Deshpande Startups

Deshpande Startups calls this its lab-to-market programme. It runs for twelve months and is sector agnostic, and founders keep alumni benefits and ecosystem access for two years after it ends. The programme takes 2 per cent equity.

What you get

• Guidance and resources for startups past the prototyping stage
• Technical and business services, mentoring and research assistance
• Specialised labs, prototyping and batch production facilities
• Founder-focused one-to-one mentorship
• Fundraising support and investor introductions
• Networking events and dialogues
• Access to the rural network through the Deshpande Foundation, and to partner tools from Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Notion, Dell and Mathworks

Who can apply

• Startups past the prototyping stage, with an MVP or early traction
• Founders building for the non-metro Indian market

How selection works: you apply to the pitching contest and send your business deck. A committee of experts evaluates and shortlists. Shortlisted startups pitch their business plan virtually to a panel, results are announced shortly after, and selected startups are onboarded.

How to apply: fill in the application form on the programme page, then email your deck to incubation@dfmail.org. The page invites expressions of interest at any time.

Acceleration is a cohort-driven, high-touch programme aimed at market access and investment. It sets out to improve existing processes, build distribution channels and open new markets, with intense mentoring in whichever area is holding the startup back. Three named cohorts are shown on the site and all are closed: Agri and Food Acceleration, run with I-Venture @ISB, Elevate Women Acceleration, and We Enable Bharat Acceleration. The page still invites founders to register interest for the next one.

What you get

• Business training modules on growth and productivity
• Mentorship on promotion strategy and marketing plans
• Peer networking and partnership identification
• Sessions with investors, funding sources and financial institutions
• Market access and scale-up support, fundraising support and a startup toolkit
• Founder-focused learning labs and peer-to-peer learning

Who can apply

• Startups at early revenue with a market-ready product

How selection works: a call for applications, screening, a pitch to a jury, due diligence, then an agreement and onboarding.

How to apply: register your interest through the form on the programme page. Enquiries go to dsaccelerator@dfmail.org.

YUVA Validate is built around one question: is your startup idea worth pursuing? Over five weeks it moves from founder essentials through problem, solution and market validation, using real-world testing, so you can decide whether to carry on, pivot or stop. Most of the work is self-paced, live sessions fall on Saturdays so they do not clash with college, and a few days on campus are compulsory. Cohorts run through the year and applications are open year round.

What you get

• Methodology training in founder essentials, customer interviews and validation
• Collective problem solving with other student founders
• Mentors and experts, with more senior mentors stepping in as you progress
• A student founder community

Who can apply

• Students in higher education with a startup idea, however early
• You do not need a registered company

The programme page gives its eligible region twice and the two answers differ, one naming North Karnataka and the other a list of districts in Telangana. Check with the team which applies to the cohort you want.

How to apply: apply online and choose your preferred cohort on the form. Applications are reviewed for that cohort and, if needed, held for the next one. The programme is free for selected student founders.

Grind2Growth is built for founders who have started but do not yet have revenue. Each month covers one theme and mixes live workshops, recorded content, community events and mentoring: entrepreneurial foundations, then business fundamentals and go-to-market, then problem-solution fit with accounting, legal and IP basics, then business model and storytelling, then sales and customer discovery, and finally team building and funding readiness.

What you get

• Experiential sessions across the core startup functions
• Problem clinics and one-to-one mentoring from practitioners, founders and domain experts
• Founder meetups and peer circles across North Karnataka

Who can apply

• Founders from North Karnataka who run an early-stage or pre-revenue startup, in any sector
• Idea or prototype stage, actively building
• Able to turn up regularly and engage with mentors and the community

How to apply: apply through the form on the programme page. Enquiries go to dsincubation@dfmail.org. The date shown on the page had already passed when we checked, so confirm the next intake before you apply.

NIDHI EIR is part of the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations, run by the Department of Science and Technology and backed by NSTEDB. It exists to lower the personal risk of starting up when the product takes years to reach revenue, which is the usual case in technology and research-led ventures. Deshpande Startups hosts it. Applications were closed when we checked.

What you get

• Monthly fellowship support for twelve to eighteen months, released against milestones

Who can apply

• Indian citizens
• A four-year undergraduate or postgraduate degree in science or engineering, or a three-year diploma or degree in the field plus one to two years of full-time work
• You must work solely on the supported business idea

How selection works: the scheme states preferences rather than a scored process. It favours technology ideas with high social impact, women entrepreneurs, innovators under 35, and genuinely novel ideas.

How to apply: through the form on the programme page when a call is open.

NIDHI PRAYAS supports the step from idea to prototype. Deshpande Startups says it has been an approved NIDHI PRAYAS centre under the Department of Science and Technology since March 2020, which means the grant comes with access to the labs on campus as well as the money.

What you get

• A prototyping grant
• Access to the Infinity Innovation Labs to build with

Who can apply

• Students, graduates, professionals and startups with an innovative technology idea

How to apply: through the scheme's own national site, which the programme page links to. The page shows its status inconsistently, so email the team to check whether a call is open before you start.

GENESIS EiR is a MeitY Startup Hub programme for innovators building technology-led solutions, and Deshpande Startups is one of its implementing agencies. It combines grant support with structured incubation and technical and business mentoring, to move an early idea towards a proof of concept, prototype or MVP. Selected participants have to be physically incubated on the Hubballi campus for the duration.

What you get

• Grant support to build and validate the product
• On-site incubation, expert mentoring and technical, business and market guidance
• A peer founder community and access to domain experts
• Market validation support and connections across the national GENESIS network

Who can apply

• Indian citizens who are early-stage innovators, entrepreneurs or founders
• Innovation at technology readiness level 1 to 4, from idea to working prototype
• Where applicable, a startup incorporated in the last two years, with DPIIT registration
• Based in or operating from a Tier-II or Tier-III city
• No earlier support under GENESIS EiR or an overlapping MeitY scheme
• Work in electronics design and manufacturing, deep tech, IT and ICT, including AI and machine learning, IoT, VLSI and semiconductors, cybersecurity, blockchain, quantum and AR/VR

How to apply: open an account on the GENESIS application portal, complete the application, and select Deshpande Startups as your first implementing agency preference. You may name two preferences. Enquiries go to etprograms@dfmail.org.

The GENESIS Pilot programme exists to get a market-ready product into a real deployment. MeitY funds the pilot and the startup executes it against a work order or purchase order it already holds from a corporate, a public sector undertaking or a unicorn. Deshpande Startups delivers it and holds a small equity stake on behalf of MeitY Startup Hub. Applications were closed when we checked.

What you get

• Equity-based funding to execute the pilot
• Validation through a structured engagement with an industry partner
• Access to the ESDM, 3D, mechanical and electrical labs
• Enabling partners, expert guidance and industry mentor networks

Who can apply

• DPIIT-registered startups based in a Tier-II or Tier-III city
• Working in ICT-related domains: IT and AI, electronic design and manufacturing, tech and deep tech products
• An MVP or working prototype ready to deploy
• A viable business plan with a full-time founder or co-founder
• A pilot work order or purchase order from an eligible corporate, PSU or unicorn, which must itself meet turnover, operating-history and documentation criteria
• No earlier support under MeitY TIDE 2.0 Scale-Up or SAMRIDH

How to apply: applications run online when a call opens. Enquiries go to etprograms@dfmail.org.

This programme matches, one for one, money a startup has already raised from investors, and pairs it with an acceleration track. It is aimed at startups whose product is validated in the market and who now need to scale and raise properly. Only investor money counts towards the match: government grants, schemes and foreign direct investment are excluded, and the funds have to be in the bank already, not merely committed or agreed on paper.

What you get

• A matching investment against private capital received
• Investor connect and fundraising support
• A structured acceleration programme covering design thinking, go-to-market, unit economics, compliance, fundraising and demo-day preparation
• One-to-one expert guidance and access to investor and corporate networks
• Market exposure, customer linkages and support for pilots and commercialisation

Who can apply

• A registered Indian private limited company with at least 51 per cent Indian ownership
• Registered in a Tier-II or Tier-III city
• A valid DPIIT certificate
• A technology product or software in a domain MeitY promotes; service platforms are discouraged
• A market-ready product, preferably already generating revenue
• No legal disputes; granted patents are a stated preference
• No earlier support under MeitY TIDE 2.0 Scale-Up, SAMRIDH, or GENESIS EiR before graduation

How to apply: apply on the MeitY portal, complete the application and name Deshpande Startups as your first implementing agency preference. Enquiries go to etprograms@dfmail.org.

The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme puts money behind proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation. The money is disbursed to selected startups through approved incubators, and Deshpande Startups is one of them. Applications were closed when we checked.

What you get

• Financial assistance for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation

Who can apply

• DPIIT-recognised startups incorporated not more than two years before applying

How to apply: apply on the Startup India portal and pick this incubator, which is listed there under its legal name, Foundation for Sandboxstartup Initiatives.

Bridge2Bharat is not a cohort programme so much as a landing pad. It helps a startup that already has traction set up an office, hire and plug into the local network in Hubballi, using the same campus, labs and event spaces as the incubator's own startups. The page shows its application status inconsistently, so check with the team before planning around it.

What you get

• Local hiring and onboarding support, including graduates from the Deshpande Skilling campus a kilometre away
• Ready-to-use offices, labs and testing facilities on one campus, alongside conference rooms, an amphitheatre and an auditorium
• Mentorship from founders and operators who have built and scaled companies
• One-to-one introductions to investors active in smaller-city expansion
• Access to Deshpande Foundation networking events across North Karnataka and North Telangana, and to founder-focused events through the year
• On-the-ground introductions to local agri, skilling and grassroots networks and to the local TiE, CII, Rotary and Lions chapters

Who can apply

• Growth-stage startups with a steady user base or revenue
• Startups aiming at or already expanding into smaller Indian cities

How to apply: through the enquiry route on the programme page.

Infinity Innovation Labs is the prototyping side of the campus, backed by IESA, the Government of Karnataka and the Department of Science and Technology. It is a paid service rather than a programme, and it is open beyond the incubator's own portfolio.

What you get

• Mechanical Lab: CNC, conventional and hand-tool zones, metal laser cutting and bending, a CNC lathe and welding
• ESDM or PCB assembly lab: 2,700 sq ft with an ESD-safe shop floor, a Fuji SMT line, and sand-dust, rain, vibration and environmental test chambers
• 3D lab: over 1,500 sq ft running FDM, SLA and SLS printing, with SolidWorks for design and modelling
• Electronics lab: 1,500 sq ft with spectrum analysers, oscilloscopes, development boards and multimeters
• Technical consultation from the lab engineers alongside machine time

How to apply: fill in the booking form on the labs page to get the equipment list and pricing for what you need.