Kolkata, October 26, 2026: IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP), Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog brought together 20 incubation and innovation professionals representing different institutions across pan-India for AIM-AiPEX (Atal Innovation Mission – Advancing Innovation Professionals for Ecosystem eXcellence), a three-day residential capacity-building programme held at the IIM Calcutta campus.
The programme was part of IIMCIP’s Enable the Enablers offerings, through which the organisation works with academic institutions, state startup missions, government bodies and ecosystem stakeholders to strengthen entrepreneurship and incubation capabilities.
With India’s incubation ecosystem expanding rapidly and more than 1,200 incubation centres across the country, there is a growing need to strengthen the pool of professionals managing and supporting these institutions. AIM-AiPEX seeks to address this need by equipping innovation professionals with practical frameworks, perspectives and learnings that they can apply within their respective incubation centres, ultimately strengthening the quality of support available to startups.
Over the course, participants worked through key aspects of incubation management, including startup sourcing and selection, programme design, enterprise support, go-to-market strategy, fund management, legal and compliance frameworks, governance and performance monitoring.
Combined with expert-led sessions, practical exercises, and interactions with mentors and entrepreneurs, the program successfully built a more capable and ecosystem-oriented pool of entrepreneurship and innovation professionals. Participants were equipped with practical frameworks, tools, methodologies, and real-world insights to help founders navigate different stages of growth. The learning was designed to be application-oriented and relevant to the participants’ roles within the wider innovation ecosystem.
Speaking on the occasion, Ajay Jain, Chairman, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Board, said, “Behind every strong startup ecosystem are people who know how to help entrepreneurs turn potential into progress. As India’s incubation landscape grows, building the capabilities of those who enable and support founders becomes just as important as building the institutions themselves. At IIMCIP, our experience of working with startups and ecosystem partners across diverse regions has taught us that practical, shared learning can make a real difference. AIM-AiPEX is our effort to share that learning and help incubation professionals strengthen the support they provide to entrepreneurs in their own ecosystems.”
About IIM Calcutta Innovation Park
The IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) is a not-for-profit (Section 8) company established under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in India. Recognized by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, IIMCIP’s mission is to nurture innovative, socially impactful entrepreneurs who can drive inclusive growth. Its core offerings span structured mentoring, capacity building, seed funding and access to markets and investors. To date, IIMCIP has supported over 2,000 startups and seed-funded 136 ventures, which have collectively raised more than ₹2,000 crore and built a cumulative portfolio valuation of nearly ₹8,000 crore. IIMCIP also works closely with government bodies, corporates and academia to strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem, foster high-impact collaborations and promote women’s entrepreneurship, with a special focus on underserved regions of the country
