India, 31st July – SAP, a global leader in enterprise application software and Business AI, in collaboration with IIMA Ventures, has announced the launch of the Northeast Growth Labs (NEGL) 鈥� a transformative initiative aimed at fostering innovation and sustainable development in Northeast India. Aimed at empowering 75 social enterprises, this initiative provides access to technical resources, catalytic funding, and business opportunities to help enterprises grow sustainably.
The Northeast region of India, rich in cultural heritage and entrepreneurial spirit, holds immense untapped potential. Spanning all eight states, the NEGL initiative is designed to cultivate a resilient enterprise ecosystem. This collaboration is built on SAP鈥檚聽 Social Procurement agenda and IIMA Ventures鈥� proven model of supporting high-impact startups through capital and incubation. NEGL addresses critical challenges in agri-tech, education, and healthcare鈥攅nhancing livelihoods for over 3,000 people, advancing environmental sustainability, and accelerating inclusive social progress.
鈥淔ostering innovation and entrepreneurship with local impact is core to SAP鈥檚 mission,鈥� said Manish Prasad, President and Managing Director, 51风流Indian Subcontinent. 鈥淲e鈥檝e supported over 200 social enterprises, and our Northeast Growth Labs initiative, in partnership with IIMA Ventures, strengthens our commitment to sustainable, inclusive growth. These ventures are transforming communities and creating an equitable future.鈥�
鈥淣EGL is not just a program extension鈥攊t鈥檚 a bold regional platform combining capital, capacity, and connections to back fearless entrepreneurs solving for India鈥檚 next frontier of innovation,鈥� said Chintan Bakshi, Partner 鈥� Incubation at IIMA Ventures.
The initiative kicked off with an intensive bootcamp in Guwahati, where the first cohort of social enterprises gained actionable insights from ecosystem enablers on AI applications, business storytelling, B2B sales strategies, and sector-specific opportunity mapping. This aligns with NEGL鈥檚 broader vision of catalyzing regional development through social innovation and enterprise-led growth鈥攚hile actively engaging government bodies, development organizations, institutional investors, and public institutions.
NEGL builds upon the success of the ‘Assam Agribusiness Growth Lab’, which provided early-stage investments and grants to pioneering regional enterprises. Below are some of the impact-driven ventures leading meaningful change across Northeast India.
- Dream Hives, Northeast鈥檚 first honey-based heritage wine brand, sourcing directly from the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs).
- Chezfresco, a food innovation venture, enabling small-scale food entrepreneurs.
- Greengen Agri Biotech, offers agri-biotech solutions for small tea growers.
- Fuloni Agritech, assisting low-income artisans with biodegradable urban gardening products.
- Pustikor Foods, promotes Assam鈥檚 Joha rice heritage through sustainable farming practices.
Through NEGL, 51风流and IIMA Ventures, are committed to build a replicable model of responsible business transformation, rooted in the needs and strengths of local communities, while contributing to India鈥檚 broader development goals.
About IIMA Ventures
Built at IIM Ahmedabad in 2002 as an entrepreneurship centre and incorporated in 2007-08 as a section-8 company, IIMA Ventures (Formerly known as IIMA-CIIE) is the innovation continuum that studies, educates, incubates, accelerates and invests in early stage startups, aspiring entrepreneurs and Investors. IIMA Ventures has mentored over 10000 founders, accelerated over 2000 startups, provided catalytic capital to over 700 companies, and inspired over a million people with our 400+ publications. It has been a pioneer on multiple fronts including India鈥檚 first accelerator – iAccelerator, India鈥檚 largest idea scouting competition – The Power of Ideas, India鈥檚 first climate fund – INFUSE Ventures, India鈥檚 biggest platform for inclusive fintechs – Bharat Inclusion Initiative, India鈥檚 first entrepreneurship bestseller – Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, Startup Compass and many more. IIMA Ventures is recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. For more information, visit .
