Karpagam Innovation & Incubation Council (KIIC)

Choosing a route

• Incubation support is for any individual or startup that wants to use KIIC's incubation facilities.
• The Ignition Grant 2.0 round is for startups, students, faculty members and social innovators, including rural startups, in health and basic science.

How applications work

• Submit an application in the format KIIC specifies, with all the supporting documents it asks for.

What makes an applicant ineligible

• Startups that break the law, statutes, environmental laws or ethical standards.

Karpagam Innovation & Incubation Council (KIIC) is a Section 8 (not-for-profit) company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 2013, based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It is supported by the NIDHI Inclusive Technology Business Incubator scheme of the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) at the Department of Science and Technology (DST). It works with Karpagam Academy of Higher Education (KAHE).

How programmes work

Its standing programme is incubation support. Any individual or startup that wants to use KIIC's incubation facilities applies by submitting an application in the format KIIC specifies, with the supporting documents it asks for.

The Ignition Grant 2.0 round is a DST-funded grant for converting an idea into a prototype. It is open to startups, students, faculty members, social innovators and rural startups from the health and basic science sectors.

Who can apply

Incubation support is open to any individual or startup. Startups that break the law, statutes, environmental laws or ethical standards are not eligible.

The Ignition Grant 2.0 round names the groups listed above.

Facilities

KIIC describes its incubation space as free. Its startup policy says mentoring and other services may be offered for a fee, or at zero payment. The homepage and the policy do not agree on whether support costs money, so check before you plan around either.

Events

KIIC runs events with partners. IMPAIRATHON 2024 was a national hackathon on assistive technology and special needs, held on 8 and 9 October 2024 at the Sheikizhar Auditorium on the KIIC campus. It was organised with KAHE's Department of Biomedical Engineering, StartupTN, Karpagam Innovation Center, TANCAM and STPI.

Investor Connect linked startups with investors. It was organised with KAHE, StartupTN, Nativelead and Karunya Incubation Foundation, and held on 12 February 2025 at the KAHE campus on Pollachi Main Road. Its eligibility was incorporated, DPIIT-registered startups and early-stage or pre-revenue startups. Registration closed on 12 January 2025.

Startup Expo was run by KIIC with departments of KAHE. It featured Investor Connect, a D2C buyer-seller meet, Food Futura and Green Essence.

Locations

KIIC gives two addresses. Its footer lists an office at Kurichi Industrial Estate, Kurichi, Coimbatore South. Its contact page gives a campus address at SF No. 559, Pollachi Main Road, Eachanari Post, Coimbatore. Both carry the postcode 641021. The pages do not say which is the main office, so confirm before visiting.