NGO and Foundation Programmes in India
106 NGO and foundation programmes in India. Foundations and non-profits run support programmes for startups that serve a social or development goal, and they often give grants or mentoring rather than taking equity. Check the impact focus and the eligibility of each programme, since many are limited to particular sectors, regions or groups of founders.
Climate Collective
Climate Collective Foundation is a climate-tech startup support organisation and accelerator body, based in Visakhapatnam.
Deshpande Startups
Technology business incubator in Hubballi with a second campus in Nizamabad, running incubation, acceleration and government funding programmes for non-metro founders.
Social Alpha
Tata Trusts-backed platform that incubates science and technology start-ups for social and environmental impact, from labs in Bengaluru, Delhi and Trivandrum.
Jagriti Enterprise Centre
Enterprise incubation centre in Deoria, eastern Uttar Pradesh, run by Jagriti Sewa Sansthan for small enterprises across seven Purvanchal districts.
Bihar Entrepreneurs Association
A not-for-profit entrepreneurs' association in Patna, founded in 2011, running an incubation centre, a coworking office, training and a business helpline for founders in Bihar.
Massive Earth Foundation
Gurgaon-based non-profit that runs the LowCarbon.Earth climate-tech accelerator with UNEP and SAFFAL, an accelerator for women-led climate businesses in South Asia.
Surge Impact Foundation
Hyderabad non-profit running its own incubation cohorts for climate founders and LGBTQIA+ founders across India.
AssisTech Foundation (ATF)
India's first assistive-technology accelerator, based in Bengaluru, with a 65+ start-up portfolio and a network of 500+ AT start-ups.
Bharat Impact Incubation Centre
Jubilant Bhartia Foundation's incubator in Noida for startups building solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals, through the Impact Quest cohort programme.
AI Venture Factory
AI Venture Factory is a Chennai-based Section 8 non-profit that describes itself as an AI-focused technology business incubator.
NASSCOM
The National Association of Software and Service Companies runs DeepTech Club, Emerge 50, AI Gamechangers and InnoTrek for India's deeptech and AI startups.
ARTPARK, IISc Bengaluru
Not-for-profit technology business incubator at IISc Bengaluru for deep-tech in AI, robotics and cyber-physical systems, with a residency for researchers and an equity investment programme for startups.
Bala Vikasa Center for Social and Responsible Business
Social enterprise incubator near Hyderabad, running the nine-month PrISE programme on a 20-acre campus.
Ashraya Hastha Trust
Bengaluru family charitable trust that makes grants to registered nonprofits in health, education, livelihoods, animal welfare, environment and disaster relief. Startups are not eligible; a C-CAMP climate programme names it as a collaborator.
the^delta
Social incubator for Indian nonprofits working on livelihoods, run as an Atal Incubation Centre with an incubator, accelerator and open prize challenges.
Drone Federation of India (DFI)
India's not-for-profit trade body for drones and counter-drones — the route in is paid annual membership, not an application.
Wadhwani Foundation
Global non-profit founded by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani that supports entrepreneurs through Liftoff, Accelerate, Ignite and a learning programme for SMEs; its India work is delivered from Bengaluru by the National Entrepreneurship Network.
ACCESS Development Services
National livelihoods NGO supporting microenterprise, women entrepreneurship, and rural innovation since 2006.
FICCI
India's oldest and largest apex business organization established in 1927, representing 250,000+ companies and driving the FICCI for Startups initiative.
Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal
National apex body representing 65 million brick-and-mortar traders and retailers across India, advocating for ease of doing business for traditional commerce.
SACC India
Punjab-based non-profit running government-backed incubation centres and grant accelerators for grassroots founders in North India since 2014.
The Habitats Trust
Wildlife conservation foundation co-founded by Roshni Nadar Malhotra, disbursing grants to support habitat restoration and species recovery across 21 Indian states.
Upaya Social Ventures
Bangalore-based nonprofit that invests in and accelerates early-stage Indian businesses creating dignified jobs for people in extreme poverty.
Villgro
India's oldest social enterprise incubator, founded in 2001, having supported 340+ enterprises across healthcare, agriculture, and climate.
Visa Foundation
Corporate foundation of Visa Inc. deploying grants and impact investments to support financial inclusion and women-led micro and small businesses globally.
Remove Global
Social enterprise tackling electronic waste through circular economy solutions.
NCPEDP–Mphasis AT Hub
A grant and mentoring programme from NCPEDP and Mphasis F1 Foundation for Indian startups building assistive technology for persons with disabilities.
Pernod Ricard India Foundation
Corporate CSR arm of Pernod Ricard India, backing startups in plastic circularity, circular economy and climate-smart agriculture through partner incubators.
IIMT University
Section 8 business incubator on the IIMT University campus in Meerut, running a 12-week incubation programme for early-stage startups and student innovators.
Yenepoya School of Engineering and Technology
Yenepoya Technology Incubator, run by Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) in Mangaluru, mentors healthcare innovators and entrepreneurs.
Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani
PIEDS, the technology business incubator of BITS Pilani, runs mentorship, co-working and government-backed funding programmes for early-stage startups.
Technology Business Incubator KIET Group of Institutions
A technology business incubator run from the KIET Group of Institutions campus in Ghaziabad, promoted with DST's NSTEDB, for startups with technology-driven ideas.
ASSOCIATION OF LADY ENTREPRENEURS OF INDIA
Non-profit association of women entrepreneurs in Hyderabad, founded in 1993. It runs Atal Incubation Centre ALEAP WE-HUB and training, finance-access and market-access programmes in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Shri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Tehnology and Management
Engineering and management college at Bantakal, Udupi, whose MiTiE incubator supports technology startups with a rural focus.
Yenepoya Deemed to be University
Yenepoya Technology Incubator is a healthcare innovation incubator in Mangalore, run by a not-for-profit linked to Yenepoya (Deemed to be University).
Erode Sengunthar Engineering College
ESEC-IIF, the innovation and incubation foundation of Erode Sengunthar Engineering College in Perundurai, Tamil Nadu, incubates students, graduates and early-stage startups.
Indian Institute of Technology Ropar
TBIF is a DST-recognised Section 8 incubator at IIT Ropar, offering lab space, mentors, IP and legal support, and seed funding for selected technology startups.
Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College
Incubator run by SREC SPARK Incubation Foundation on the Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College campus in Coimbatore, for technology start-ups.
The South India Textile Research Association
An autonomous textile research, testing and training body in Coimbatore, supported by the Ministry of Textiles — a professional-training and lab-testing institute for the textile industry, not a startup incubator.
HCL Foundation
CSR arm of HCLTech, based in Noida. Its HCLTech Grant is only for registered non-profits; startups can apply to selected tracks of its Yamuna Basin Challenge, for Yamuna river basin work.
Wildlife Conservation Trust
Wildlife conservation trust set up in Mumbai in 2002. Runs the WCT-BEES Grants Programme, which gives small grants for conservation research and grassroots projects in India.
Siddaganga Institute of Technology
Section 8 incubator in Tumakuru, Karnataka, hosted by Siddaganga Institute of Technology. Incubation from proof of concept to MVP, plus pre-incubation and agritech programmes.
SGSITS Indore
Technology incubator hosted by SGSITS in Indore, with fab labs, workspace and co-working desks
MNNIT Allahabad
Recognised DST NIDHI technology business incubator at MNNIT Allahabad, running incubation for innovative technology startups.
Zone Startups India
Mumbai incubator run by the BIL Ryerson Technology Startup Incubator Foundation, operating as Zone Startups India, with a year-long incubation programme and a fintech accelerator run with IFSCA.
CIIE Regional Innovation Foundation (Startup Oasis)
Startup Oasis, the CIIE Regional Innovation Foundation in Jaipur, is a government-recognised technology business incubator for startups and social enterprises from tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT)
VIT Technology Business Incubator (VITTBI): a not-for-profit incubator in Vellore, approved by DST, for technology start-ups.
Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-Hyderabad)
Deeptech incubator at IIT Hyderabad, supported by DST. Runs pre-incubation, incubation and acceleration, with prototype grants for eligible Indian founders.
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Using NGO and foundation programmes in India
Foundations and non-profits support startups that advance a social or development goal: health, education, livelihoods, climate and similar. What they offer is usually mentoring, networks and sometimes grant money, and they often take no equity, which suits ventures whose first aim is impact rather than a venture-scale return.
Their programmes are narrower than a general incubator. Many are limited to a theme, a region or a group of founders, and they ask you to show the impact you intend and how you will measure it. A clear description of who benefits and how you will know it has worked counts for more here than a growth forecast.
The NGO and foundation programmes in India listed above vary in format, from a short fellowship to a long incubation, and in how often they take applications. Read the eligibility and the application window on each profile and prepare one clear impact statement that you adapt to each.
The numbers on this page
- 106 of the 2755 organisations we list in India (4%) are tagged "NGO / Foundation".
- By stage focus, the most common are Ideation (41), Validation (34) and Early Revenue (19).
- By sector, the most listed are Social Impact (25), CleanTech (13) and Deep Tech (11).
- By state, most are in Karnataka (20), Maharashtra (19) and Tamil Nadu (10).
- By city, most are in Bengaluru (14), Mumbai (10) and Delhi (9).
- Many are also tagged Incubator (50) and Accelerator (14), so the same organisation can appear on more than one list.
- 20 of 106 offer coworking space on site.
What to confirm with an NGO or foundation programme
- Which theme, sector or geography does it fund or support?
- Is the support a grant, mentoring, a fellowship or something else?
- Does it take equity, or require a particular legal structure?
- How does it want you to describe and measure impact?
- When do applications open and close?
- What reporting does it expect after you are selected?
Frequently asked questions
How many NGO and foundation programmes are there in India?
We list 106 NGO and foundation programmes in India, out of 2755 startup support organisations we list there. The count updates as profiles are added and verified.
Where in India are most NGO and foundation programmes based?
Counting the profiles on this page, most are in Karnataka (20), Maharashtra (19) and Tamil Nadu (10).
Do NGO and foundation programmes take equity?
Many do not, but terms vary. Some give grants, some give mentoring and networks only, and a few invest. Each programme states its terms; confirm them before you apply.
Can a for-profit startup apply to an NGO or foundation programme in India?
Often yes, if the work fits the programme's theme, but some are open only to registered non-profits. The eligibility section on each profile or application page tells you which applies.