Andhra varsity’s A-Hub turning into premier incubation centre
The hub has 1.1 lakh sq ft of infrastructure and has incubated 121 startups so far
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Visakhapatnam Andhra University Incubation Council (A-Hub), which is being made operational in phases to become a role model hub, has turned into a beehive of activity for innovative research by several youngsters including budding student-entrepreneurs.
A-Hub is a collaborative programme designed to handhold the youngsters by helping create and promote innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship solve some of the problems encountered in running a company or a startup by offering workspace, seed funding support, mentoring and training to scale up in business. With 1.1 lakh sq ft infrastructure ready and 49,000 sq ft under operation with the incubation so far of 121 startups, the hub is slowly becoming a role model for other institutes of higher learning, A-Hub CEO Ravi Eswarapu told Bizz Buzz a day after the facility's launch by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy here on Tuesday.
The hub became operational last year and has now turned into home for as many as 120 startups with a comprehensive ecosystem. Under CSR, it received corporate support from Nekkanti Sea Foods, Sandhya Aqua and MRC Infrastructure. It also received recognition as a premier innovation and incubation centre in the NIRF ranking for 2023.
Besides A-Hub, the Chief Minister also launched pharma incubation, biological monitoring hubs besides AU Digital Zone and Smart Room Complex (Algorithm), School of International Business and AU Avanti Aquaculture Skill Entrepreneurship Hub on the university campus.
The A-Hub so far received a startup funding of Rs 62.7 crore and Rs 15.05 crore as incubation grant by providing direct employment to 579 and holding 74 events including several hackathons where aspiring entrepreneurs have pitched their out of the box ideas with innovative solutions.
With 2500 mentorship hours and 14 strategic partnerships, it has also contributed immensely in making Andhra University recognised as the only government-funded university in the country to get 4-star rating by the Ministry of Education.
As part of Mission 2025, the hub has set its eyes to become India’s largest integrated Multi-Disciplinary University Incubation Ecosystem focusing on research in tech, pharma, bio, genomics, food, marine, energy, environment and issues like women-led, rural, social impact, entertainment.
"A-Hub has been started after a lot of debates and discussions. I am confident that it is poised to become a premier self-sustainable incubation centre," AU Vice-Chancellor Prof PVGD Prasad Reddy said.
