Nagaland University has been chosen to host one of the four incubation centres in the Northeast under a central government initiative to “foster an entrepreneurial mindset”.
The Central university was chosen under the project “Establish, Develop, and Manage Entrepreneurship Development Centres and Incubation Centres in the Educational Institutes of the North Eastern Region”.
A total of 44 beneficiaries will be incubated in the first batch of incubatees at the university’s Kohima campus.
Dr Dhrubajyoti Bordoloi, coordinator, Entrepreneurship Development Centre and Incubation Centre, Nagaland University, said: “The initiative is first-of-its-kind in the Northeast wherein potential entrepreneurs have been identified from the remotest corner of the country.”
He added: “Furthermore, an effort has been made to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and intent among the youthful population of the state through the conduct of numerous awareness camps in various institutions
and villages.”
The beneficiaries include 16 from Arunachal Pradesh, six from Assam, four from Manipur, with the remaining from Nagaland. On-boarding of the incubatees will be done this month.
The selection of the incubatees was finalised in the 2024-25 financial year. Altogether, 145 beneficiaries were selected by experts appointed by the nodal agency across the Northeast, with 44 beneficiaries assigned to the Nagaland University Incubation Centre.
The 50 best-performing beneficiaries will receive a start-up seed money grant of up to ₹5 lakh. The selection method adhered to a stringent process of identifying prospective entrepreneurs and start-ups, among others.
Bordoloi said: “Industry experts and established entrepreneurs will provide mentorship to the incubatees. Workshops, ideathons, bootcamps and hackathons are contemplated for the forthcoming six months.”
This project is being sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong, and implemented by the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati. The NEC is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the Northeast while the IIE is an organisation under the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship.
Welcoming the role of the university in promoting entrepreneurship in the region, Prof Jagadish K. Patnaik, vice-chancellor, Nagaland University, said: “This opportunity reaffirms the university’s commitment to academic excellence and nation-building through innovation, research, and inclusive development.”
The role of Nagaland University as an incubation centre under this initiative includes:
- Nomination and record-keeping of trainee profile (student/youth trainee) from within and outside the institute for participating in the incubation programme to become successful incubatees in the incubation centres.
- Mobilisation of resources to conduct soft intervention at the incubation centre (viz. logistic support, resource person, convergence to other government schemes).
- Contribution to the knowledge repository of the catchment area by means of research work, survey, and database maintenance on the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- Contribution to entrepreneurial education by introducing entrepreneurship as a subject in the academic curriculum.