IIMA Ventures

IIMA Ventures (formerly CIIE.CO)

IIMA Ventures — formerly IIMA-CIIE (Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship) and publicly branded as CIIE.CO until its 2024 rebrand — is the innovation and entrepreneurship centre at IIM Ahmedabad. Established in 2002 with support from DST and the Government of Gujarat, it was recognised as a DST Centre of Excellence in 2019. IIMA Ventures describes itself as "The Innovation Continuum" — an end-to-end support system spanning incubation, acceleration, catalytic investment, fund incubation, and ecosystem research.

Programs

Incubation: Physical incubation centres across Ahmedabad (50,000+ sq. ft. on the IIMA campus), Indore, and Jaipur, offering 6–12 month programs with co-working space, mentoring, and business development support.

Acceleration (Innocity): A modular, on-demand regional startup support platform offering monthly boosters, sessions, and quarterly pitches across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Sector Accelerators: India's first climate accelerator (Powerstart, 2011), first Food & Agri-business accelerator (2015), first Healthcare accelerator (2016), AI Academy India (with Google for Startups, 2024), and Aerospace & Deep-tech Acceleration Fund (with Jaivel Aerospace, 2025–26).

Bharat Inclusion Initiative: Focused on financial and digital inclusion for the next half billion Indians.

Fund Incubation: Incubates venture funds, including India's first energy VC (Infuse Ventures, 2012).

Funding

Funding spans grants (₹5 lakh), convertible debt, and equity (up to ₹50 lakh per startup depending on program). IIMA Ventures partnered with SIDBI to launch a ₹40 crore pre-seed deep-tech fund. The Aerospace & Deep-tech Acceleration Fund offers up to USD 400,000 per startup. Google for Startups AI Academy provided up to USD 350,000 in cloud credits per cohort company.

Track Record

IIMA Ventures has mentored 10,000+ founders, accelerated 2,000+ startups, and provided catalytic capital to 700+ companies. Notable portfolio includes Razorpay, IdeaForge (India's drone market leader), Agnikul Cosmos, Morphing Machines, 5C Network, and Fourth Partner Energy.

Who Should Apply

Founders across any stage and sector — especially those building for deep tech, climate, financial/digital inclusion, or rural India. Particularly strong fit for founders in Tier 2/3 cities seeking structured, mentorship-led acceleration with access to the IIMA network. No mandatory company registration to apply for incubation.