An agri-business development camp is scheduled to be held at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) under its Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) programme on Friday.

The camp will be held in partnership with the Technopreneur Promotion Project (TePP) and the Union Department of Science and Industrial Research. TePP focuses on providing financial support to individual innovators for converting novel ideas into working prototypes/models, an Icrisat release said here today.

ABI-Icrisat, an outreach centre for the TePP funding programme, holds these agri-business camps to identify new ideas and innovations that have the potential to transform the lives of people in the rural sector, especially those engaged in the agricultural sector.

Through such camps, ABI-Icrisat had so far identified 51 innovations and is currently supporting 26 clients under major schemes of the Government of India.

Entrepreneurs and individuals who have innovative ideas or technology that can benefit the farming community and rural society can participate in the camp. Registration, which is free of cost, will begin at 9 am on Friday.

The ABI programme, started in early 2000, focuses on nurturing and promoting agri-business start-up ventures through technology commercialisation and supports innovation in the agriculture sector.

ABI-Icrisat has been at the forefront of promoting agri-business ventures using technology transfer and incubation support that includes technical and scientific backstopping, aided with training and mentioning support and financial assistance from venture capitalists, banks and other government agencies.

It is also the coordinating body for the Network of Indian Agri-Business Incubators (NIABI), which consists of 10 agri-business incubators spread across the country and covering agriculture and its allied sectors.

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