Incubator report format: what a portfolio report needs
An incubator portfolio report is the regular summary an incubator sends its funders, host institution and investors: cohort status, money in and out, startup outcomes and next steps. Indian schemes set the minimum. The Seed Fund Scheme wants funds sanctioned, received and disbursed per startup each financial year, plus quarterly reviews.
By Akshay Kendurkar, CEO, MyStartupValley
Every incubator writes the same report three times: once for the funder, once for the host institution and once for investors. Each reader wants something different, and most incubators rebuild the numbers each time.
This guide sets out what India's main schemes require, a sample outline that covers all three readers, the numbers to include and how often, and what investors look for first.
What is an incubator portfolio report?
An incubator portfolio report is a regular summary of the incubator's startups and money for the people who fund or back it. It covers cohort status, grants received and spent, each startup's progress and outcomes against targets. Funders, the host institution and investors each read it, for different reasons.
Funders read it for compliance and outcomes. The host institution reads it for money, space and reputation. Investors read it for which startups to meet or back again. One master report, with a headline page each reader can use, saves the most work.
What do government funders require in an incubator report?
Government funders require money flows per startup, utilisation certificates, audited accounts and outcome indicators. The Seed Fund Scheme, AIM and DST's NIDHI programme each set a cycle, from monthly KPI updates to yearly audited statements. The table sets out what each asks for and how often.
| Funder | What it asks for | How often |
|---|---|---|
| DPIIT, Seed Fund Scheme | Funds sanctioned, received and disbursed per startup; utilisation and audited expenditure | Each financial year |
| DPIIT, Seed Fund Scheme | Startup progress, funding raised, jobs, turnover; return on investment per startup | Real time online; quarterly to the expert committee |
| AIM, Atal Incubation Centres | KPIs against agreed targets | Monthly |
| AIM, Atal Incubation Centres | Progress report | Quarterly |
| AIM, Atal Incubation Centres | Audited accounts and utilisation certificates | Every six months |
| AIM, Atal Incubation Centres | Seed investment decisions, defaults, seed support per startup | Each financial year |
| DST, NIDHI-TBI | Progress report, audited accounts, utilisation certificate; milestones in DST's format | Each financial year |
The detail is in the SISFS guidelines, AIM's November 2023 guidelines for Atal Incubation Centres and DST's NIDHI-TBI guidelines. NIDHI incubators must also keep a website listing their incubatees, updated at least quarterly.
What sections should an incubator report have?
An incubator report should have eight sections: period and cover, headline numbers, money, a one-row-per-startup table, outcomes against targets, investor activity, risks and exits, and next quarter's plan. The outline below shows a quarterly version. Every figure marked Sample is illustrative, not real data.
- Cover: incubator, quarter, date sent, contact person.
- Headline numbers: one short block. Sample: 24 startups in residence, 3 graduated, Rs 4.2 crore raised from non-government sources this quarter, 61 jobs added.
- Money: grants received, seed money disbursed per startup, unspent balance, certificates due. Sample: Rs 1.8 crore of seed money disbursed to 9 startups.
- Startup table: one row per startup with stage, milestone status, funding raised, turnover, jobs and a status flag.
- Outcomes against targets: each target agreed with the funder, the actual and the gap.
- Investor activity: introductions, meetings, term sheets and rounds. Sample: 37 introductions, 14 first meetings, 2 term sheets.
- Risks and exits: startups at risk, seed repayments overdue, startups that left and why.
- Next quarter: targets, events and what the incubator needs from the reader.
The startup table is the core. Keep its columns fixed from quarter to quarter, and use the definitions in our note on incubator performance metrics so a number means the same thing each time.
If you hold Seed Fund money, add two items the scheme names: return on investment for each startup, and for any startup that failed, the founder's final report on what went wrong, which the guidelines ask for alongside the audited utilisation certificate.
Which numbers belong in the report, and how often?
Include the numbers your funders already require, kept monthly, and report them on each reader's cycle. Startup counts, money disbursed and milestones change monthly. Funding raised, turnover and jobs suit a quarterly view. Survival, graduation and return on investment are yearly numbers, because they need time to mean anything.
| Number | Keep it | Report it |
|---|---|---|
| Startups in residence and virtual | Monthly | Quarterly |
| Seed money sanctioned and disbursed, per startup | At each release | Quarterly and yearly |
| Funding raised from outside, per startup | When it closes | Quarterly |
| Turnover and jobs, per startup | Quarterly | Quarterly |
| Graduations, exits and survival | When they happen | Yearly |
| Return on investment, per startup | Yearly | Yearly |
Keep the numbers monthly and the format fixed, and every report becomes a copy, not a project.
What do investors skim for in an incubator report?
Investors skim for four things in seconds: money raised and from whom, revenue, changes in the team and which startups are in trouble. They want the headline page first and the startup table second. Anything that hides a weak quarter makes them distrust the strong ones.
Team comes early for a reason. In a survey of 885 venture capitalists, mostly in the US, over 55% named the team as the most important factor in their investment decisions, the NBER Digest reported. A founder leaving is news an investor wants from you, not from the market.
Write the investor version the way a good startup writes its own updates. Our investor update template, our guide to post-investment reporting and our note on reading startup MIS reports show what investors expect from founders, and the same rules apply to an incubator.
How should the host institution's report differ?
The host institution's report should lead with money, space and reputation rather than startup detail. Its governing body wants to know whether the incubator is on budget, using its space, meeting funder targets and moving toward running without grants. The headline page and the money section usually cover it.
The schemes set this rhythm too. DST's guidelines ask a NIDHI incubator's governing body to meet every six months to review progress, and AIM suggests its centres' governing bodies meet quarterly. Time the report to arrive before each meeting, with the startup table attached for anyone who wants it. Keep each funder's own forms, such as utilisation certificates, as annexes rather than rewriting them.
Questions
What is the format of an incubator report?
A good incubator report has a headline page, a money section showing grants received and disbursed per startup, a table with one row per startup, outcomes against the funder's targets, investor activity, risks and exits, and next quarter's targets. Government schemes add their own forms, such as utilisation certificates.
How often should an incubator report to its funders?
It depends on the scheme. AIM wants monthly KPI updates, a quarterly progress report and utilisation certificates every six months from Atal Incubation Centres. The Seed Fund Scheme wants real-time data and a quarterly review. DST wants a progress report and audited accounts each year from NIDHI incubators.
What should an incubator include in a report to investors?
Investors want the headline numbers first: money raised by startups and from whom, revenue, jobs, team changes and which startups are struggling. Add one row per startup with stage, last round and next raise, and a named contact. Keep the format the same every quarter.
What records does the Seed Fund Scheme ask incubators to report?
Incubators report funds sanctioned, received and disbursed to each startup for each financial year, utilisation and audited expenditure, and each funded startup's progress, funding raised, jobs and turnover. They also report return on investment per startup and present progress to the expert committee quarterly.
Sources: DPIIT, Guidelines for Startup India Seed Fund Scheme · Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Guidelines for Setting up of Atal Incubation Centres, Nov 2023 · DST, NIDHI Technology Business Incubator Guidelines and Proforma · NBER Digest, How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?, Dec 2016
For more on running an incubator in India, read the MyStartupValley blog or see MyStartupValley for incubators.