In a nation where rapid urbanization is taking place to the detriment of rural areas, opportunities for social entrepreneurship are not without their own unique, set of constraints. In such a scenario, uncertainties usually associated with regular start ups, tend to get multiplied, significantly reducing the chances for the venture’s survival. Yet RTBI’s founders - the TeNeT Group of IIT Madras, known for pioneering incubation in the Indian academic setting for the past twenty-five years - have taken up this difficult task. Through RTBI they continue to foster their distinctive vision of development that harnesses the potential of affordable technologies to facilitate sustainable growth in India.

IITM’s RTBI has the unique distinction of having been funded both by the World Bank’s InfoDev Project and the Government of India’s Dept of Science and Technology’s as the only incubator focusing on rural technologies and businesses in India today. In the past two years of its inception, RTBI has established itself as an innovation system offering an influential paradigm for creating ICT based service applications and business models. The Incubator is currently involved in supporting entrepreneurs in building ventures to promote livelihoods, education, healthcare, agriculture, connectivity and financial inclusion in India’s rural areas. Needless to say, ICT’s play a crucial role in scaling RTBI’s aims across geographies and in empowering large sections of the underprivileged in India including women.