Sikkim Government and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Partner to Strengthen State Startup Ecosystem

PTI, October 1, 2026, Gangtok: The Sikkim government has partnered with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) to strengthen the state's startup, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem through the Sikkim Innovation Hub, a press release said on Wednesday.

The Commerce and Industries Department has appointed IIMCIP as the Lead Incubation Partner under a 36-month Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed on September 27 at Manan Kendra here, the release said.

The agreement was signed and exchanged by Commerce and Industries Secretary Karma D. Youtso and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Chief Business Officer Gaurav Kapoor in the presence of Special Secretary-cum-Director, Commerce and Industries, Choden Gyatso, it said.

According to the Commerce and Industries department release, the partnership will support implementation of the Sikkim Startup Policy 2025 and build an integrated support system for startups, entrepreneurs, MSMEs and innovators under Sikkim INSPIRES.

The programme will provide entrepreneurs support ranging from idea development and validation to incubation, market access, investment and business growth, the release said.

The Sikkim Innovation Hub in Gangtok will serve as the central platform for coordinating entrepreneurship and innovation activities, while district-level incubation centres will extend support to entrepreneurs at the grassroots, it said.

The existing incubation centres at ATTC, Bardang and CCCT, Chisopani, along with additional centres proposed under the programme, will form part of a hub-and-spoke model aimed at taking structured incubation services beyond the state capital, according to the release. District incubation centres will identify local ideas and entrepreneurs and conduct outreach, pre-incubation programmes and first-level handholding, with dedicated Incubation Managers facilitating technical, business and ecosystem support, it said.

IIMCIP will assist in designing and implementing pre-incubation, incubation and acceleration programmes, covering business model development, customer and market validation, prototyping, financial planning, branding, market strategy, enterprise formalisation and growth planning, the release said.

Supported ventures will also get access to mentors, subject experts, investors and industry partners, besides assistance in market and investor connect, pilot projects, customer acquisition, regulatory compliance, financial management and intellectual property, it said. The initiative will also conduct district-level bootcamps, entrepreneurship awareness programmes, startup clinics, ideathons, workshops and startup-academia engagements to encourage entrepreneurship among youth, students, first-generation entrepreneurs, startups and MSMEs, according to the release.