Delhi's first 24/7 incubator a boon for budding entrepreneurs

For budding entrepreneurs, toiling for their dream project is a day and night affair, but not many find a support system during the wee hours.
Delhi's first "24/7" incubator -- Delhi Technological University (DTU) -- Innovation and Incubation Foundation (IIF) -- aims to provide just that and keeps its doors open round- the-clock for its incubatees.
The DTU-IIF is accessible to current students, alumni and faculty, including those retired from DTU, and also allows outsiders depending upon merit and space availability after giving preference to the first three categories.
"The facility is first in Delhi to help students, research scholars and other working professionals who may not be able to spare time during the day," Manoj Kumar Sharma, CEO of DTU-IIF, told PTI.

Started in September last year, the facility, with the help of Delhi government, looks at promoting the culture of entrepreneurship, startups and Intellectual Property creation which could add to the social and economic development of the society.
The incubator offers required physical space, networks, training, business advice, technology support, legal help and seed funding for incubatees.

Though the mentors (experts, senior businesspersons and others who guide) being external agents might not be available during late hours, the incubatees can avail all the other resources with the centre any time.
"Startups belonging to any category with innovative ideas will be incubated here," Sharma said.

Currently 15 startups, 11 of them from the university, are being incubated at IIF. They will graduate from the facility after an incubation period of two years.
"According to Delhi government guidelines, such centres in educational institutions can have minimum 11 and maximum 20 startups a year," Sharma said, adding that in January three more startups will be taken in.
Some of the other incubation centres in institutions in Delhi are at the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, Ambedkar University Delhi, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, and Bhai Parmanand Institute of Business Students among others.