RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator, IIT (BHU)

What RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator, IIT (BHU) does

RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator (R-ABI) at IIT (BHU) Varanasi is a government-funded incubation program established in January 2019 under the RKVY-RAFTAAR scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Government of India. It operates three core programs: ANKURAN (pre-seed stage, up to Rs. 5 lakhs at 90% grant for farmers, students, and youth with innovative agri-ideas), PRASFUTAN (seed stage, up to Rs. 25 lakhs at 85% grant for startups with a Minimum Viable Product), and SRIJAN (student entrepreneurship programme, up to Rs. 4 lakhs per student group). The incubator provides 1-2 month training periods with a Rs. 10,000/month stipend, mentorship from industry experts, lab and certification access, and milestone-based grant disbursement through an RKVY-RAFTAAR Incubation Committee (RIC) evaluation process.

R-ABI's business model is structured as a government grant pass-through entity, not a commercial revenue generator. It sources funding exclusively from the central Ministry of Agriculture and disburses it to selected agri-startups based on committee-approved milestones (60/40 or 40/40/20 tranches). Its 14-person core team (Principal Investigator, Business Manager, Assistant Manager, Business Executive) operates within the IIT (BHU) campus. Since 2019, it has run at least 7 cohorts, receiving 175+ applications per cohort from across India, and Cohort-7 selected 9 startups for Rs. 105 Lakhs in final funding in January 2025.

The incubator's technology focus spans agricultural biotechnology, IoT/ICT, farm mechanization, post-harvest technology, waste-to-wealth, and renewable energy for agriculture. While it does not build proprietary AI/ML systems itself, several incubatees deploy AI applications (e.g., geo-fenced farm intrusion detection, climate-crop analytics, IoT-enabled precision irrigation). R-ABI's go-to-market is event-driven cohort launches with applications accepted through web forms and the Accubate platform, screened by the RIC. The entity functions as a public-good institutional program under the leadership of IIT (BHU) Director Prof. Amit Patra and Principal Investigator Prof. Rajnesh Tyagi, with no commercial revenue, no equity holders, and no external venture capital exposure.

Name

RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator, IIT (BHU)

Legal name

RKVY-RAFTAAR Agri-Business Incubator (R-ABI), IIT (BHU) Varanasi

Website

https://rkvy-raftaariitbhu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

R-ABI is a government-funded agribusiness incubator at IIT (BHU) Varanasi, established in 2019 under the Ministry of Agriculture's RKVY-RAFTAAR scheme. It runs ANKURAN (pre-seed), PRASFUTAN (seed), and SRIJAN (student) programs, providing training, mentorship, and grant-in-aid funding to Indian agri-startups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agribusiness Incubation Services

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM), Program & Project Implementation (TA Delivery) (BPADAEAA)

Keywords

• Agribusiness incubation
• Startup incubation
• Agripreneurship programs
• Grant-in-aid funding
• Agriculture innovation

Headquarters

HQ city

Varanasi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Disbursement (Government Funding): As a government-funded incubator, R-ABI acts as a pass-through entity that receives funding from Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, GoI and disburses grants to selected startups. Funding structure: Ankuran (Pre-seed) receives up to 90% grant of project cost (max Rs. 5 lakhs); Prasfutan (Seed) receives up to 85% grant of project cost (max Rs. 25 lakhs). Stipend of Rs. 10,000/month provided during 2-month training period for Ankuran program participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator (R-ABI) is a government-funded incubator at IIT (BHU) Varanasi that nurtures agri-startups through structured programs (ANKURAN, PRASFUTAN, SRIJAN). It provides grant-in-aid funding up to Rs. 25 lakhs, training, mentorship, lab facilities, and commercialization support to farmers, students, and entrepreneurs building innovative agriculture and allied-sector solutions.

Product overview

RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator (R-ABI) is a government-supported incubation program at IIT (BHU) Varanasi offering three distinct programs: ANKURAN (Pre-Seed Stage) for early-stage innovators providing funding up to Rs. 5 lakhs, PRASFUTAN (Seed Stage) for startups with MVP offering funding up to Rs. 25 lakhs, and SRIJAN for student entrepreneurs with funding up to Rs. 4 lakhs. The incubator provides training, mentorship, lab facilities, and grant-in-aid support to transform agricultural innovations into commercial businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ANKURAN: Pre-seed stage program for farmers/students/youth with innovative ideas. Provides 90% grant-in-aid support up to Rs. 5 lakhs for converting prototype into a product. Includes 30-45 hours of online Agripreneurship Orientation Program.
• PRASFUTAN
• SRIJAN

Products and services

• ANKURAN (Pre-Seed Stage Program) Pre-seed stage funding and support program for farmers, students, and youth with innovative agricultural ideas. Provides a 1-month Agripreneurship Orientation Program, monthly stipend of Rs. 10,000, and grant-in-aid support up to Rs. 5 lakhs (90% of project cost) for prototype development.
• PRASFUTAN (Seed Stage Program) Seed stage funding and incubation program for startups with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Provides 1-month local residency phase with lab testing, certifications, training, mentoring, and grant-in-aid support up to Rs. 25 lakhs (85% of project cost) to scale up operations.
• SRIJAN (Student Entrepreneurship Programme) Student entrepreneurship support program that funds agri-business ideas and innovations. Supports maximum 4 students per KP/R-ABI with up to Rs. 4 lakhs per financial year. Students need not be registered as startups per DPIIT guidelines.
• Agripreneurship Orientation Program (AOP) Training program providing 30-45 hours of online Agripreneurship Orientation for shortlisted startups, followed by hands-on internship with other R-ABI startups guided by industry experts and business mentors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 9 out of 24 startups in Cohort-7 received final funding of Rs. 105 Lakhs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) VaranasicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution providing infrastructure, academic expertise, research facilities, and institutional credibility. Incubation center located within IIT (BHU) campus.
• PUM NetherlandsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPUM senior expert Peter Van Dijk conducted a 2-week workshop on setting up a sustainable and successful A-grade agribusiness incubator. PUM is a not-for-profit organization with expertise in incubation center setup worldwide.
• I-3 Foundation, IIT (BHU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated for Round Table Session with Shri Sanjiv, JS, DPIIT. I-3 Foundation serves as a platform for startup ecosystem interactions within IIT (BHU).
• HDFC BankminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBanking partner represented on RIC committee (Mr. Abhishesh Singh, Branch Manager, HDFC Bank) providing financial sector expertise for startup evaluation.
• State Department of AgricultureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level agricultural department representatives (e.g., Ms. Nirupama Singh, Dr. Ashwini Kumar Singh) participate in RIC meetings providing regional agricultural context.
• Northern Coalfields Limited, SingrauliminorOthersOrganized ICOMS-2020 conference connecting academia, industry, and consumers with goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. R-ABI startups participated and showcased innovative products.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• AgHub (PJTSAU): AgHub is the agribusiness innovation and incubation centre at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University. It offers cohort-based incubation, mentorship, and grants to agri-startups, making it a directly comparable state-level peer to R-ABI.
• PUSA Krishi (IARI Delhi): PUSA Krishi is the RKVY-RAFTAAR Agri-Business Incubator at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. It is a peer R-ABI within the same national government scheme, providing incubation, training, and grant funding to agri-startups with similar operational structure and mandate.
• a-IDEA (NAARM): a-IDEA is a government-supported agribusiness incubator at ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research and Management, Hyderabad. Like R-ABI, it is part of India's national RKVY-RAFTAAR network, runs cohort-based agri-startup programs with grant-in-aid, and focuses on agripreneurship development.
• NIAM Agri-Business Incubator: NIAM operates an agribusiness incubation program under the Ministry of Agriculture, providing capacity-building, training, and support to agri-startups and FPOs. Its mandate around agripreneurship development and government scheme implementation makes it a close functional peer to R-ABI.

Broad incumbents

• NSRCEL (IIM Bangalore): NSRCEL is the startup incubator at IIM Bangalore supporting early-stage ventures across sectors including agriculture and rural development. As a premier academic-affiliated incubator, it parallels R-ABI's institutional positioning while operating at significantly larger scale and broader sectoral scope.
• T-Hub: T-Hub is India's largest startup incubator based in Hyderabad, with partnerships across state and central government initiatives including agriculture-focused cohorts. It represents a much larger, broader incumbent alternative that occasionally competes for the same agritech founder pool R-ABI targets.
• CIIE.CO (IIM Ahmedabad): CIIE.CO is one of India's leading startup incubators based at IIM Ahmedabad with active agritech and climate verticals. While it operates a broader portfolio beyond agriculture and uses equity-based models rather than grants, it competes for the same high-quality Indian agri-startup founders.

Emerging players

• Villgro: Villgro is a leading Indian impact incubator focused on rural and social enterprises including agriculture, food, and health. While operating as a non-profit with equity-style investments rather than pure grants, it serves a similar founder demographic of agri-entrepreneurs and rural innovators in India.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rkvyraftaariitbhu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rkvy-raftaar-agribusiness-incubator-iit-bhu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubator, IIT (BHU)