Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has quietly become one of India’s most powerful levers for spreading entrepreneurship beyond big cities. An autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, STPI has built a blueprint showing that when infrastructure, mentorship and market access reach Tier II and Tier III towns, innovation follows fast.
“Talent exists everywhere the job is to give it a launchpad,” says Arvind Kumar, Director General of STPI. For organisations like Take Care International Foundation, this is a mission we champion: ensuring opportunity and dignity in every corner of the country, not just the metros.
Plug-and-play infrastructure the backbone of local innovation
STPI’s national network now spans 68 centres, with 60 located in smaller cities and towns. These aren’t just office blocks. STPI has developed over 18 lakh square feet of ready-to-use IT workspace, advanced labs and domain-focused Centres of Entrepreneurship (CoEs). For entrepreneurs in places such as Darbhanga and Koraput, this kind of plug-and-play ecosystem removes the first expensive barrier to building a tech venture.
At Take Care International Foundation, we’ve seen how affordable, high-quality workspace transforms confidence. When young engineers can test ideas without moving cities, they stay rooted, create local jobs, and build products that solve local problems which often scale nationally.
Mentorship, market access and funding the complete support loop
Infrastructure alone won’t scale startups. STPI couples physical spaces with mentors, labs, investor networks and government-linked funding. Programmes like the Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) and Leap Ahead provide structured mentoring, market linkages and seed support critical for founders who lack metro networks.
NGIS operates across multiple centres and has supported hundreds of startups, offering funding up to ₹25 lakh. Leap Ahead focuses on scale-stage ventures, helping them find global customers and investors. The result: startups nurtured under STPI have raised significant external capital, launched products, and filed intellectual property concrete proof that decentralised support works.
Domain-focused CoEs building expertise where it matters
STPI’s 24 Centres of Entrepreneurship are sector-specific engines: healthcare in Lucknow, fintech in Gandhinagar, gaming in Hyderabad, agri-IoT in Akola, and a network of CoEs across the Northeast, to name a few. These hubs integrate industry experts, academics and startups so that deep domain problems get solved collaboratively.
For social organisations like Take Care International Foundation, this model is inspiring. When local innovators work alongside industry and academia, they create solutions that are both technically sound and socially relevant from healthcare apps that address rural needs to precision-agriculture tools that increase farmers’ incomes.
Measuring impact jobs, products and IP
The numbers tell the story. STPI’s support has incubated hundreds of startups, helped create thousands of jobs, and enabled more than a thousand IPR filings. Initiatives like NGIS have incubated hundreds of ventures, with many receiving direct financial support and follow-on investment. Taken together, these outcomes strengthen local economies and reduce the pressure of urban migration.
A call to build inclusive ecosystems
STPI’s work proves a simple truth: given the right ecosystem, remote locations can become innovation hubs. For Take Care International Foundation, our role is to complement such efforts mobilising local communities, creating talent pipelines, and ensuring that women and marginalized groups access these new opportunities.
Innovation shouldn’t be a privilege of the few. When infrastructure, mentorship and capital meet local ambition, we unlock lasting change empowered communities, sustainable livelihoods, and a truly inclusive digital economy.