Guwahati: The Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) is set to establish Entrepreneurship Development Centers and Incubation Centers in higher educational institutions across the North Eastern Region (NER) to foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem among college students. With the backing of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the North Eastern Council, IIE Director Dr Lalit Sharma believes that college youth can play a significant role in creating a startup ecosystem in the NER, much like what has been seen in Karnataka and Gujarat.

The Entrepreneurship Development Centers will provide students with support in expanding their ideas, developing prototypes, conducting market research, creating business plans, pitching for startups, and receiving mentoring support. Meanwhile, the Incubation Centers will offer technological, market linkages, financial linkages, handholding, grant, and professional networking support to help develop commercially viable and sustainable student startups.

In the first phase of the project, 30 Entrepreneurship Development Centers and four Incubation Centers will be established in higher education institutions across the NER, with plans to increase the number of centers and include colleges in remote areas. IIE will collaborate with higher education institutions to provide students with resources, guidance, and mentorship to launch their own startups.

To support student startups, 50 selected teams will receive one-time grant funding of Rs. 5 Lakh each under the project.

The aim is to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem that empowers young college students in the NER to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

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