Incubation centres: UK shares best practices

On the backdrop of start-ups and incubation centres mushrooming across India, the UK Science and Innovation Network and the British Deputy High Commission, Chennai, on Tuesday organised a workshop here for incubators to share best practices with their counterparts in the UK.

Addressing the workshop, Bharat Joshi, British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai, said the investments in joint projects between the two countries have grown to ₹1,700 crore from ₹9 crore a few years ago.

India is one of the largest FDI investors in the UK and many companies in the UK have invested in India, he said.

Given the partnership between the two countries and a robust start-up ecosystem in the UK, Joshi said India can benefit from understanding the best practices followed by incubation centres in the UK.

The workshop shared the best practices of established Technology Business Incubators (TBI), projects, ecosystems and real-life approaches in the UK. The workshop took into account the nature of the Indian start-up ecosystem and will guide the participants on developing and growing a sustainable TBI.

Martin Garratt, Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Cleantech, said the most common challenges start-ups and incubation centres face are funds crunch and sustainable ecosystem. “Incubation centres that support start-ups should be self-sustaining.”

The centres could generate revenue by renting out spaces for a nominal fee to start-ups, conducting start-up competitions and creating virtual conference facilities, he said.

Sam Prasanth Kumar, Prosperity Advisor, British Deputy High Commission, said the workshop caters to established and new incubators, and educational institutions that are planning to start a new incubator. Similar workshops will be conducted in Kolkata, Chandigarh and Pune in the coming weeks.

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