1. What are the selection criteria for the BioNEST program at CSIR-CFTRI ?
Startups/MSMEs/companies who wish to incubate at CFTRI-BioNEST, need to fill out a Pre- Pre-Application Questionnaire (PAQ) with a detailed proposal comprising of business plan, intended duration, facilities required among others. Upon review, the candidate company will be asked to give a short presentation highlighting the critical aspects of the business plan to the Selection cum Monitoring Committee of BioNEST-CFTRI

2. What resources and support services do you provide to startups ?
The incubators are entitled to utilize various facilities available in the incubation center once they house themselves in the incubator for a nominal charge. After housing themselves, they can also opt for higher-end services (Pilot plant and analytical facilities) from the host institution on a discounted rental basis that’s exclusive to BioNEST incubatees.

3. What facilities and office space are available for incubates ?
Incubatees at BioNEST in CFTRI will be provided with office Suites of different dimensions based on their requirement, common office facilities, access to the host institution library, and the common instrumentation facility housed in the setup
Additional inquiries can be addressed to managerbionest@cftri.res.in

4. What are the different thrust areas and technologies available ?
CSIR- CFTRI has a vast repertoire of technologies while some are free others can be availed as licensee
The technology database of CSIR-CFTRI can be accessed at https://cftri.res.in/technology_search

5. What is the duration of the incubation programs, and are there any extension options ?
Initially, the incubation period will be for a period of 24 months. However, it can be further extended for another six months with due approval.
Start-ups can also choose to enroll themselves as a virtual incubator or as floating incubatees for a minimum period of 3-6 months based on their requirement

6. Are there any restrictions on team size or composition for participating startups ?
The functional team size should not be more than 5 in their respective Suites.

7. Do you have partnerships with investors or venture capitalists for your funding opportunities ?
Interactive sessions with Venture Capitalists/Investors will be scheduled periodically through workshops/ hackathons. Apart from that, assistance with respect to seed funding will also be provided.

8. What networking and mentorship opportunities are available for BioNEST incubatese ?
Exclusively networking and mentoring assistance will be provided by subject experts from CFTRI staff and scientists.
Apart from that start-ups can also network with our external consultants with respect to food regulatory and licensing aspects

9. Can you assist with obtaining the necessary food licenses and regulatory compliance for food products ?
Yes, In order to assist start-ups and entrepreneurs in meeting licensing and regulatory requirements, the incubator has on-boarded a team of external consultants who can assist them with the above.

10. What expertise do you have for food safety and quality control ?
The institute has a Food Safety and Quality Control Laboratory located on its premises

11. Do you have specialized facilities for food product development and testing ?
The Institute has 16 R&D departments and the facilities used by scientists can be utilized as per the agreement when they get housed in the incubator

12. What support is available for technology scaling and production ?
BioNEST Incubates at CFTRI will have access to Pilot plant facilities and Scale-up facilities which are available at discounted rates on a daily rental basis.

13. Do you help with food product formulation, testing and validation ?
The food product formulation will be supported through mentorship by CFTRI domain experts.
Product testing and validation will be supported under the guidance of mentors and external consultants.

14. Do you have connections with food industry events and trade shows ?
The incubator will periodically conduct network meetings between start-ups and industries.
In addition to this, they can also choose to interact with industrial mentors who are associated with us.

15. What is the process for graduating from the incubator and transitioning to the market ?
After completion of tenure, the incubator should clear NDC. The scale-up production trials and test marketing can be carried out in our Pilot Plant as per the Institute norms and conditions

16. Can we access your network and resources after graduating from the program ?
Yes, the graduated incubatees can avail of services after obtaining prior permission from the Head of the Institute.

17. How can I exit the incubation program before the agreed-upon duration ?
This will be done under the purview of the MoU.

18. What are the other different incubation programs that are offered ?

• BIRAC-BioNEST
• Nutra-Phyto Incubation Centre & Common Instrumentation Facility (NPIC-CIF) supported by KITS, Govt. of Karnataka
• RKVY CoE on Millets Research & Incubation Centre
• PMFME Common Incubation Centre