India has 3rd highest number of startup incubators & accelerators

Looks like the government's initiatives and policies are paying off as India moves ahead of Israel to take the third spot in terms of highest number of startup incubators and accelerators in the country. India is a land of startups, the numbers speak for themselves.

According to a report by IT industry body Nasscom and consulting firm Zinnov, India added 40 new incubators and accelerators in 2016 taking its total to 140 ahead of Israel's 130. Though, its a feat in itself but the number looks miniscule when compared to China's 2400 incubators and US' count of 1500.

The report states government of India played a major role in driving the incubators ecosystem by announcing the plans to start over 30 incubators in 2016.

Among the incubators and accelerators present in India, 8 percent are government supported, 9 percent are established by corporates, 32 percent are independent, and maximum, 51 percent are in academic institutions. Also, India is balancing the growth of accelerators in the country between Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities, with 50 percent of them situated in non-metro cities. This scenario contrasts with that of UK where over 60 percent of incubators are located in London. The UK followed Israel in the report with 50 incubators.

Incubators and accelerators are critical for any startup industry because they help in providing founders clear direction and advice on what is working and what is not. Some accelerators also help startups to find customers and funding.