Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development (FIED), the incubation center of IIM Kashipur, has launched ‘Cohort-6.0’ – the sixth edition of its incubation programme for agro-startups.
Cohort 6.0 is supported by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare’s (DA&FM) scheme – Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RAFTAAR). RKVY-RAFTAAR aims to foster innovation and agro-entrepreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem.
Cohort 6.0 aims to make farming a remunerative activity while adding risk mitigation and enhancing farmers income through innovative practices and technology.
DA&FM has selected five Knowledge Partners (KPs) as Centre of Excellence and 24 RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) from across the country. These incubators are empowered to support Agri-startups throughout the country.
Cohort 6.0 offers two programs for startups – Sahas and Saksham, which will provide funding, mentoring and resources to foster innovation through agribusiness incubation in agriculture and allied sectors.
SAHAS: Sahas is an agripreneurship orientation program for startups at the pre-seed stage. The start-ups have the opportunity to receive INR 500,000 grant-in-aid after the completion of this programme. The trainees who are selected for this program will receive a stipend of 10K INR for a period of two months.
SAKSHAM: Saksham is an agripreneurship incubation program for start-ups at the seed. With at least a minimum viable product/ prototype based on innovative solutions in agriculture by the startups are eligible for this program. The start-ups have the opportunity to receive grant-in-aid up to 2.5M INR after the completion of the program. The startups will also receive additional help and mentoring for the commercial launch of the programme.
The focus areas of the programmes include, sustainable inputs, animal husbandry, innovative food technology, supply chain technology, smart agriculture, agriculture fintech, agriculture biotech, soil, water & weather technology, farm mechanization, post-harvest technology, fisheries, farm fresh retail, urban/vertical farming and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)/ Internet of Things (IOT) in agriculture.
Application window is open until 5 August 2024. The scheme will help transforming agriculture into a lucrative and resilient industry, paving the way for a sustainable future.
