Agri. Innovation Center, UAS, Bangalore is an incubation center which was established at the University of Agriculture Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore on 2017 with the support of University. It has the motto of translating the innovative ideas of Start-ups into economically and commercially viable products. The University had encouraged start-ups in Agriculture for more than a decade, however a more formal and organized incubation activity was initiated in 2017 with the establishment of the flag ship ‘Agri-Innovation Centre’ and a AIC-hub at GKVK, Bangalore. Ever since, the Agri-Innovation Centre has been instrumental in facilitating entrepreneurs and agricultural graduates to implement their innovative ideas and develop successful products and enterprises.
The University has several incubation programmes under the umbrella of the Agri Innovation Centre (AIC), UASB. Under the purely University Initiatives, the AIC initiated Agri. Startups programme, with aim to foster innovation in Agri-based sector to develop easily scalable products and processes that brings in economic benefits to the farming communities. The University’s initiatives in facilitating start up activities was recognized by BIRAC, DBT, GoI, in 2021 and approved a funding of Rs 4.89 Cr to start a Bio-NEST Agi-inovation centre, UASB. The funding is strengthening the incubation activities, creating required facilities and will also cater to a total of 30 incubatees over a period of three years. The focus of Bio-NEST AIC at UAS B is to encourage and support innovation and entrepreneurship in Agri Biotechnology in areas such as, Biotechnologies for Crop improvement, Bio-fertilizers, Bio-pesticide, Biofuel, Bio-energy, and Bio-weedicides, Seed production, Tissue culture, Aeroponics, Hydroponics, Nanotechnology in agriculture and Conservation and secondary agriculture.
Under BioNEST AIC laboratories and other infrastructure facilities were established to accommodate the Agri-based entrepreneurs to innovate and develop new products that address the problems in agriculture. The novelty features of the BioNEST supported incubator are the Biological Material Repository, which aims at making available of biological material which will be useful for students, academicians and startups research and commercialization. The Knowledge cell catalogues commercialized technologies from the University and other sources for startups, it will also cater to market and competitor analysis.
The third stream of Incubation activities involve partnership with other established Incubators. The University has active MOUs and strong collaboration with well-established incubators such as C-CAMP, Bangalore, the Bangalore Bio Innovation Centre (BBC), Bangalore, a business incubator under the GoK, and with to facilitate collaborative incubation activities between BBC and the Society of Innovation and Development (SID), IISc, Bangalore. These collaborations are aiding in mutually beneficial innovative ideas in the Agriculture sector.
The AIC with its flag ship Bio-NEST AIC incubator will support Agri-entrepreneurship, by way of expert mentorship, provision of required space and facilities. It will strive to provide the much needed hand holding for start-ups by Academia in identifying relevant scientific discoveries and also nurture the entrepreneurs, fresh graduates to develop economically viable technologies to the Agriculture sector. The AIC, UASB also aims to encourage women entrepreneurs from both rural and urban settings to start successful businesses in the Agriculture sector and pave the way for job creation and self-employment.
