BIRAC’s BioNEST Bioincubator (B3I) Facility, North-Eastern Hill University

How to start

• Not sure yet: send the Query Form first to talk through your idea.
• Ready to join: fill the Incubation Application Form on the B3I website. The site states no deadline, so apply any time.

Who fits best

• Ventures in agriculture, food processing, nutrition, biotechnology or life sciences.
• Founders, researchers, faculty and students who want to build in the North-Eastern region.
• Teams that need lab access, food processing equipment or testing before they have their own space.

What to prepare

• A short description of your product or technology and the problem it solves.
• What you need from the lab: testing, shelf-life work, prototype validation or processing equipment.
• Whether you want help with a grant application under the Proof of Concept programme.

The site does not publish selection criteria, fees or equity terms, so ask these in the Query Form before you apply.

BIRAC’s BioNEST Bioincubator (B3I) Facility is a bioincubator at North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Meghalaya, with its main base on the Tura campus. It was established in 2021 and is supported by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Government of India enterprise. It works with innovators, entrepreneurs and startups in the North-Eastern Region.

Who it is for

The facility says it welcomes innovators, scientists and faculty members, entrepreneurs, researchers, startups and students who want to build a business in the North-Eastern region. Its stated focus is agriculture, food processing, nutrition, biotechnology and life sciences. Past incubatees include a fermented rice beverage, a natural food colorant from black rice bran, a smart greenhouse for the Northeast, a diagnostic kit for scrub typhus and a millet-based bakery brand.

What incubation includes

The facility offers infrastructure support, technology, business and legal mentorship, and help with funding. It can host up to 25 incubatees at the same time. Each incubatee is paired with a dedicated mentor, and progress is checked every month. It says it has built a network of over 40 experts across the country, covering technology and business development, agri-business management, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and technology transfer. NEHU faculty also act as mentors.

Facilities and services

The Tura facility spans over 6000 sq. ft. It has a BioNEST lab, a food processing and packaging unit, plug and play incubation suites, a computational facility, a conference hall and office space. Equipment listed on the site includes a fermentor, a lyophilizer, spectrophotometers, centrifuges, autoclaves and filling and vacuum packaging machines. Incubatees can also use shared labs on campus, such as animal science, agronomy, horticulture and computer labs.

Services listed include contract research, food safety management, shelf-life studies, microbiological and physicochemical analyses, bio-functionality testing, prototype validation, help with intellectual property and legal matters, and grant writing support.

Funding support

Under its Proof of Concept (PoC) Development Program, the facility helps with fund applications. This covers finding suitable grant opportunities, grant writing, business plans, market surveys and pitch preparation. It points founders to funders such as BIRAC, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology, MSME and Startup India.

Events and outreach

The facility runs events, skill development programmes, intellectual property awareness sessions and grant writing webinars. It reports that these have engaged over 6500 participants. It also held the Megha Start-up Expo in 2023 at NEHU.

Locations and how to apply

The main address is the Academic Block II, Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Production, NEHU Tura Campus, Chasingre, Tura, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya 794002. The team also lists a branch at NEHU Shillong. To get started, fill the Query Form or the Incubation Application Form on the facility website. The site does not state a deadline or a fee.