Investor Profile: iCreate — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

iCreate, the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology, is an autonomous centre of excellence of the Government of Gujarat and India's largest institution for transforming tech-innovation startups into successful businesses. It operates from a 40-acre campus at Dev Dholera near Ahmedabad,.

Thesis

iCreate's thesis is that technology innovation, especially in embedded systems and the Internet of Things, needs hands-on incubation, not just capital. It supports founders from idea validation through prototype, market validation and scale.

Sectors and stages

iCreate focuses on electric vehicles, renewable energy, fintech, Internet of Things, watertech, agritech and healthtech. It serves idea to proof-of-concept stage through its iCreate Idea Catalyst programme, and slightly more mature projects with a minimum viable product through incubation at its Dev Dholera campus, for up to two years. Later coverage puts its supported innovations at over 877, with over 60 patents, while an official Press Information Bureau release puts the figure at over 412 innovations and over 30 patents at its date.

Fund size and cheque size

iCreate is an incubator, not a venture fund, so it has no single fund size to quote. Its published support amounts are programme-specific. Under the NIDHI Seed Support System, eligible incubated startups can receive seed support of up to ₹1 crore, normally around Rs 25 lakhs, through equity, soft loan or equity-linked instruments, disbursed against agreed milestones. Under the iCreate Idea Catalyst programme, founders can get a prototype development grant of up to Rs 10 lakh. One incubation round page also notes a budget of up to Rs 250 lakhs for that round of applications.

Portfolio

iCreate does not publish an equity portfolio like a venture fund. Its track record is its incubated startups, and its own site carries testimonials from founders including Shilpa Malik of Bio Scan Research, Arun Nagpal of Lithe Technologies, Vaibhav Jain of Hubilo and Deepak Gupta of PurpleDocs. Its partnerships signal its standing: it is home to Cisco's largest Innovation Lab in India, and its partner list includes Cisco, CSIR, FICCI, GVFL, IIT Gandhinagar, MeitY Startup Hub and Start-Up Nation Central.

Partners and programmes

iCreate's programmes include iCreate Idea Catalyst, for idea validation and prototype grants, the NIDHI Seed Support System, for seed support to incubated startups, and its Pro-Fund gateway for prototype development support. Its mentors include Dr Raashid Saiyed, resident business mentor, Dr Gurusamy R, head of technology, and Dr Praveen Desai, head of its technology business incubator.

How to apply for funding from iCreate

Founders apply through the iCreate website portal at icreate.org.in, choosing the programme that fits their stage. For NIDHI Seed Support System funding, the applicant must be a company registered in India, preferably with DPIIT registration, with at least three months of association with the incubator and a clear, customer-validated value proposition, and at least 51% of shareholding held by Indian promoters. For prototype support, the applicant should be an individual innovator, student or startup, an Indian citizen, at idea to proof-of-concept stage, with a technology-driven hardware innovation. For Government of Gujarat grants, the startup must be registered as an LLP or private limited company in Gujarat.