GIZ Partners With Samhita & Villgro To Address Gaps In Incubation Ecosystem

GIZ (The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH), an international development organisation owned by the German Government, has partnered with Samhita Social  Ventures and Villgro to facilitate corporate engagement in the incubation of startups and social enterprises.

Through this partnership, GIZ, Samhita and Villgro will seek to address gaps in the Indian incubation ecosystem. Challenges such as limited domestic capital and support for start-ups are planned to be addressed. The project aims to facilitate partnerships between companies and incubators by means of match-making.

Priya Naik, Founder & CEO, Samhita, said, “Companies can play a critical role in incubating social enterprises. Their industry expertise, access to markets and mentorship support could make a significant impact on the startup eco system in India. With the funding of incubators now permitted under the CSR law, companies can leverage this opportunity to spark innovation and drive business growth.”

Although there are approximately 160 incubators in India, the boom in startups and social enterprises has fueled a demand for incubator support. Estimates place the demand at 1,000 incubators by 2020. There is a strong case for corporate participation in supporting incubators, and it opens a plethora of opportunities for all stakeholders involved – companies, incubators, startups and social enterprises.

Villgro is one of the early social enterprise incubators in India. Since 2001, the organization has incubated 119 enterprises and boasts of having secured Rs 1105 million in follow-up funding, and impacting over 15 million lives. Paul Basil, Founder & CEO, Villgro said, “Early-stage startups and social enterprises need all the support they can get for them to scale for maximum impact. From critical seed funding that any company needs while they are piloting to mentors who have been through the trials of business themselves , incubators offer an ecosystem of support.”

As per Companies Act 2013, investments in incubators can be included in a company’s CSR (corporate social responsibility) spending. “Fostering the startup eco-system is important for India’s strive for a more inclusive & sustainable economy. GIZ together with its partners Bosch and Intellecap is committed to support the startup ecosystem by linking the various important stakeholders such as corporates, incubators, startups, etc. and providing them the support that is needed,” mentioned Priyanka Kohli, Project Advisor, GIZ.

Participating in this platform will provide corporate with access to innovative technologies and products, new markets and business partners. Corporate investments will help build capacity of existing incubators and improve the efficiency of the incubation sector. This will directly impact emerging start-ups and social enterprises by helping them successfully get off the ground.

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The CSR Journal Team