Social Impact Incubators and Accelerators
418 incubators, accelerators and programmes that name Social Impact among the sectors they support. Open a profile to see the programme's stage, location and how to apply.
418 organisations, page 1 of 9
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
DPIIT, under India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, runs Startup India: it issues startup recognition and operates the seed, loan-guarantee, IP and tax schemes that recognition unlocks.
NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore
IIM Bangalore's startup incubator: free programmes for founders at idea, prototype and growth stage, plus sector tracks in climate, mobility, fintech and healthcare.
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park
IIM Calcutta's Section 8 incubator running incubation, acceleration and rural-livelihood programmes from its Kolkata campus.
GUSEC
Gujarat University's zero-cost startup council in Ahmedabad, with co-working space, mentorship and a route into DST, MeitY and Gujarat government funding schemes.
Deshpande Startups
Technology business incubator in Hubballi with a second campus in Nizamabad, running incubation, acceleration and government funding programmes for non-metro founders.
build3
A startup studio and venture builder for impact-driven founders, running an accelerator and a fundraising bootcamp.
IIMA Ventures
IIM Ahmedabad's startup incubator and seed investor, formerly IIMA-CIIE (CIIE.CO), with offices in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Indore and Guwahati.
Social Alpha
Tata Trusts-backed platform that incubates science and technology start-ups for social and environmental impact, from labs in Bengaluru, Delhi and Trivandrum.
AIC Anand Foundation
Agri and food business incubator at Anand Agricultural University, and Gujarat's state-level RKVY agribusiness incubation centre.
IIMV FIELD
The incubation and startup hub of IIM Visakhapatnam, running women-focused, social and emerging-tech programmes from pre-incubation to acceleration.
Bihar Entrepreneurs Association
A not-for-profit entrepreneurs' association in Patna, founded in 2011, running an incubation centre, a coworking office, training and a business helpline for founders in Bihar.
Indigram Labs Foundation
A DST-backed technology business incubator in New Delhi for agri, food, climate and rural-health startups.
AIC Banasthali
Atal Incubation Centre at Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan — an incubator for women-led startups in science, technology and deep tech.
IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre
IIM Lucknow's incubator at its Noida campus, running 24-month incubation, sector accelerators and three seed-funding routes for DPIIT-recognised technology startups.
IIITB Innovation Centre
IIIT Bangalore's startup incubator in Electronics City, running ATOM pre-incubation, Orbit incubation, FLASH acceleration and MeitY TIDE 2.0 grants — open to outside founders.
AIC SMUTBI
Atal Incubation Centre at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Rangpo — the first AIC in North-East India, running incubation and North East acceleration programmes.
AIC RAISE
An Atal Incubation Centre in Coimbatore backing startups building toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
AIC-RNTU Foundation
An Atal Incubation Centre at Rabindranath Tagore University near Bhopal, running staged startup programmes and implementing several government seed-funding schemes.
Surge Impact Foundation
Hyderabad non-profit running its own incubation cohorts for climate founders and LGBTQIA+ founders across India.
AssisTech Foundation (ATF)
India's first assistive-technology accelerator, based in Bengaluru, with a 65+ start-up portfolio and a network of 500+ AT start-ups.
Vishnu Foundation Technology Business Incubator (Vishva TBI)
DST-listed technology business incubator on the SVECW campus in Bhimavaram, running Startup India Seed Fund and NIDHI seed support for founders inside and outside the campus.
InFED, IIM Nagpur
The business incubator of IIM Nagpur, running national and state startup schemes plus district business centres across Vidarbha.
IIPHG NIDHI TBI for Public Health
DST NIDHI-supported technology business incubator for public health startups, hosted by IIPH Gandhinagar.
Bharat Impact Incubation Centre
Jubilant Bhartia Foundation's incubator in Noida for startups building solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals, through the Impact Quest cohort programme.
Department of Industries, Government of Bihar
Bihar's industries department, which runs the Bihar Start-up Policy 2022 and the Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojanas: seed and early-stage support for start-ups, and part-grant schemes for individual entrepreneurs.
EDII, Tamil Nadu
EDII-TN is Tamil Nadu's state entrepreneurship institute in Chennai, running innovation vouchers, a one-year certificate course, a school innovation project and dated paid training batches.
ACIC VGU Foundation
Atal Community Innovation Centre at Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, backed by AIM and NITI Aayog and focused on Rajasthan's smaller cities.
MASA Forum
Networking platform empowering MSMEs and startups for growth across India
Bala Vikasa Center for Social and Responsible Business
Social enterprise incubator near Hyderabad, running the nine-month PrISE programme on a 20-acre campus.
Marathwada Accelerator for Growth & Incubation Council (MAGIC)
Industry association-led incubator in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, promoted by CMIA, with centres in Jalna and Shendra.
Ashraya Hastha Trust
Bengaluru family charitable trust that makes grants to registered nonprofits in health, education, livelihoods, animal welfare, environment and disaster relief. Startups are not eligible; a C-CAMP climate programme names it as a collaborator.
WE Hub
The Government of Telangana's incubator for women entrepreneurs, running pre-incubation, incubation and acceleration cohorts from Hyderabad.
the^delta
Social incubator for Indian nonprofits working on livelihoods, run as an Atal Incubation Centre with an incubator, accelerator and open prize challenges.
IKN Innovation Foundation, IMI Kolkata
The NEEV Incubation Center at IMI Kolkata, running a three-step ladder for founders in Eastern India from idea validation to fundraising.
Wadhwani Foundation
Global non-profit founded by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani that supports entrepreneurs through Liftoff, Accelerate, Ignite and a learning programme for SMEs; its India work is delivered from Bengaluru by the National Entrepreneurship Network.
Impact Hub Hyderabad
Impact-entrepreneurship hub in Madhapur, Hyderabad, part of the global Impact Hub network and the official Social Impact Award licensee in India.
ACCESS Development Services
National livelihoods NGO supporting microenterprise, women entrepreneurship, and rural innovation since 2006.
ACIC-BMU Foundation
The Atal Community Innovation Centre at BML Munjal University in Haryana, backed by NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission and open to innovators from the campus and the community around it.
AIC GGSIPU
Atal Incubation Centre at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in Dwarka, New Delhi, running the Aspire, Spark and Ignite programmes for founders.
AIC-BIMTECH
Atal Incubation Centre at BIMTECH, Greater Noida — a sector-agnostic incubator that runs its own Khoj to Gurukul pipeline and delivers MeitY, Startup India and Uttar Pradesh government schemes.
AIC-IIITH Foundation
Atal Incubation Centre at IIIT Hyderabad for tech-based social enterprises, running the Akash acceleration and GreenTech innovation programmes.
Government of India
DPIIT's Startup India initiative: startup recognition, a seed fund, a fund of funds, a credit guarantee and incubator schemes.
Government of Maharashtra
Maharashtra's state government supporting startups through its Startup Policy, seed funding, and incubation infrastructure across the state.
Government of Manipur
Manipur's state government promoting startups through its Startup Manipur initiative with incubation and funding support.
IIIT Delhi Innovation & Incubation Center
IIIT Delhi's technology business incubator, running physical and virtual incubation, a pre-incubation track and seed funding for tech and deep-tech founders.
IIMK LIVE
IIM Kozhikode's incubator in Kozhikode and Kochi, running incubation, deep-tech, maritime, textile and women-entrepreneur programmes.
IRMA ISEED Foundation
IRMA's incubator at Anand for early-stage rural, social and collective enterprises, best known for the LIC HFL Social Trailblazer Program.
Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
Central Government ministry driving entrepreneurship and the North East Venture Fund across 8 NE states.
A sector label on a directory is a starting point, not a promise. An incubator that names Social Impact may run a dedicated track with mentors and customers from the industry, or it may simply accept Social Impact companies alongside every other kind. The first is worth far more to you than the second, so look for evidence of the former on the programme's own page: named mentors, partner companies, lab or pilot access, and past cohorts in your area.
Stage and funding route matter as much as sector. A programme for Social Impact that takes companies at the idea stage is a different thing from one that expects revenue, and some are funded by a government scheme with its own eligibility rules, while others are run by a college or a company for its own reasons. Use the stage, type and location on each profile to cut the list down before you apply.
Two applications to well-matched programmes beat ten to ill-matched ones. Pick the few that name your sector and your stage, read what they offer beyond office space, and ask a founder from a recent cohort what changed for them.
The numbers on this page
- 418 of the 2429 incubators, accelerators and programmes we list in India (17%) are on this page.
- By organisation type, the most common are Incubator (384), Academic (331) and Government (25). One organisation can carry more than one type.
- By stage focus, the most listed are Ideation (398), Validation (395) and Early Revenue (59).
- These organisations also name Deep Tech (304), HardTech (285) and EdTech (56) most often, so a Social Impact founder will find programmes that cross sectors.
- By state, most are in Tamil Nadu (74), Andhra Pradesh (50) and Maharashtra (40).
- By city, most are in Chennai (21), Hyderabad (19) and Bengaluru (18).
- 61 of 418 offer coworking space on site.
What to check before applying
- Does the programme run a track for your sector, or only accept it?
- Which stage does it take, and does that match where your company is?
- What does it give besides space: mentors, customers, labs, pilots, introductions to investors?
- Does it take equity or charge a fee, and what is the term?
- Is it tied to a scheme with eligibility rules, such as the type of company or the founder?
- Can you speak to a founder from a recent cohort?
Frequently asked questions
How many incubators and accelerators support Social Impact?
We list 418 organisations in India that name Social Impact among their sectors. The count changes as profiles are added and checked.
Does an incubator that lists Social Impact only take Social Impact companies?
Not usually. Many list several sectors and accept any that fit their stage and location. A programme with a dedicated track has mentors and partners from the industry, which the profile or the programme's own site should show.
Which stage should a Social Impact founder look for?
Match your own stage. The stage mix on this page is counted from the profiles; open a profile to see whether the programme takes ideas, prototypes or companies with revenue.
Is an incubator better than an accelerator for my sector?
An incubator usually works with a company for a longer period and often provides space and facilities, which matters when you need labs or equipment. An accelerator is shorter and more intense and suits a company that already has a product and wants to grow faster. The type of each organisation is on its profile.