The Past, Present and Future of Start-up Incubation in India
Chapter Summary
The number of incubators in India grew 15 times between 2000 and 2020.
Non-metro cities, which account for more than 60 per cent of ihcubators n ndie, are earng up to become future start-up capitals.
The highestdensity ot incubators in the south and west of India and within academic institutions highlghts the common assumptions around start-ups as entities founded by: young graduates commercialising technotogy developed in labs.
There has been vigorous incubation activisom in india between 2008 and 2020. Most of the current policies and schemes recognise tecinology commercialisalon as the primary goal of incubators.
To remain effective, incubators must define their pertormance measures around the goals of building founders, start-ups, ecosystems as well as themselves as organisations.
In the past, many services of incubators, such as co-working spaces, were disaggregated and commercialised.
In a post-COVID-19 world, incubators must explore novel offerings to remain effective and impactful.
Published as part of the book ‘Shifting Orbits: Decoding the Trajectory of the Indian Start-up Ecosystem’.