Stage III cancer to 200+ startups: How Tej Chingtham built the Northeast’s first incubator

When young people from Northeast India approached Prof. (Dr.) Tej Chingtham with questions about starting a business, he did not always have the answers.

Many had returned from other parts of the country hoping to build something of their own, but the region lacked the support system they needed.

In a conversation with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory & The Bharat Project, Tej Chingtham recalled how these interactions prompted him to look more closely at the region's startup ecosystem in 2016.

At the time, he was a computer science professor with no plans to run an incubation centre.

Yet, what began as an attempt to understand the challenges facing local entrepreneurs eventually led him to build one.

Today, he is the CEO of the Atal Incubation Centre - Sikkim Manipal University Technology Business Incubation Foundation (AIC-SMUTBI), which works with more than 200 startups. The wider Northeast ecosystem has grown to over 2,000 startups.

An idea to bring mentors to the Northeast

When Tej Chingtham travelled across the northeastern states in 2016, he found entrepreneurs and several isolated efforts to support them.

What was missing was a system that could bring these initiatives together and offer founders consistent guidance.

Mentors from cities such as Bengaluru and Delhi would visit the region, spend a few weeks or a month with entrepreneurs, and then leave. Chingtham felt these short visits could not provide the sustained support startups needed.

He began thinking about a model that would encourage mentors to spend more time in the region. His idea was to combine mentoring with tourism, giving experts an opportunity to explore the Northeast while helping local entrepreneurs build their businesses.

In 2018, he got the opportunity to establish what he describes as the Northeast's first incubation centre. The task was unfamiliar.

Chingtham had never visited an incubator or worked in one, and had to learn how to build the institution while putting its support systems in place.

The work began on September 27, 2018. A few months later, on December 12, Chingtham was diagnosed with stage III lung cancer. He continued treatment while working towards the centre's establishment. AIC-SMUTBI became operational in June 2019.

Building an ecosystem beyond one centre

Tej Chingtham's ambition was never limited to setting up an incubation centre in Sikkim. He wanted entrepreneurs across the Northeast to have access to the mentorship and support that were often easier to find in established startup hubs.

The incubator gradually expanded its collaborations across all eight northeastern states. Chingtham credits the people who supported the initiative, particularly those who helped bring entrepreneurs and local stakeholders together in their respective states.

Speaking with Shradha, he emphasised how the effort had grown beyond the work of one institution.

The region now has more than 2,000 startups, of which over 200 work with AIC-SMUTBI, according to him. This means the incubator is associated with roughly one in every 10 startups in the Northeast.

He sees considerable potential in the region's natural resources, biodiversity and local industries.

Even its geographical position, with all eight northeastern states sharing international borders, can offer opportunities for entrepreneurs who understand the local context.

His larger aim is to encourage young people to recognise what they can build at home. Rather than viewing the Northeast only as a place to leave in search of employment, he wants them to see it as a place where businesses can grow.

Why founders need customers and investors

Access to funding remains one of the challenges for startups in the region. Tej Chingtham says relatively few investors visit the Northeast, which often leaves entrepreneurs to focus on building a customer base and generating revenue to sustain their businesses.

He puts the five-year survival rate of startups supported by the incubator at around 80%. According to him, their focus on customers and sustainable operations, rather than chasing large valuations, has contributed to this outcome.

He believes the ecosystem needs more early-stage mentorship, particularly experts who can help founders validate their ideas before they establish a legal entity or begin navigating funding and policy requirements.

Policies that make investment easier could also encourage more capital to flow into the region.

Chingtham has suggested tax holidays for a defined period to attract investors.

During his conversation with Shradha, he summed up what the Northeast needs from the investment community with a phrase he returned to more than once: “More than venture capital, we need adventure capitalists.”

He wants investors to travel to the region, understand its opportunities and engage with businesses that may not be based in the country's familiar startup centres.

Helping the next generation build locally

Tej Chingtham believes the Northeast needs more startups relative to its population.

Reaching that point will require sustained mentorship, supportive policies and investors willing to explore opportunities beyond established markets.

He is also quick to point out that the incubator's journey has never been the work of one person. Its progress has depended on the people, institutions and partners who helped strengthen the startup ecosystem across the region.

His ambition goes beyond increasing the number of ventures associated with AIC-SMUTBI. He wants more young people to consider entrepreneurship a viable career and use the resources available in their own states to build businesses.

The incubator began with an attempt to answer a question that young entrepreneurs kept bringing to Chingtham: how could they build something in the Northeast?

Today, he is working to ensure that the next generation has a stronger support system and more reasons to find that answer at home.