Our Story
Catalyst was launched in 2016 by IIT Mandi as Himachal Pradesh’s first Technology Business Incubator (TBI). Strongly backed by the Central Government and State Government, Catalyst strives to incubate technology-based start-ups focused on economic and/or social impacts. As the name implies, it serves as a ‘catalyst’ to nurture and guide entrepreneurial initiatives with social and/or commercial objectives.
We are funded by IIT Mandi, the Department of science and technology (DST), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the HP Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (HPCED), and Vishal Bharat Comnet, Chennai.
Within just five years since its inception, Catalyst has emerged as one of the leading incubators in Himachal Pradesh and the Himalayan region. As one of the country’s most active incubators and through the visionary leadership provided by IIT Mandi, Catalyst has created a startup-friendly support system to ensure the ideas of tomorrow don’t die.
Vision
To serve as catalyst to nurture and guide entrepreneurial initiatives with social and/or economic objectives
Mission
To foster R&D and Entrepreneurship to spawn knowledge intensive initiatives that would develop innovations useful to the society as a whole.
Future Plan
We intend to incubate at least 100 startups per year over the next three years and to disburse approximately INR 35 Cr through various programmes over the next three years. Catalyst is emerging as the Himalayan Region’s leading incubator, with a special emphasis on technological innovation. To ensure the success of innovative ideas, we are creating an aspirational, cutting-edge environment with the best technological infrastructure. We continuously strive to be known as a high-touch incubator that offers personalised handholding support to early-stage startup ideas.
We intend to form multi-institutional partnerships to focus on developing solutions for the Himalayan region’s ecological and social needs. ‘Digital First’ will become the new normal following Covid-19, and for startups looking to grow and branch out from a location such as IIT Mandi, preparation to incubate such teams is well underway.
In addition to the labs at IIT Mandi, we will establish a dedicated Fabrication Lab in 2020-21 with the intention to expand the team’s infrastructure and personnel.
People
Board of Governors
Management Team
Careers
We are a small operational team of ten people who are guided by a vast network of advisors. Everybody gets their hands dirty with everything. If you are passionate about supporting innovative ideas and being around startups, you are most likely a good fit for our team. We work around the clock to ensure that the startups we support receive prompt assistance. Keep an eye out for opportunities to work with us!
If you have an idea of how you can contribute otherwise, please write to us at iitmandicatalyst@gmail.com. We are open to connecting with like and different minded individuals passionate about enabling entrepreneurship and innovation.