Pune to get a community innovation centre to support rural entrepreneurs, grassroots innovators
Pune, 30 June 2026: An innovation and incubation centre aimed at helping rural and semi-urban innovators convert local solutions into sustainable enterprises will be inaugurated at Jnana Prabodhini’s Nigdi campus on July 2. The Atal Community Innovation Centre–Jnana Prabodhini Innovation Foundation (ACIC-JPIF) has been established under the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, with support from Desai Brothers Ltd. The inauguration will be held at 10.30 am at Manohar Sabhagruha and will be led by Vivek Sawant, founder-director of the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL).
Addressing a press conference, Subhash Deshpande, trustee of Jnana Prabodhini, said the initiative seeks to move beyond conventional startup incubation by addressing real-world challenges faced by communities. “The focus is on transforming grassroots innovations into enterprises, social initiatives, and employment opportunities,” he said.
According to the organisers, the centre will work with rural youth, women entrepreneurs, self-help groups, farmer-producer organisations (FPOs), artisans, students, researchers, and first-generation entrepreneurs. The incubation programme will provide support from idea validation and prototype development to business expansion and market access.
Sangeeta Kulkarni, founding director of ACIC-JPIF, said the programme is built around the idea of taking innovations “from problems to solutions, and from solutions to sustainable enterprises”. It will offer structured pre-incubation and incubation support while creating dedicated pathways for livelihood enterprises, social enterprises, and innovation-led ventures.
Omkar Gurjar, chief innovation officer, said the centre will prioritise sectors such as agriculture and agri-biotechnology, bamboo-based industries, medicinal plants, food processing, nutraceuticals, renewable energy, rural enterprises, women-led businesses, and social innovation.
The centre will also provide entrepreneurs with design thinking and entrepreneurship training, access to laboratories and makerspaces, prototype development facilities, mentoring by domain experts, legal and financial advisory services, connections with government agencies and industry, investor outreach, and market linkages.
Organisers said representatives from the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, government departments, research institutions, industry bodies, startups, and voluntary organisations are expected to attend the inauguration.
Kulkarni said the larger objective is to build a community-driven innovation ecosystem that enables local ideas to generate sustainable livelihoods and strengthen rural economies through technology, mentorship, and market access.
