Local Economy Accelerator Program (LEAP)
A programme by Startup Karnataka
The umbrella state programme funding 16 components across six clusters outside Bengaluru — not something you apply to directly.
At a glance
| Best for | Startups, students and ecosystem bodies in the six clusters outside Bengaluru |
|---|---|
| Duration | Five years |
About Local Economy Accelerator Program (LEAP)
LEAP is a five-year state programme to decentralise innovation beyond Bengaluru, approved by government order in August 2025. It is the wrapper several other things sit inside, including ELEVATE NxT, the fund of funds, six centres of excellence and the labs. There is no LEAP application form — you apply to whichever component fits you.
What it covers
- The Karnataka Startup Foundry, to build entrepreneurial thinking in students
- A fund of funds providing equity capital for startups in emerging clusters
- The ELEVATE NXT grant-in-aid programme for deep-tech
- Six centres of excellence for research and industry-academia work
- Elevate Beyond Bengaluru, decentralising startup grants to tier-2 and tier-3 cities
- Incubators, accelerators and growth labs offering plug-and-play workspace
- Innovation labs in educational institutions and prototype labs for product development
- Innovation events, hackathons, bootcamps, digital clinics for legal, financial and enterprise support, a critical research fund, event participation support and marketing tools
Where it applies: six clusters outside Bengaluru, split into class A — Mysuru–Chamarajanagar, Mangaluru–Udupi and Hubbali–Belagavi–Dharwad — and class B — Tumkur, Kalaburagi and Shivamogga.
Where to apply
Other Startup Karnataka programmes
- ELEVATE (Idea2PoC Grant-in-Aid Scheme)Karnataka's main grant-in-aid call for startups incorporated in the state, taking an idea to proof of concept and then to scale.
- ELEVATE NxTThe deep-tech grant-in-aid track under LEAP, open to startups anywhere in India that move their registered office to Karnataka if they win.
- Rajiv Gandhi Entrepreneurship Program (RGEP)A twelve-month subsistence grant for individual innovators in Karnataka taking an idea to a prototype or proof of concept.
- WEscalateThe women-founder track, run as six months of incubation followed by six months of acceleration through incubators the department selects.
- Preferential Market Access (PMA)An empanelment route that puts Karnataka startups on a pre-qualified list state departments and public sector units buy from.
- Grassroot Innovation ProgrammeSupport for farmers, artisans, labourers and technicians in Karnataka to perfect and commercialise a practical innovation.
- Startup Policy Incentives 2025-30Reimbursement claims open to any startup registered with KITS — state GST, patent filing costs and other incentives under the 2025-30 policy.
- New Age Innovation Network 2.0 (NAIN 2.0)Incubation centres inside colleges outside Bengaluru Urban District, funding student projects through the host institution.
- Booster KitA directory of empanelled service partners offering registered Karnataka startups legal, staffing, investor-readiness and company-management help.
- Beyond Bengaluru Cluster Seed FundAn announced fund for early-stage startups outside Bengaluru Urban District; the department has not published an application route for it.
- Fund of FundsAn equity fund the department says it will set up for long-gestation innovation, weighted towards clusters outside Bengaluru; no application route published.