Equity-Free Incubators and Accelerators
40 incubators, accelerators and programmes that say they take no equity, or offer equity-free or non-dilutive support. Open a profile to see the programme's stage, location and how to apply.
40 organisations, page 1 of 1
Gujarat Student Startup and Innovation Hub (i-Hub)
Gujarat's state incubation hub for student founders, running seed grants, incubation and mentoring under the Student Startup and Innovation Policy from Ahmedabad.
GoMassive
GoMassive Earth Network is a Gurugram-based climate innovation network that runs climate-tech accelerators and backs climate startups through its investment syndicate.
JioGenNext
Reliance Industries' equity-free market-access programme, connecting startups with pilots and deployments across the Jio and Reliance business units.
Massive Earth Foundation
Gurgaon-based non-profit that runs the LowCarbon.Earth climate-tech accelerator with UNEP and SAFFAL, an accelerator for women-led climate businesses in South Asia.
Reliance Industries
India's largest conglomerate running JioGenNext, a zero-equity startup accelerator that has incubated 170+ startups with 21 acquisitions.
AIC RAISE
An Atal Incubation Centre in Coimbatore backing startups building toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
RKVY-RAFTAAR Agri-Business Incubator (R-ABI), IIT (BHU) Varanasi
Agri-business incubator on the IIT (BHU) Varanasi campus, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, running pre-seed, seed and student programmes for agriculture and allied-sector ventures.
KIT's Innovation and Research Foundation (KIT's IRF)
DST NIDHI i-TBI incubator in Kolhapur, hosted by KIT's College of Engineering, open to outside founders in agritech, manufacturing and healthtech.
BIRAC
Central government funder for Indian biotech — grants from idea to proof of concept, equity through partner incubators, and the BioNEST bio-incubation network.
Department of Science & Technology
India's apex S&T ministry funding science-driven startups from prototype to scale via NIDHI and NSTEDB.
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India
India's apex ministry driving agritech innovation through RKVY-RAFTAAR startup grants & incubation.
Runway Incubator, UPES
UPES Dehradun's incubator, running non-dilutive stage-based grants and an 8-to-10-week blended cohort open to founders anywhere in India.
TiE Pune
Pune chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs): an equity-free accelerator called Nurture, an angel group, a women's pitch route and student programmes for founders.
Samsung R&D Institute India (SRI-B & SRI-N)
Samsung's R&D institutes in India offering grants (no equity) to deep-tech mobile startups via Samsung Mobile Advance.
NCPEDP–Mphasis AT Hub
A grant and mentoring programme from NCPEDP and Mphasis F1 Foundation for Indian startups building assistive technology for persons with disabilities.
Startup Karnataka
Karnataka's state startup department, based in Bengaluru. Two ELEVATE grant calls, ELEVATE NxT for deep-tech startups across India and ELEVATE Minorities, are open from 13 October to 13 November 2026.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
India's government-owned development bank for MSMEs — it lends directly to operating small businesses, refinances banks and NBFCs, and invests in venture funds rather than in startups.
Ministry of Finance, Govt of India
India's apex ministry for fiscal, taxation and financial-sector policy, New Delhi.
Dept of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD)
Central department backing livestock, dairy and animal-husbandry startups and infrastructure.
Government of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu's state government, backing startups statewide through StartupTN.
Government of Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh's state government, nurturing startups through its Startup Policy and 36inc.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India
Government ministry promoting tribal welfare and entrepreneurship through scholarships, grants, and incubation programs.
Goa State Innovation Council (GSInC)
Autonomous body under the Department of Science & Technology & Waste Management, Government of Goa, implementing innovation and science awards for Goan innovators.
UPES
Runway Incubator, run by UPES in Dehradun, offers equity-free grants, mentoring and AI-focused angel investment to Indian startups from idea to early revenue.
AIIH Foundation — Acropolis Innovation and Incubation Hub
A Section 8 incubator on the Acropolis campus in Indore, open to outside founders with a working prototype.
JNTUH College of Engineering Hyderabad
Constituent engineering college in Kukatpally, Hyderabad, and an approved MSME Host Institute whose Entrepreneurship Development Cell runs founder training and an MSME innovation-funding route.
Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics
Business incubator of the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in Hyderabad, giving bioinnovators lab space, mentoring and industry networks on a rental, equity-free model with rolling intake.
BioNEST-UDSC, University of Delhi South Campus
BIRAC-backed bio-incubator at University of Delhi South Campus giving life-sciences startups lab space, instrument access and mentoring, with no equity taken.
Technology Business Incubator, NIT Calicut
Technology business incubator on the NIT Calicut campus, open to outside founders as well as students, with a fabrication lab and rented office space.
Marico Innovation Foundation
Marico Limited's not-for-profit foundation in Mumbai. It runs the Indian Innovation Icons awards and Scale-Up, an equity-free mentoring accelerator for Indian startups.
GSF India
Early-stage Indian technology investor since 2012, with an online consumer founder cohort, an angel investing academy and an angel fund.
School for Social Entrepreneurs India
The India arm of the global School for Social Entrepreneurs, running a nine-month fellowship that trains and mentors social entrepreneurs; the fellowship intake is currently closed.
The Asia Pacific Low Carbon Lifestyle Accelerator
LowCarbon.Earth, an equity-free climate-tech accelerator run by Massive Earth Foundation with UNEP for early-stage founders across India and the Asia-Pacific.
Edugild
MIT India's innovation and incubation centre in Pune, open to any student in India, with rolling applications and no fee.
ACT Grants
A non-profit venture philanthropy platform that makes grants to Indian social-impact organisations.
FounderX
A paid 12-week startup fellowship run by Inc42 that takes working professionals from idea to a Demo Day pitch.
AmpliNxt
A Section 8 foundation in Pune running non-equity cohort programmes for startups in the built-environment sector.
EcoHub.IN
Six-month in-person incubator in Hyderabad for early-stage climate, pollution and circularity businesses with a working MVP. Non-dilutive. Cohort 1 applications closed in July 2026.
DBT-ILS Bioincubator
Life-science incubator in Bhubaneswar, run inside the Institute of Life Sciences, with shared lab space, mentoring and tech transfer, and no equity taken.
GIFT International Fintech Innovation Hub (IFIH)
Fintech incubator and accelerator in GIFT City, Gujarat, run with Plug and Play: residential incubation, women-led accelerator, young builders' hackathon and a rolling growth programme.
Equity-free means the programme does not take a share of your company in return for its support. The money, space or mentoring is usually paid for by a government scheme, a corporate or a foundation, which also means the programme has its own conditions: eligibility rules, reporting and sometimes a limit on the type of company.
The label can mean different things. A programme may be free of equity but charge a fee, or take no equity for the grant but ask for it in a later investment. Read the terms on the programme's own page rather than the tag alone.
Equity-free support is most useful early, when giving up a share is costly and the company has little to show. It is worth applying to several, since selection is competitive and the application windows differ.
The numbers on this page
- 40 of the 2429 incubators, accelerators and programmes we list in India (2%) are on this page.
- By organisation type, the most common are Incubator (16), Government (14) and Accelerator (9). One organisation can carry more than one type.
- By stage focus, the most listed are Validation (25), Early Revenue (23) and Ideation (23).
- By sector, the most listed are AgriTech (21), HealthTech (13) and CleanTech (11).
- By state, most are in Delhi (9), Maharashtra (7) and Karnataka (5).
- By city, most are in Delhi (9), Bengaluru (5) and Gurugram (3).
- 9 of 40 offer coworking space on site.
What to confirm before you apply
- Does the programme take no equity at all, or only for the support listed?
- Is there a fee, and what does it cover?
- Who pays for the programme, and what conditions come with that money?
- What reporting does it require after you join?
- Does it have a linked investment arm that could ask for equity later?
- When do applications open and close?
Frequently asked questions
How many programmes for equity-free support are listed?
We list 40 organisations on this page, each listed under equity-free support. The count changes as profiles are added and checked.
Does equity-free mean it is free?
No. It means the programme does not take a share of your company. Some are also free of charge, and some charge a fee, so check each profile and the programme's own page.
What is the catch with equity-free programmes?
Usually conditions: eligibility rules, reporting, or a requirement to fit a theme or scheme. They are not a catch so much as the price of someone else paying for the support.
Does the tag mean every programme at the organisation is for this group?
No. It means the organisation says it supports this group. Some run a dedicated programme and some include it among several. Open the profile to see what is on offer.