JNTUH

Choose the right route

• Tech startup with an IP-based product or a clear user need: apply to the incubator.
• Early idea and want to test it first: look at the Spark pre-incubation cohort, which is online.
• Want training rather than incubation: the Entrepreneurship Development Cell runs camps and programmes.

How applications work

• Use the application link on the incubator's FAQ page.
• Faculty and pursuing students need written permission from their institution or guide before applying.
• A company that is not yet registered must register within three months of approval.

How selection works

• Shortlisted applicants pitch to an internal review.
• The business plan then goes to at least two external experts.
• A selection committee makes the final choice and selected companies sign agreements.

What reviewers look for

• An intellectual property based product.
• Clear market or user validation.
• A credible use of JNTUH resources.
• Strong growth potential and social or strategic impact.

JNTUH Technology Business Incubator, also written J-TBI, is a business incubator on the JNTU Hyderabad campus in Kukatpally. It is run by JNTUH Innovation Foundation, a registered Section 8 company, and says it supports technology startups with growth, strategy, funding and co-working space.

How the incubator works

An applicant may be an individual or a registered company with a technology-based product or idea. The incubator gives preference to companies built on intellectual property. It looks for a product with clear market or user validation, a real use of JNTUH resources, and high growth or social impact.

Applications go through two reviews. The first is an internal review, where shortlisted applicants pitch in person or online. The second is an external review, where at least two experts look at the business plan, often through a virtual pitch. A selection committee then chooses the new fellows, and selected companies sign agreements with the incubator. A company that is not yet registered must register within three months of approval.

The incubator's stated goal is to help a business graduate in two to three years. It says its revenue model is an equity share in incubated companies plus rent for a fully equipped office.

Pre-incubation: Spark

Spark is a pre-incubation cohort for early ideas. The programme is online and runs for 45 to 60 days. It combines masterclasses, hands-on activities, mentorship sessions and networking with entrepreneurs and startup coaches. It is open to students, recent graduates and young entrepreneurs with tech startup ideas. Participants receive a completion certificate, and the cohort leads to incubation at JNTUH TBI. There may be nominal fees for some activities, with details given during application. Its application window is a Call for Application period, and the page does not give dates.

Who can apply

Individuals and registered companies can apply to the incubator. Faculty members must get permission from their institution before joining. A pursuing student needs permission from a faculty guide or head of department, and a letter from a guardian may be required. The rule is meant to avoid academic or social conflicts.

Facilities and support

The incubator lists a dedicated incubation space of 20000 sq ft. Startups can rent a fully furnished office with a conference room, a meeting room and internet. Its FAQ also lists business mentoring, technical mentoring, access to legal, financial, accounting, HR and IP professionals, and access to JNTUH labs, library resources and the student talent pool. It offers seed support on a case-by-case basis, and access to investors and networks. Its homepage lists focus areas including IoT, AI and machine learning, AR and VR, automation, defence and aerospace, health and medtech, agritech and Industry 4.0.

Scale

The homepage gives self-reported figures for the incubator's work, with no dates on the page: more than 25 startups, more than 1500 individuals, more than 25 mentors, more than 30 sessions, more than 5 patents and more than 10k students reached.

Entrepreneurship Development Cell

The university's Entrepreneurship Development Cell was set up in 2002 with support from the Department of Science and Technology. It runs three-day Entrepreneurship Awareness Camps, two to four week Entrepreneurship Development Programmes, and two-week Faculty Development Programmes for science, engineering and pharmacy graduates and for faculty. Its page says more than 13,600 people have taken part. The programme list on the page runs to early 2022, and no current calendar is published there.

Earlier scheme: MSME-TBI

JNTUH also hosts the Ministry of MSME's technology business incubator scheme. Under it, innovators with an idea close to commercialisation present to a local screening committee at a camp that the page says is held each March. Funding is given per selected idea. The cycles listed on the page run to 2020-21, and no current call is confirmed, so treat this scheme as closed until the college confirms otherwise.

Conflicting details

The two pages differ on two points. The incubator calls itself a DST-funded incubator, while the Entrepreneurship Development Cell page describes the MSME-TBI scheme as a Ministry of MSME scheme. The incubator's contact page and the Cell's page also give different locations on the campus.

Locations

Ground Floor, New Admission Block, JNTUH, Kukatpally, Hyderabad 500085.