Rethinking Incubation: Failures, Gaps & the Way Forward
In this deeply candid session moderated by Rachita Misra of SELCO Foundation, key players from India’s incubation ecosystem reflect on persistent failures, structural bottlenecks, and missed opportunities in building sustainable support systems for entrepreneurs.
Lakshmi Jagannathan, Anand Sri Ganesh, and Durga Prasad Gouda present unfiltered insights into the misalignment between incubator goals and founder realities, ranging from corporate engagement fizzling out, ecosystem incentives going unmet, to over-reliance on innovation buzzwords and underprepared institutional frameworks. The speakers highlight how incubators often struggle to connect the dots across funding, mentorship, and market access, particularly for underrepresented sectors and founders.
The discussion raises important questions on incubator sustainability, future evolution into venture studios or CSR platforms, and the need for hyperlocal networks over monolithic structures. With real-world stories and systemic critiques, this panel boldly maps out what needs to change – within incubators, among startups, and across policy frameworks – to unlock true entrepreneurial potential.
