In early 2020, as India entered a strict national lockdown, startup hubs, co-working spaces, and incubation centres across the country fell eerily silent. Students were sent home, offices shuttered, and innovation floors—once buzzing with energy—were left abandoned.
But within months, something remarkable began to happen. Across Tier 1 cities and small-town India alike, incubators adapted, startups pivoted, and a new digital-first innovation model began to take shape.
The COVID-19 pandemic was more than just a disruption—it became a defining reset for India’s startup ecosystem. And at the heart of this transformation stood the institutional incubators, tasked with keeping the entrepreneurial engine running amid chaos.
Initial Shock: Lockdowns, Delays, and Disconnections
The pandemic hit institutional incubators hard—especially those within colleges and universities.
- Incubation labs were closed indefinitely.
- Demo days and funding events were cancelled.
- Mentorship and startup progress tracking were paused.
- Students, who form the majority of early-stage innovators, were cut off from campus-based resources.
Without digital infrastructure in place, many incubators experienced months of inactivity. Startups relying on prototyping facilities, physical validation, or in-person services suffered immediate setbacks.
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Startups That Suffered—and Those That Soared
The impact varied by sector:
🟥 Severely Hit Startups:
- Travel tech, hospitality, logistics, event-tech, offline edtech
- Lost contracts, clients, and in some cases, their entire market
🟩 Rapidly Scaling Startups:
- Health-tech, remote learning, agritech, SaaS, mental wellness
- Benefited from urgent demand and digital adoption
“We were about to shut down, but pivoted into virtual health consultations. Now we serve 50,000 users a month,” says a health-tech founder from a Delhi-based incubator.
Digital Pivot: Incubators Go Virtual
Forced by circumstance, many incubators made a complete digital pivot:
- Online pitch events, hackathons, and demo days
- Virtual mentorship programs using Zoom, Teams, and Notion
- Pre-incubation courses hosted on platforms like Google Classroom and Coursera
- Collaborations with global accelerators via digital bridges
Government-supported programs like AIM, DST, and MeitY launched virtual innovation challenges and grant schemes to keep the ecosystem engaged.
The result? Incubators became more accessible, especially to startups in Tier 2/3 cities and remote areas.
Funding: A Freeze, Then a Surge
For the first 6–9 months of the pandemic, funding dried up for most early-stage startups. Angels and VCs went into capital protection mode.
But by mid-2021, a funding surge followed—especially for:
- Deep-tech solutions in AI/ML
- B2B SaaS targeting remote teams
- Health and hygiene innovations
- D2C and hyperlocal logistics
Incubators that supported rapid prototyping, pitch grooming, and investor connects helped startups get back on track.
New Focus Areas for Incubators Post-Pandemic
Today, institutional incubators have become more intentional, agile, and tech-driven, with key focus shifts:
- Crisis-resilient business models
- Digital MVP readiness and cloud-native development
- Mental health and well-being support for founders
- Hybrid incubation models with flexible entry and graduation
Additionally, some have launched founder wellness programs, grief counseling, and resilience coaching—a direct result of post-pandemic learnings.
Case Study: Turning Crisis into Opportunity
An engineering college in Uttar Pradesh converted its underused fabrication lab into a COVID innovation centre. Student teams developed:
- Low-cost ventilator prototypes
- Real-time oxygen availability apps
- Touchless temperature scanners
With the help of their incubation cell, several of these innovations got picked up by CSR-funded buyers and state health departments—proving that even crisis-driven innovation can have long-term economic and social value.
