AIC-CCRI-CED (Atal Incubation Centre, Central Coffee Research Institute)

Check you fit the gate

• Coffee or allied sector: the centre backs coffee, spices and agriculture ventures. Say in the first line of your application which part of the coffee value chain you work on.
• Open to outsiders: you do not need to be a Coffee Board trainee. Any entrepreneur enthusiastic about coffee and allied sectors can apply.

Choosing where to start

• Idea stage: start with Varttarambha, the online pre-incubation programme. It ends in a business plan, which is also what the incubation selection committee reads.
• Ready to build and test: apply to Aarohana, the incubation programme.
• Planning a cafe or an export business: the Cafe Conceptor and Vikrayam courses are training, not incubation.

How applications work

• Download the pitch deck format from the incubation page, fill it in and submit it with the online application form.
• A Screening Cum Selection Committee selects startups, and the selection is based on your business plan.
• A selected startup signs an agreement with the centre before incubation begins.
• Incubation lasts up to 18 months. Progress is reviewed every quarter, and staying in depends on hitting your milestones.

Before you apply

• Ask about fees and equity. The centre's pages do not state either.
• Seed funding is conditional. The graduation page says eligible incubatees can apply to the Seed Support Investment Committee only if a seed fund is made available to the centre.
• Plan your milestones. The centre expects you to move from ideation to prototype and then commercialisation, with proof of concept and test marketing along the way.
• Check batch dates. The next Varttarambha batch is tentatively December 2026, and Cafe Conceptor and Vikrayam are tentatively November 2026.

AIC-CCRI-CED is an Atal Incubation Centre for coffee, spices and agriculture startups, based at the Coffee Board head office in Bengaluru. Its full name is Atal Incubation Centre, Central Coffee Research Institute, Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, and it describes itself as a Technology Business Incubator. It was established in 2020 with the Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI) and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).

The incubator, the Coffee Board and CCRI

These are three different things, and the incubator's website keeps them apart. The Coffee Board of India is the body that hosts the centre at its head office. CCRI is the Board's research institute, and its research on plant breeding, pests and coffee quality belongs to the Board, not to the incubator. AIC-CCRI-CED is the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development: the part that works with founders. When you apply, you apply to the incubator. Atal Innovation Mission's own list of Atal Incubation Centres also carries the centre, under the name AIC CCRI Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development, with the focus given as agri and allied sectors, and coffee in particular. Neither the centre's site nor that list says when its Atal funding period runs, so check with the team before relying on it.

Who can apply

The incubation page sets one clear gate. Any entrepreneur who is enthusiastic about the coffee and allied sectors, and trainees of the Coffee Board's entrepreneurial classes, can be considered. You do not need to be a student or a Coffee Board employee. The centre says the coffee grower stays central to its work, and the problems it wants startups to take on include climate change, rising cost of production, slow mechanisation, pests and diseases in Arabica, weak domestic markets and slow value addition. If your startup has nothing to do with coffee, spices or agriculture, this is probably not the right door.

How the programmes work

The path has three steps. Varttarambha is the online pre-incubation programme for people who are still shaping an idea. It runs for 30 hours of training with 10 hours of follow-up sessions, and ends with a business plan submission. The next batch is tentatively planned for December 2026, and pre-registration is open.

Aarohana is the incubation programme. Applicants download a pitch deck format and apply through an online form. A Screening Cum Selection Committee picks startups on the strength of a business plan, and a selected startup signs an agreement with the centre. Incubation lasts a maximum of 18 months, with a progress review every quarter, and staying on depends on hitting milestones. Startups work through proof of concept, test marketing and a plan for commercialisation. The centre's pages do not state a fee or any equity terms, so ask before you apply.

Graduation is the third step. A startup graduates when it reaches the commercialisation stage and can use the resources to take its idea to market. If a seed fund is made available to the centre, eligible incubatees can apply to a Seed Support Investment Committee. The centre also says it encourages incubatees to join investors' meets it may arrange. It ran an online investors' meet with 4 other Atal Incubation Centres in March 2021.

Training courses

Beyond incubation, the centre runs short courses for people entering the coffee business. Cafe Conceptor is a 4-day hands-on programme for people planning a coffee cafe, covering speciality coffee, roasting, manual and machine brewing, menu preparation and cafe management. Its next batch is tentatively planned for November 2026. Vikrayam is a 25-hour online programme for aspiring coffee exporters, with help registering as an exporter and an illustrative export for participants. Its next batch is also tentatively planned from November 2026. Tech Beans is a one-day workshop on technology in the coffee sector for students, researchers and faculty. The Skill Development Cell, set up by the Coffee Board under the centre, also runs training for women's self-help groups, estate management and roasting.

Facilities and services

The centre sits on the first floor of the Coffee Board head office. Its facilities page lists a co-working space, incubatee cubicles, individual cabins for startups, a product development lab, a modular cafe, an interactive audio-visual conference room and mini conference rooms. It reports 61 seatings, 6 individual cabins and 10000 square feet of total area. Incubatees also get business and technical mentorship, networking, legal and administrative support, capacity building training, coffee research and development, and digital printing and packaging.

Track record

On its home page the centre reports 63+ incubatees, 145 pre-incubatees and 29+ mentors, and its startup carousel names companies such as Chika Coffee Roasters, Acviss Technologies, TraceX Technologies, Agriyoda Innovations and Farmitopia. These are the centre's own figures and are not dated. The carousel does not say which names are current incubatees and which have graduated.

Location and contact

AIC-CCRI-CED, First Floor, Coffee Board Head Office, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi, Bengaluru 560001. The office is open Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 6:00 pm, and closed on Saturday and Sunday. The CEO office inbox is ceo@aicccriced.in.