Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: Assam’s startup sector is surging. Women now steer more than half of these new businesses. An IIM Calcutta Innovation Park report surveyed 116 startups to track this growth. It reveals a state brimming with raw potential. Yet, the path to expansion remains blocked by cold, hard realities.
Money is the biggest problem. Roughly 67.9% of founders say they cannot find enough institutional funding to grow. Business skills are also lacking. About 60.3% of entrepreneurs admit they need better business knowledge, while 58.6% feel disconnected from the broader startup world. Technology also hampers progress for 43.1% of these firms.
These startups work in diverse fields. They span agriculture, food, IT, and handlooms. Others build in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, education, tourism, hospitality, and real estate. Ajay Jain, chairman of the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Board, says the state is ready for more growth. "Assam’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has gained tremendous momentum, and its future is very promising," Jain noted.
To fix these issues, the report suggests a four-stage support framework. It wants to push startups from pre-incubation through to acceleration. Experts call for better mentoring, stronger ties between industries and schools, and more local research facilities. Founders must now turn these local ideas into sustainable, scalable companies that compete far beyond Assam’s borders.
Updated at 24th September 2026 at 6:00pm
IIMCIP officials aim to use these findings to pull more organizations into the state to back these homegrown firms. The goal is to move these ventures beyond just local markets, pushing them to chase capital and strategic partners across state lines.
To guide this shift, the incubator proposed a clear path for new owners: Outreach and Hunt, Pre-Incubation, Incubation, and Acceleration. This model handles everything from picking a business idea to building the company and planning the final expansion.
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