The fellowship will enable graduating students to pursue entrepreneurship full-time with structured institutional support

4 March, 2026, Bengaluru: IIM Bangalore, with the support of its innovation and entrepreneurship hub – NSRCEL, announces the launch of the IIMB B-Founders Program. The structured fellowship is designed to enable graduating students to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions full-time. The program was conceived as an institutional initiative that seeks to reduce the opportunity cost of choosing a startup path over conventional placements by offering a stipend, incubation support, mentorship and the option of placement deferment.

“With B-Founders, we are making a more deliberate commitment to our graduating students who want to build from day zero”, said Prof. Srivardhini K. Jha, Chairperson, NSRCEL and faculty in the Entrepreneurship area. “Fellows receive a two-year stipend from the Institute, along with the option to defer placements so they can pursue innovation with focus and conviction”, she added.

The B-Founders Program will be offered annually and will provide selected fellows with a stipend of ₹50,000 per month for up to 24 months. In the case of teams with more than two founders, the stipend will be capped at ₹1,00,000 per team per month. Fellows will undergo structured incubation at NSRCEL, joining a curated cohort of early-stage ventures and benefiting from its ecosystem of mentors, investors and domain experts. Participants will also be eligible for a placement deferral of one to two years, providing a defined return pathway while they build their ventures. The fellows will be selected during Term 5 of the graduating year.

Eligibility

• At least one full-time founder must be a graduating PGP, PGP-BA or EPGP student.
• The program is not applicable to ventures that have already raised seed/Series A funding.

Application and Selection Process
The selection process will unfold in four phases.

• Phase 1: Registration, with applications closing in the second week of September.
• Phase 2: Shortlisted applicants will submit a 3–4 page pitch deck detailing the problem and proposed solution, market size, business model, traction (if any), and the team’s background and roles. Submissions will be due by the second week of October.
• Phase 3: Shortlisting of finalists.
• Phase 4: Final evaluation pitch, scheduled between the fourth week of October and the first week of November. Finalists will present a 10-minute pitch followed by a 20-minute Q&A with the evaluation panel.

The evaluation criteria are aligned with NSRCEL’s selection criteria for early-stage incubation set to assess team strength and prior experience, problem clarity and solution innovation, market size and scalability, business model viability, traction or MVP progress, financial understanding and capital planning, vision and founder commitment and overall clarity of presentation.

The top-ranked team will receive an offer by the second week of November, having three days to accept the fellowship and opt out of final placements or decline their PPO. Should the selected team decline, the offer will be extended to the next team.

Program Mentoring and Accountability
The B-Founders Program is designed with structured monitoring mechanisms to ensure continuous and dynamic venture progression. Fellows will participate in quarterly check-ins conducted by the evaluation panel comprising IIMB faculty and NSRCEL mentors. During these reviews, teams will present updated financials, revised biz plans or pivots (if any), traction metrics, learnings and feedback, hiring updates and team changes, and fundraising plans or conversations.

In instances of significant deviation from agreed milestones or lack of commitment, a formal warning may be issued. Continued non-compliance may lead to termination of stipend support, subject to a two-thirds majority decision of the review panel.