Women Incubation, Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE), Digital University of Kerala

Check the gate first

• Confirm you are a student in Kerala, a Kerala-based woman entrepreneur, or a woman planning a startup.
• If you have a company, the female co-founder should own the majority and the company should be an LLP or private limited company registered in Kerala.

Pick the scheme

• Student Entrepreneurship Scheme: for students building a venture alongside their course.
• New Entrepreneurship Scheme: for new women entrepreneurs who want a two-year supported start.
• Match your stage: pre-incubation for an idea (3 to 6 Months), incubation for a product being built (6 to 18 Months).

How to apply

• Fill the registration form on the WISE site and upload a business proposal as a PDF.
• Say clearly what the product is, who it is for, and what stage you are at.
• Keep the proposal short and specific about what you will build with the support.
• Questions can go to wise@duk.ac.in.

Before you apply

• The site does not state intake dates, so ask by email before you spend time on the proposal.
• Grant levels depend on stage (idea, productivity, scale-up). Check current limits on the WISE site.
• If your company is not yet registered, the site's guide to registering in Kerala is a good first read.

WISE, short for Women Incubation, Start-ups and Entrepreneurship, is the incubation centre of the Digital University of Kerala (also known as the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology). It supports women entrepreneurs and students in Kerala, and its incubation centre sits in the IIITM-K building at Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram.

Who WISE is for

WISE is not open to every founder. Its own eligibility list names a student pursuing education in Kerala, a Kerala-based women entrepreneur, and women who want to build their own startup. For company-backed applicants, the female co-founder should own the majority of the company, and the company should be registered in Kerala as an LLP or a private limited company. If you are a founder outside Kerala, or a team led by men, this is probably not the right door.

Schemes

WISE runs two schemes. The Student Entrepreneurship Scheme is for ongoing students who want to build a venture while they study. A team can submit a proposal online, and the state's higher education guidelines for colleges and universities apply. The team may register a private limited company, an LLP or a partnership, or continue for a period without registration. The New Entrepreneurship Scheme is for new women entrepreneurs. WISE manages the centre and gives members financial help and a contingency grant for a two-year term, along with infrastructure, mentoring, training and support.

Stages

Pre-incubation is the ideation stage and lasts 3 to 6 Months. Technologists with a new concept get working space while they turn a proposal into a proof of concept and test whether the idea is technically feasible. WISE offers mentoring and a networking platform. Incubation lasts 6 to 18 Months. Startups build a marketable prototype or MVP and work on marketing plans. WISE assigns seats or modules, and grants where the department's programme allows, along with mentorship.

What WISE offers

The centre lists infrastructure, grants, training and consultancy. Infrastructure covers furnished office space, computing and communication resources, clerical support and office supplies, and special software or tools on request. Training covers launching a new business and access to databases for market research, patents and trademarks. Consultancy covers strategic planning, market research, marketing, business promotion, financial planning, hiring, and finding partners and alliances.

WISE has also launched an innovation grant programme with three levels: an idea grant for teams with a prototype or MVP, a productivity grant to help launch a product, and a scale-up grant for ramping up product and sales. A startup is eligible for grants only up to the highest of these limits. Amounts are on the WISE site and can change, so check them before you plan around them.

Startups and how to start

The site lists these startups from the centre: Iraaloom, Vishista Systems, Bookserb, XMbell, AcademiQue and Exiox. Its pages also cover how to register a company or a partnership firm in Kerala, from name checks with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to Startup India recognition and a Kerala Startup Mission unique ID.

To apply, use the registration form on the WISE site. It asks for your contact details, the title of your proposal, your area of specialization, a short description of the product, and a business proposal as a PDF. The centre's working hours are 9.00 to 5.30 pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and it is closed on Sunday.

Contact

Write to wise@duk.ac.in. The project coordinator's office is at the Technocity Campus, Pallipuram, Thiruvananthapuram. The incubation centre is in the IIITM-K building, Technopark Campus, Thiruvananthapuram 695 581, Kerala.