shortlisted for an interaction with IIMV FIELD's Screening cum Evaluation Committee, and four to eight are selected for incubation across the two TIDE schemes.

How to apply: through the application link on the TIDE 2.0 page. Queries go to tide2@iimv.ac.in.

The grant scheme is the second of the two TIDE 2.0 routes at IIMV FIELD and takes startups that already have a proof of concept. It is between intakes; the last stated deadline was August 2025.

What you get

• Grant support for the selected startups
• A year of incubation support at IIMV FIELD, virtually and in person
• Eligibility to apply to other seed funds at IIMV FIELD
• Additional funding assistance through the EpiFunds angel network

Who can apply

• Startups at proof-of-concept stage or beyond
• Ventures using emerging technologies in their solutions, from any sector, anywhere in India

How selection works: shortlisting, then an interaction with the Screening cum Evaluation Committee, then selection for the incubation phase.

How to apply: through the application link on the TIDE 2.0 page. Queries go to tide2@iimv.ac.in.

IIMV FIELD is one of 21 centres selected to run the NIDHI Accelerator, which is aimed at startups that have already made progress on market validation. The last stated intake closed in 2022, so treat it as between cohorts.

What you get

• Six months of acceleration, virtual and in person, ending in a demo day with investors
• 50 hours of one-to-one mentoring per startup from industry and academic experts
• More than 55 hours of group sessions from IIM faculty and industry experts
• Milestone reviews every two months
• Twelve months of post-programme support with fundraising and networking
• A non-equity, non-debt grant for the top three performers in the cohort

Who can apply

• Startups at growth and scale-up stage with market validation behind them
• Its stated focus areas are women-led ventures or solutions for women, deep tech, edtech, export-oriented ventures and social ventures

How selection works: applications are reviewed internally, a bootcamp prepares startups, and shortlisted teams meet the Screening cum Evaluation Committee. Fifteen startups are selected.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page. Queries go to nidhiaccelerator@iimv.ac.in.

IGNIS stands for Ideation, Growth, Nurture, Incubation and Scaling. IIMV FIELD runs it with EPIC, the student entrepreneurship committee at IIM Visakhapatnam, for student entrepreneurs and early-stage technology startups. It is not cohort-based, so a startup can apply at any time, though the page currently says applications are paused.

What you get

• Placement at one of three stages, with support matched to that stage
• Mentoring and support from the IIMV FIELD and EPIC teams

Who can apply

• Ideation stage: at least an idea with a technology-based solution, a clear problem statement, preliminary market research and potential customer segments
• Growth and networking stage: an MVP taken to customers with feedback, and completed initial market validation
• Incubation and scaling stage: a registered legal entity, a full business plan with operational and financial strategy, enough self or friends-and-family funding for twelve months, and a refined go-to-market strategy
• Only ideas with a significant information-technology base, with preference for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

How selection works: the IIMV FIELD and EPIC teams decide which of the three stages the venture enters at.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page when it reopens. Queries go to ignis@iimv.ac.in.

Connect! From FIELD is built around corporate access: a startup names three corporates it wants to work with, and IIMV FIELD arranges the introductions and the platform. The last stated intake closed in June 2024.

What you get

• Introductions to three corporates you name
• Six weeks of one-to-one mentoring with IIMV FIELD mentors and industry experts to sharpen the business model and the pitch
• A place at Connect! From FIELD Day on the hundredth day of the programme, pitching to corporate representatives
• Follow-up support to nurture the connections afterwards
• Twelve months of incubation at IIMV FIELD, with possible performance-based grant support and eligibility for other seed funds there

Who can apply

• Startups with at least an MVP

How selection works: up to 40 startups are selected for the mentoring phase, and up to 30 of those go through to the pitch day.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page. Queries go to cff@iimv.ac.in.

The Social Impactpreneurs Program was funded by the CSR arm of MTAR Technologies Ltd and ran over fifteen months. The last stated intake closed in 2022, so treat it as a past cohort unless the page reopens.

What you get

• A month-long virtual ideation bootcamp covering opportunity spotting, idea validation and the lean canvas
• A two-month pre-incubation bootcamp with mentorship from IIMV FIELD, technical institutions, social entrepreneurs and mentors
• Twelve months of incubation, virtual and in person, with prototyping and seed support depending on progress
• A demo day with investors at the end

Who can apply

• Entrepreneurs working on social problems in the gap areas identified by NITI Aayog

How selection works: up to 100 applicants join the ideation bootcamp, up to 50 go through to the pre-incubation bootcamp, and the Screening cum Evaluation Committee selects up to 25 for incubation.

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page. Queries go to sip@iimv.ac.in.

The Women Startup Program is run by NSRCEL, the incubation hub of IIM Bangalore, and sponsored by Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. IIMV FIELD is one of its programme partners: women selected from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana through NSRCEL's process are incubated at IIMV FIELD. This was IIMV's first entrepreneurship activity, in 2018, and the site's last stated intake was in 2022.

What you get

• A five-week online course to build on an early idea
• A three-month virtual pre-incubation programme to develop a prototype
• Incubation at IIMV FIELD for the finalists, focused on product development and scaling

Who can apply

• Women who run an early-stage or ideation-stage venture, in any sector
• Written for women in tier-2 and tier-3 cities

How selection works: NSRCEL runs the selection; those chosen from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are incubated at IIMV FIELD.

How to apply: through NSRCEL's Women Startup Program page. Queries at IIMV FIELD go to wsp@iimv.ac.in.

IIM Visakhapatnam and IIMV FIELD run three residential programmes with the Ministry of MSME: AMDP for Entrepreneurs (Founders' Launchpad), AMDP for Leadership (Policy Leadership) and AESDP for Entrepreneurs (Vision to Venture). Each runs for five to six days. The last stated intake closed in February 2025.

What you get

• Sessions led by IIM Visakhapatnam faculty and industry practitioners
• Hands-on workshops and interactive sessions with entrepreneurs
• A one-day exposure visit to a working business
• Coverage of digital transformation, strategic management, financial planning, operations and market access

Who can apply

• Aspiring entrepreneurs, existing business owners looking to scale, and policy leaders working on the MSME ecosystem

How to apply: through the application link on the programme page. Queries go to incubationcenter@iimv.ac.in.

A thirty-hour course for founders, business enthusiasts and investors, delivered as sixteen online sessions of an hour and a half each plus one six-hour session at the IIMV campus. The only dates on its page are April to June 2025, so ask before planning around it.

What you get

• The funding landscape: sources, stages and what investors expect
• Pitch deck and business plan development
• Negotiation and valuation
• Real funding scenarios and deal structuring
• A six-hour Finsimco funding negotiation simulation on campus
• An IIMV FIELD certificate on completion

Who can apply

• Entrepreneurs, startup founders, business enthusiasts and investors. Teams of up to three take part together

How to apply: register and pay through the course page. Queries go to fieldstudio@iimv.ac.in.

Six sessions of two and a half hours each, one per day, led by Guhesh Ramanathan, held at the auditorium on the IIMV Gambheeram campus. Dates, timings and registration were all still to be confirmed when this page was last checked.

What you get

• Sessions on pitching, sales and strategy; mindset and clarity of purpose; problem and product fit; finding co-founders and team dynamics; go-to-market and growth; and fundraising
• One-to-one time with the speaker and the IIMV FIELD team during the sessions

Who can apply

• Students in engineering colleges and schools in Visakhapatnam

How to apply: register and pay on the programme page once registration opens. Queries go to fieldstudio@iimv.ac.in.

Outside its cohort programmes IIMV FIELD runs a standing calendar of webinars for startups, founders, aspiring entrepreneurs and student entrepreneurs in engineering and science colleges.

What you get

• Workshop series: one or two-day short management courses from IIM and IIT professors, with case studies and assignments. Paid, with a completion certificate
• Masterclass series: two-hour sessions from IIM and IIT professors on marketing, finance, strategy, operations and managing people. Paid, with a completion certificate
• Knowledge series: ninety-minute sessions from industry experts on current developments in the startup ecosystem. Free
• Founder's Talk series: ninety-minute fireside chats with founders about running ideation and early-stage startups. Free
• Ask Me Anything series: hour-long fireside chats with resident and ecosystem mentors. Free

Who can apply

• Open to their whole audience: startups, founders, current and aspiring entrepreneurs, and student entrepreneurs

How to apply: register for individual events as they are announced.