Nagaland University to Host Incubation Centre
Kohima: Nagaland University has been selected to host one of the four prestigious Incubation Centres being established across the North Eastern region under a Central Government initiative aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. The initiative, titled “Establish, Develop, and Manage Entrepreneurship Development Centres and Incubation Centres in the Educational Institutes of the North Eastern Region,” is sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong, and implemented by the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati, an institution functioning under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.
The Kohima campus of Nagaland University will serve as the designated Incubation Centre for the state, welcoming 44 selected beneficiaries in its first cohort. These beneficiaries include aspiring entrepreneurs from various North Eastern states—16 from Arunachal Pradesh, 6 from Assam, 4 from Manipur, and 18 from Nagaland itself. The onboarding process for these incubatees is set to begin in July 2025. Under the scheme, the top 50 performers across the region will be eligible to receive startup seed funding of up to ₹5 lakh to support their entrepreneurial ventures.
Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University, Prof. Jagadish K Patnaik, expressed his delight over the selection, emphasizing the university’s ongoing commitment to national development through research, innovation, and inclusive education. He stated that this development affirms Nagaland University’s central role in nurturing young minds and fostering a robust startup culture in the North East.
Dr. Dhrubajyoti Bordoloi, Coordinator of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre and Incubation Centre at Nagaland University, elaborated on the range of activities planned under the initiative. These include mentorship by industry experts, as well as interactive events like workshops, ideathons, bootcamps, and hackathons that will be conducted over the next six months. He noted that the initiative represents a unique and unprecedented opportunity for young entrepreneurs in the region, many of whom come from remote and underserved areas. Dr. Bordoloi, who also serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, added that significant groundwork has already been laid through awareness camps in various institutions and rural communities to spark entrepreneurial interest among youth.
The incubation programme at Nagaland University is set to play a multifaceted role—not only by guiding future entrepreneurs but also by integrating entrepreneurship education into academic curricula, mobilizing institutional and government resources, and contributing to regional knowledge through research and data collection. The selection process for the beneficiaries was rigorous, involving comprehensive training programmes, business plan development, and detailed assessments by panels of industry and government experts. A total of 145 entrepreneurs were selected across the North Eastern states through 30 Entrepreneurship Development Centres established under the project.
With this initiative, Nagaland University emerges as a key player in shaping the entrepreneurial landscape of the North East, supporting young innovators in translating ideas into impactful enterprises and reinforcing the region’s economic growth trajectory.
