At a time when ‘Make in India’ is the buzzword, Hubballi, a Tier-2 city in north Karnataka, is all set to have the country’s biggest incubation centre for startups.

The brainchild of Deshpande Foundation, which is founded by entrepreneur Gururaj Deshpande, the incubation centre — called Sandbox Startups — will push Hyderabad to the second spot when it gets completed in September. The centre was launched in 2008 and is now being expanded.

As of now, T-Hub, a unique public-private partnership project under the Government of Telangana, with its 70,000 sq.ft. space is the biggest incubation centre in the country. The Hubballi centre will have a total space of 82,000 sq.ft..

Once completed, the centre will be able to provide incubation facility for over 100 startups in one go. Spread over six acres, Sandbox Startups can accommodate 1,200 persons and could provide startups office space and basic infrastructure.

As a native of the region, Mr. Deshpande wants to provide the facility to young entrepreneurs from the region who come up with innovative ideas, business models and social entrepreneurship projects. But the facility will be open to all irrespective of age.

Facilitators

“We are just facilitators. We want to act as the catalyst to help entrepreneurs create sustainable, scalable and replicable business models,” said Naveen Jha, CEO of Deshpande Foundation.

Since its launch in 2008, Sandbox Startups has provided incubation support for first-time entrepreneurs to test and pilot their business ideas and to engage with investment firms, government agencies, successful entrepreneurs and mentors, on its premises at BVB College of Engineering and Technology. From September, it will have a bigger space adjacent to the Hubballi airport.