Guwahati: The Sikkim government has partnered with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) to strengthen the state’s startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem, with a three-year programme targeting incubation and acceleration support for 250 startups and enterprises.
The 36-month partnership between the Commerce & Industries Department and IIMCIP will be implemented through the Sikkim Innovation Hub under the Sikkim INSPIRES programme.
The initiative also aims to operationalise four district-level incubation centres, create more than 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, and ensure that at least 40% of the supported enterprises are women-led.
The Memorandum of Agreement was signed at Manan Kendra, Gangtok, on September 27 by Commerce & Industries Secretary Karma D. Youtso and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Chief Business Officer Gaurav Kapoor, in the presence of Special Secretary-cum-Director Choden Gyatso.
Under the agreement, IIMCIP will serve as the Lead Incubation Partner and help develop structured support for entrepreneurs at different stages — from developing and validating ideas to incubation, market access, investment and scaling up.
The Sikkim Innovation Hub in Gangtok will function as the central platform, while district incubation centres will take entrepreneurship support closer to businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs outside the capital.
Existing incubation centres at ATTC, Bardang, and CCCT, Chisopani, along with additional centres proposed under the programme, will form part of the hub-and-spoke model.
The district centres will focus on identifying local business ideas and entrepreneurs, conducting outreach and pre-incubation programmes and providing first-level support. Dedicated incubation managers will work with entrepreneurs to connect them with technical experts, mentors, investors and other resources.
The programme will include bootcamps, startup clinics, ideathons, workshops and entrepreneurship awareness programmes targeting young people, students, women, first-generation entrepreneurs, startups and MSMEs.
Entrepreneurs will also receive support in areas including business-model development, market validation, prototype development, financial planning, branding, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and growth strategies.
The government and IIMCIP will also develop Entrepreneurship Promotion Cells in higher educational institutions to identify young entrepreneurial talent and link students and innovators with the state’s incubation network.
A key objective will be to connect Sikkim-based enterprises with national incubation networks, investors, industry partners, technology providers and markets outside the state.
The programme will track outcomes including new ventures, prototypes, revenue generation, employment, investment mobilisation, market access and the participation of women-led enterprises.
The partnership is aimed at implementing the Sikkim Startup Policy 2025 while creating a more district-focused and structured support system for startups, MSMEs and innovators.
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, a not-for-profit Section 8 company established under IIM Calcutta, says it has supported more than 2,000 startups and seed-funded 152 ventures. Its portfolio companies have collectively raised more than Rs 2,000 crore, according to the organisation.