Incubation at InFED

This is InFED's standing incubation offer, separate from the funded schemes it delivers. It is laid out as a 144-week plan: a goal and milestone setting week at the start, quarterly reviews at weeks 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84 and 124, a need-based mentoring or masterclass block at week 100, and a graduation week at the end. The full term is three years, extendable by one year in special circumstances.

What you get

• A paced three-year programme with fixed quarterly review points
• Mentoring drawn from a panel of 64 named mentors
• Market linkages, networking and paid pilot introductions, which InFED lists among its objectives
• A seat in the InFED block on the IIM Nagpur campus

Who can apply

• Startups recognised by DPIIT and incorporated no more than two years before applying; if you are not recognised yet, it must be done within a month of joining
• At least 51% of shareholding held by Indian promoters
• The business must use technology in its core product, service, business model, distribution model or method
• Any sector, though InFED names AgriTech, HealthTech, the circular economy and technology-enabled startups as its focus

How selection works: two stages. First you submit an executive summary or business plan. Then InFED runs its own research and due diligence on the company, on you and your management team, and on the industry, and may ask for more information or a revised summary and presentation. It assesses entrepreneurial experience, a written market access plan, current financial status, capitalisation potential, job creation potential, financial growth potential, the manufacturing process, commitment to R&D, and time to market.

How to apply: the incubation page itself carries no form. In practice you apply through whichever named scheme is open, or write to infed@iimnagpur.ac.in.

A startup graduates when at least two of five conditions are met: it passes a stated annual sales threshold, it is acquired, more than half its stock is sold, it recruits more than five employees and outgrows the incubator, or it has completed three years and no longer needs significant support.