Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration

Start with the right route

• The Navi Mumbai site describes the incubation programme as suited to prototype and MVP stage startups building innovative technology.
• The seed fund is for incubatees only.
• The Start-up India recommendation is for startups seeking benefits under the Start-up India Action Plan.
• Not sure which route fits, or whether CIBA is the right incubator? Book the 20-minute Startup Clinic with its mentors.

How applications work

• Incubation: entrepreneurs must apply for admission.
• Start-up India recommendation: an application and assessment fee applies, and founders must acknowledge that the recommendation is used only for uploading to the Start-up India portal.
• Colleges and institutions: get in touch through the Navi Mumbai site.

How selection works

• In general, only ideas that are feasible and come with a workable business plan are admitted.
• Selection for the Navi Mumbai incubation programme happens once every two months.

What reviewers look for

• A feasible business idea and a workable business plan.
• For the seed fund, an indigenous idea or technology that needs up-scaling.

The Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA) is a technology business incubator with centres in Goa and Navi Mumbai. Its Goa centres are at Verna and Assagao, and its Navi Mumbai centre is at Vashi. It supports innovative startups with mentoring, networking, office space and a seed fund.

How admission works

CIBA does not take every company that applies. Entrepreneurs who want to join its incubation programme must apply for admission. Its Goa pages say acceptance varies from startup to startup, but in general only ideas that are feasible and come with a workable business plan are admitted.

The Navi Mumbai site describes the incubation programme as suited to startups at the prototype or MVP stage that are building innovative technology. Selection there happens once every two months.

Programmes

CIBA's programmes for founders are its incubation programme, a seed fund for incubatees, and a Start-up India recommendation. It also runs visits and advisory work for colleges and other institutions.

The incubation programme gives startups one-to-one mentorship, access to GPUs and a Proto Lab, access to the CIBA partner network, and hi-tech coworking space at the Navi Mumbai centre. The Goa site lists mentoring support, networking opportunities and office space among its services.

The seed fund is for incubatees and is meant for early-stage funding for indigenous ideas and technologies that need up-scaling. It takes equity, up to 20% of a company, through equity ownership in a private limited company. Its terms give CIBA one board seat or one board observer seat. The Goa services page describes the fund as hosted under the Seed Support System for Start-ups in Incubators, a scheme of the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) in the Department of Science & Technology. The Navi Mumbai site calls its seed programme NIDHI SSP (Seed Program), so the scheme name differs between the two sites. The two sites also give different funding ranges, so ask the centre for current terms before you plan around the fund. The Goa site lists seventeen companies as seed-funded.

CIBA is one of the incubators the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DPIIT) has authorised to recommend startups for benefits under the Start-up India Action Plan. The recommendation is used only for uploading to the Start-up India portal, and founders must acknowledge that. An application and assessment fee applies.

Institution programmes

CIBA runs visits for colleges that introduce students to the startup ecosystem and give guidance on next steps for student ideas. For institutions that want to set up a Pre-Incubation Centre, it runs a faculty development programme on stakeholder management, identifying thrust areas, ecosystem building and designing startup programmes. Its Plus1 programme supports Pre-Incubation Centres moving into full incubation centres, with policy drafting, grant and funding proposal writing, access to CIBA's policies and frameworks, and joint programmes with the CIBA ecosystem.

Facilities and support

Incubation at the physical centres is resident, with office or co-working space. The Navi Mumbai site lists access to GPUs and a Proto Lab.

Mentoring is the core support. Founders can book a 20-minute session with CIBA mentors on Tuesdays and Thursdays to understand their startup's needs, get guidance on which programme fits, and find out whether CIBA is the right incubator for them.

The Goa services page lists access to research, mentor and business networks, including the National Research Development Corporation, Assocham and the British Business Group. It also lists Amazon Web Services and Microsoft BizSpark credits among its benefits.

Track record

CIBA's own pages give these figures: 140 or more startups supported, 584 jobs generated, and over 5,000 entrepreneurs supported. These are self-reported, and the pages do not date them.

History and locations

CIBA's Goa blog describes it as a public-private venture set up in April 2012, to support the startup ecosystem in the state through mentorship, co-working space and seed-stage funding. Its Goa About page says: "We were Agnel Entrepreneurship Development Institute, founded in 2000." The pages do not reconcile these two dates, so check the founding date with the centre before quoting it.

The Navi Mumbai site credits the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, with catalysing its startup ecosystem.