IIT-M Incubation Cell (IITMIC), the nodal incubator of IIT-Madras has partnered with NativeLead Foundation to identify and nurture startups from institutes and incubators, particularly in tier 2,3 and 4 towns across Tamil Nadu. They will jointly leverage their network to provide value-added support, including mentorship, market access, training for strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems and growth of incubated startups at IITMIC and its partner institutes/incubators across the State. The focus of this partnership will be in domains (but not limited to) of Agritech, Retail, Healthtech, Edutech and Cleantech, with social impact and ESG compliance.
Nagaraja Prakasam, founder-chairman, NativeLead, said, “There are so many startups in rural pockets who have good ideas but don't have technology expertise. We will identify such entrepreneurs and weave them with IITMIC. The idea is to bring technology to solve rural problems.”
Ashok Jhunjhunwala, president – IITM Incubation Cell, RTBI and IIT Madras Research Park, said, “Rural entrepreneurs are very important for India. They have the edge of finding localised solutions to challenges that are unique to India. This is a mark of true indigenous innovation. Through this partnership with NativeLead, our vision is aligned to strengthen this start-up ecosystem and make it accessible for entrepreneurs in regional areas.”
The collaboration also ties into IITMIC’s 10X initiative of Accelerated Incubation, geared towards achieving an ambitious 1,000 incubations by 2030, through empowering young emerging entrepreneurs from India's rural pockets. NativeLead Angels currently has six local chapters in Tamil Nadu (Madurai, Coimbatore, Erode, Karur, Tiruchi and Thoothukudi) and three Native Connect Chapters (Chennai, Washington DC and Tokyo). Their core objective is to invest and nurture startups emerging from the small towns of Tamil Nadu.
