Kohima, July 21: Nagaland University has been chosen to host one of four newly established incubation centres under a Central Government initiative aimed at fostering grassroots startups in the region.
The Kohima campus of Nagaland University, Nagaland’s only Central University will serve as the host centre as part of the project titled ‘Establish, Develop, and Manage Entrepreneurship Development Centres and Incubation Centres in Educational Institutes of the North Eastern Region’. The initiative is sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong, and implemented by the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati, under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
As part of this initiative, 50 top-performing entrepreneurs from across the region will receive seed funding of up to ₹5 lakh each to develop their startups. Nagaland University will incubate 44 selected entrepreneurs in its first batch—comprising 18 from Nagaland, 16 from Arunachal Pradesh, 6 from Assam, and 4 from Manipur. The onboarding process for these incubatees is scheduled to begin in July 2025.
Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University, Prof. Jagadish K Patnaik, hailed the selection as a recognition of the university’s growing role in promoting innovation and inclusive development. “This opportunity reaffirms our commitment to academic excellence, research, and nation-building through entrepreneurship,” he stated.
Dr. Dhrubajyoti Bordoloi, Coordinator of the Entrepreneurship Development and Incubation Centre at the university, highlighted a robust roadmap of activities, including mentorship programmes with industry experts, ideathons, workshops, bootcamps, and hackathons. “This is the first initiative of its kind in the Northeast, targeting potential entrepreneurs from some of the most remote parts of the country,” he added.
He also credited awareness campaigns in institutions and rural areas for fostering entrepreneurial thinking among the youth—a key objective of the programme.
Out of the total 145 beneficiaries selected under the programme across the four centres, 44 will be incubated at Nagaland University, reinforcing its position as a rising hub for innovation, startup culture, and entrepreneurial leadership in the Northeast.
