Golden Jubilee Biotech Park for Women Society

Choosing the right route

The Park offers three distinct routes, so start by matching your situation:

• Bio-NEST bio-incubation centre — for women in life sciences who want physical lab and office space at Siruseri.
• Virtual incubation — for research scholars and aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly women, who want to associate with the centre while working from a remote location.
• Seed Fund — for incorporated, women-led startups with a proof of concept in life science, med-tech, digital technology or data sciences.

How applications work

Each route has its own application form that you download from the Park's site and submit by email. The bio-incubation and Seed Fund forms go to the Bio-Incubation Centre inbox; the virtual incubation form goes to the office inbox.

What the Seed Fund looks for

• The woman entrepreneur holds at least 51% of the company.
• The startup is an incorporated company.
• The startup has a proof of concept ready.
• The startup works in life science, med-tech, digital technology or data sciences.

Worth knowing

The focus throughout is women entrepreneurs in biotechnology and allied life sciences. If your venture sits outside those fields, this is unlikely to be the right fit.

Golden Jubilee Biotech Park for Women Society is a women-focused biotechnology and life-sciences incubator at Siruseri, inside the SIPCOT IT Park off Old Mahabalipuram Road in Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu. It is a registered Society under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act 1975, supported by the Department of Biotechnology (Government of India) and the Government of Tamil Nadu, with technical support from MSSRF. The land it sits on was allotted by the Government of Tamil Nadu and the park was implemented by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).

The Society began its commercial operations in 2001 and works to develop women entrepreneurs in the biotechnology sector. Its focus is not sector-agnostic: the organisation is dedicated to women in life sciences, and its own funding route is open only to ventures in life science, med-tech, digital technology and data sciences.

What they support

The Park runs a bio-incubation centre, a virtual incubation route for people working remotely, and a seed fund for women-led startups. Across these, support is aimed at women students, entrepreneurs and research scholars in and around the Park, Chennai and the wider region, as well as technopreneurs pursuing life sciences with a focus on biotechnology.

Programmes

Bio-NEST is the Park's bio-incubation centre, set up with support from BIRAC. The virtual incubation route lets research scholars and aspiring entrepreneurs associate with the centre while working from a remote location. The Seed Fund provides capital on an equity basis to women-led startups with a proof of concept in eligible fields. Each programme has its own downloadable application form on the Park's site.

Facilities and support

The bio-incubation centre is built across roughly 5,000 sq.ft and houses plug-in office space, wet lab space and a Central Instrumentation Facility that supports the research process for incubatees. Virtual incubatees are entitled to IP assistance, funding assistance, pitching guidance, statutory and regulation support, company incorporation support and mentoring, and are eligible to apply to the Seed Fund.

Track record

Through its CSR outreach, the Society works to raise awareness about entrepreneurship in rural areas and reports that it has given training to more than 50,000 students. It is also entitled to receive contributions under Corporate Social Responsibility.

How to apply

Applications are made programme by programme. For the bio-incubation centre and the Seed Fund, download the relevant application form from the Park's site and submit it to the Bio-Incubation Centre inbox. For virtual incubation, download and submit the virtual incubation application form. General enquiries go to the Park's office inbox.