IIMA Ventures, in partnership with SAP, has launched the North East Growth Lab (NEGL)—a pioneering platform to accelerate 90 startups and social enterprises across Northeast India. Building on the success of the World Bank-backed Assam Agribusiness Growth Lab (AAGL), the initiative will span Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim over three years.
NEGL will provide catalytic capital, including grants and optionally convertible debt, alongside mentoring, training, and market access. The program is expected to create an enterprise value of ₹100 crore and benefit over 5 lakh individuals, primarily from economically weaker and middle-income groups.
NEGL is expected to further energize the already growing startup ecosystem. With ventures like Pustikor Foods (Joha rice cookies), Greengen (biofertilizer for tea estates), and Chezfresco (ready-to-eat B2B food brand) gaining visibilit. NEGL will also run outreach, bootcamps, and demo days in both regional and metro locations, with support from NABARD, NEDFI, NEHHDC, NERAMAC, and the Ministry of DoNER to ensure long-term ecosystem development.