Northeast India’s startup ecosystem is set for another growth push as IIMA Ventures, in partnership with opened applications for the third cohort of the North East Growth Lab (NEGL), targeting 25 high-potential startups and social enterprises across the region. The initiative reflects increasing investor and institutional interest in the Northeast’s innovation-driven enterprises spanning agriculture, food processing, climate technology, biotechnology, financial inclusion, livelihoods and deep technology. Market indicators from earlier cohorts highlight the programme’s growing impact. More than 40 ventures have been supported to date, while the first cohort alone backed 41 social enterprises. Of these, 31 ventures received grants and investments worth Rs 2.38 crore and subsequently mobilised an additional Rs 2.29 crore through grants, debt and equity funding. The startups also generated over 44 business opportunities and secured 27 active commercial engagements, including partnerships, pilot projects, procurement discussions and market access collaborations.
To widen participation, IIMA Ventures conducted roadshows in Guwahati, Dimapur, Imphal and Agartala between June 15 and June 24 with support from Assam Startup-NEST, BioNEST, IIT Guwahati Technology Innovation and Development Foundation (TIDF), Educentre School of Business (ESB) Incubator, Manipur Technology Innovation Hub (MTI-Hub), Startup Tripura and the Directorate of IT & NIT Agartala Incubator. Nearly 175 founders attended the sessions, which included workshops on value proposition development and customer segmentation.
ChintanBakshi, Partner – Incubation at IIMA Ventures, said the Northeast is emerging as a promising entrepreneurial market with startups addressing local challenges through scalable innovations. Applications for the latest cohort are now open, with ventures to be evaluated on innovation, scalability, impact potential and their ability to generate sustainable livelihoods and economic opportunities across the region.
