NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL)

The NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) is the startup incubator of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). It was set up with the support of N. S. Raghavan, co-founder of Infosys. NSRCEL describes itself as "Ground Zero for Startups in India" and aims to help founders survive, scale and succeed. It runs programmes for ventures at the idea, prototype and growth stages. Its approach combines hands-on mentoring, access to funding and a network of mentors, corporates, investors and regulators.

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Major Areas of Work

• Early-stage incubation: support for founders turning ideas into prototypes and first products, including students and recent graduates.

• Women entrepreneurship: training, incubation and grants for women founders from the idea stage to growth.

• Social entrepreneurship: incubation for for-profit and non-profit ventures that use technology to address social problems.

• Climate and sustainability: incubation for startups working on climate, the circular economy, renewable energy and sustainable mobility.

• Sector centres of excellence: focused support for fintech, healthcare and med-tech ventures.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Women Startup Program: a programme powered by Kotak BizLabs, with a 5-week online foundation course, a 2-month online pre-incubation stage and an 8-month hybrid incubation stage. It is largely free, takes no equity and offers grants to selected ventures.

• Impact Orbit: NSRCEL's social entrepreneurship vertical, powered by Capgemini, which incubates tech-enabled social ventures for 8 to 9 months with grants of up to Rs 15 lakh. Its tracks cover skilling and livelihoods, AgeTech and tech-enabled social innovation.

• Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women: an education and mentoring programme for established women entrepreneurs.

• Campus Founders: a 4-month programme for student and recent graduate entrepreneurs.

• Climate Centre of Excellence: specialised support, funding access and expert mentoring for startups tackling climate change.

Impact

IIM Bangalore states that its women startup programme has helped over 23,053 women build entrepreneurial and managerial skills, incubated more than 590 ventures and created 2,083 jobs. Impact Orbit's own page cites 31,800+ jobs created. NSRCEL maintains partnerships with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Goldman Sachs, Capgemini, Maruti Suzuki, FSID at IISc, UNSW and the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL).

Leadership

• Prof. Rejie George Pallathitta, Chairperson

• Rasika Prashant, Chief Executive Officer

• Anand Sri Ganesh, Director, IIMB Innovations

• Vijaykrishnan TS, Chief Financial Officer

NSRCEL suits people who want to work closely with founders across many sectors at once. Its staff run cohorts, mentoring, investment readiness and partnerships for startups that range from student ventures to growth-stage social enterprises. The work gives exposure to impact investing, corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnerships, women's entrepreneurship and climate innovation, all inside a leading business school. It fits programme managers, ecosystem builders and people with a background in investment or partnerships.