This initiative will offer support to startups working to address pressing development challenges in the country. Under this initiative, the SBI Foundation has recently partnered with Villgro, a social enterprise incubator, for a new program, ‘Innovators For Bharat: Climate Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods’. The program, designed to provide incubation support to 15 high-potential startups, aims to create a significant impact on agricultural livelihoods, reduce agriculture’s climate footprint and enhance the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change.
The program endeavours to help accelerate agriculture startups to grow sustainably by providing them with equity seed funding, grant capital and incubation support. This will include strategic mentoring for business scale-up, opportunities for field pilots, access to rural distribution networks, guidance on the scientific quantification and evaluation of climate impact and technical assistance for building carbon projects. It will also focus on guiding startups to build financially stable business models and access debt financing to help them grow. In addition to this, it will act as a platform to raise awareness about startup innovations through different channels.
Through this program, Villgro and SBI Foundation will deploy financial support of Rs 3.25 Cr, through a combination of grant and equity. Villgro will design the implementation of the program, select startups through rigorous evaluation and due diligence and champion startup advocacy. SBI Foundation will be providing financial support to the selected startups as well as provide access to its network of banking experts for mentorship, Civil Society Organizations and other key Stakeholders.
“n collaboration with Villgro, our shared goal is to create a meaningful and enduring impact. Our dedication extends to driving substantial environmental transformations, with particular emphasis on waste recycling/upcycling, CO2 emissions reduction and removal, and the sustainable management of land and resources. With this program, we aim to improve the lives of 10,000 people in two years, including creating jobs for many of them,” Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director, SBI Foundation said in a statement.
Maithili Rege, Associate Lead, Agriculture, Villgro said, “Climate resilience in agriculture has become crucial due to unpredictable weather, extreme events, and shifting climate conditions. The vulnerability of traditional farming practices to these climate-related disruptions leads to crop failures, reduced yields, and economic instability for farmers. The Innovators for Bharat program is a fantastic opportunity to harness innovation to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers while making agriculture more environmentally sustainable.” The program is open for startups in the early MVP stage or more mature enterprises in the growth stage. Agritech startups, Agri Fintech startups and Climate Tech Startups with a primary focus on themes such as Climate resilient agriculture, Reducing post-harvest losses, Waste to Value, and Carbon Impact and Measurement are invited to submit their applications for the program. Additionally, the program also looks forward to applications from women entrepreneurs, working on these themes. The selection of the startups for the program will be based on their innovative solutions, the current stage of the enterprise, its business viability, team, and potential to create impact at scale.
The application window will remain open until October 11, 2023.
The startup selection process is set to commence in October 2023, with the announcement of selected startups scheduled for November 2023. The incubation period is planned to run from February 2024 to July 2025.
