SRISTI Innovations-BIRAC’s BioNEST is a business incubator, an organization funded by BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India), where innovations based on ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, traditional knowledge, innovations at the grassroots level, innovations by university students, and even innovations by children are supported for successful product development and commercialization.
The Sanctuary of Innovation, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship (SIIE)-SRISTI BioNest is located at Grambharti, Gandhinagar. It supports start-ups based on innovations from diverse disciplines like agriculture, environment, medicine, veterinary medicine, biotechnology, microbiology, life sciences, food science, children’s creativity, and grassroots creative ideas. It’s a one-stop solution for all formal as well as informal (grassroots) innovators and startups.
The SRISTI Innovations-BIRAC’s BioNEST people collaborate with famous institutions like Sristi Lab, Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN), and National Innovation Foundation (NIF). We pool student ideas (information on about 184, 000 student projects is already available at Techpedia.sristi.org), traditional knowledge, and practices from across the country through ‘Sodhyatras’, ‘Sattvic’ traditional food festival, and analysis We organize Biotechnology Innovation Ignition School (BIIS) and Gandhian Young Technology Innovation (GYTI) awards where more than 1500 young biotechnology-based innovators display their creative ideas and products. These early-stage innovations have high potential and they need handholding and incubation support to take their product to the market. Moreover, the innovations at Techpedia, a dedicated database of frugal innovations, have huge potential to be implemented as solutions to problems. We, SRISTI-Innovations, have signed MOUs with reputed national and international research institutions, labs, industries, and public systems. Joint initiatives have been organized with the following: BIRAC-DBT, IMTech, UNICEF, IITB, USAID, JKUAT, TUFE-China, ILO, JSW, 3M, HelpAge India, CamaleonteOy Ltd. SRISTI Innovations has successfully developed several herbal medicines based on traditional knowledge and practices. Thus, SRISTI Innovations-BIRAC’s BioNEST is the best place to nurture and support entrepreneurs in their journey to success.
The “Shodhyatra” and “Satwik” Food festivals are unique initiatives of SRISTI and their sole purpose is to observe, learn and share innovations. Most recently “Kheduthaat” yet another flagship initiative of SRISTI Innovations to promote natural and organic food, vegetables, and products in the society has been duly recognized by one and all.
Objectives of SIIE-SRISTI Innovations
To become a sanctuary of knowledge for the marginal people but not marginal minds, who have done extraordinary innovations and provided breakthrough solutions for day-to-day problems in society and supplement these with inclusive innovations from the formal sector.
Mission
The SRISTI Innovations will promote technology and innovation-driven start-ups and will provide virtual incubation models (in situ and ex-situ incubation) as well as physical incubation. In situ, incubation will be for grassroots innovators providing them support at their existing locations. Mentorship on the diverse needs of the incubatees, like business planning, proof of concept, validation, field trials, mapping skill, technology gaps, fabrication, IPR, etc. will be provided.