Jamshedpur, December 20: XLRI Jamshedpur, India’s oldest management school, has established a rural business incubation centre with support from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to promote sustainable entrepreneurship in rural and semi-rural regions, the institute said on Thursday.
The new centre, called the XLRI Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (XCITE), has been set up with a grant from NABARD and will focus on nurturing early-stage, innovation-led enterprises in agribusiness and allied non-farm sectors.
XCITE will support entrepreneurs from 12 states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and the eight North-Eastern states, regions that have strong resource potential but remain underserved by formal entrepreneurial ecosystems, XLRI said.
The memorandum of agreement for the project is scheduled to be formally signed on Dec. 19, marking a new phase in XLRI’s engagement with rural development and inclusive growth.
“The launch of XCITE reflects XLRI’s deep commitment to its mission of ‘Excellence with Integrity’ and to creating meaningful impact beyond urban centres,” XLRI Director Fr. S. George SJ said in a statement.
Prof. Saurav Snehvrat, faculty in charge of the incubation centre, said XCITE aims to become one of India’s leading rural business incubators by combining management expertise, grassroots understanding and technology-enabled innovation to help rural enterprises scale sustainably.
Prof. Tata L. Raghu Ram, co-lead of the project, said the centre will provide a comprehensive incubation ecosystem, including mentorship, business development support, market access and financial linkages.
NABARD supports eligible institutions across the country in establishing rural business incubation centres to strengthen entrepreneurial capacity in agriculture and allied sectors, helping startups transition from early-stage ideas to commercially viable ventures.
XLRI and NABARD said they envision XCITE as a centre of excellence that will foster a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in eastern and north-eastern India.
