Preferential Market Access (PMA)
A programme by Startup Karnataka
An empanelment route that puts Karnataka startups on a pre-qualified list state departments and public sector units buy from.
At a glance
| Best for | Karnataka-registered startups with a product a government department could buy |
|---|---|
| Cost | Free, no equity |
About Preferential Market Access (PMA)
PMA is about selling to government, not about funding. The department runs a call for proposals to empanel credible startups, and state departments and state public sector units then procure technology products and services from that list. Empanelment is valid for three years, and the process is repeated every year so the list stays current.
What you get
- A place on a pre-qualified list used for public procurement of technology products and services
- Visibility for your solution with state departments and public sector units across twelve sectors
Who can apply
- Startups registered with Startup Karnataka, which is what makes you recognised for PMA benefits
- Startups also registered on the Karnataka e-Procurement Portal, which is what lets you take part in government tenders
How to apply: respond to the department's call for proposals when it is issued. Complete both registrations first, because they are prerequisites rather than steps in the application. The government order, the list of eligible technology products and solutions, and the amendment to the rules are all linked from the programme page.
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.
- 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.
- Local Economy Accelerator Program (LEAP)The umbrella state programme funding 16 components across six clusters outside Bengaluru — not something you apply to directly.
- 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.