UnLtd India

Choosing the right programme

• UnLtd India's current programme is its Incubation Program, which runs in three stages.
• Check the sector list before applying. The February 2027 cohort names seven sectors.
• Farmer Producer Organisations, Federations and projects that are part of academic research are not currently supported.

How applications work

• Applications for the February 2027 cohort go through the online form linked from the website.
• The February 2025 cohort is closed. Do not use its form.
• The homepage gives nine months and the 2027 form gives 40 weeks, so confirm the length with the organisation before you commit.

UnLtd India is an incubator for early-stage social entrepreneurs, based in Mumbai. Its main offer is a free, three-stage incubation programme called Test, Build and Grow. It describes itself as one of India's oldest incubators for start-up social entrepreneurs.

How the programme works

The Incubation Program runs in three stages: Test, Build and Grow. Each stage comes with its own guidance. Selected entrepreneurs get one-on-one coaching, access to mentors and funders, and peer learning.

The programme's pages give different lengths. The homepage says it runs over nine months. The February 2027 application form calls it a 40-week intensive programme. The About Us page says support can last up to four years and grows as the entrepreneur does. This page does not choose between them.

Past cohorts have been run as well. In February 2023 UnLtd India launched a Women's Cohort for women scaling social ventures, which had 13 women entrepreneurs. Its 2023 annual digest also mentions a climate cohort, due to finish the programme in March 2024.

Who can apply

The programme is for early-stage social entrepreneurs. The February 2027 cohort is designed for social entrepreneurs working across seven named sectors: Agriculture & Allied, Education, Environment, Gender Equality, Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Development, and Skilling & Livelihood. The About Us page says it works across sectors, so the sector scope reads differently on its two pages.

The February 2027 form says the programme is not designed to support Farmer Producer Organisations, Federations, or projects that are part of academic research.

Its portfolio includes NGOs as well as other social ventures. Its 2023 digest says both non-profit and for-profit social entrepreneurs have been incubated, and that NGOs make up 55% of its cohorts. The About Us page gives 51% for NGOs among the organisations it supports. The two figures measure different things, so this page does not pick one.

Scale and reported results

The counts of organisations and entrepreneurs supported differ between its pages. The About Us page shows 440+ social entrepreneurs supported, and its homepage shows 440+ in one place and 402 in another. The 2023 digest says more than 350 social entrepreneurs were incubated over 14 years, and lists 325 plus social impact organisations. Its blog says 300+ social impact organisations over 15 years. This page does not pick one figure.

For 2023 alone, the digest reports 48 entrepreneurs supported that year. The same digest reports that 82.4% of its portfolio continues to build and sustain their organisations, while the homepage says 4 in 5. It also says it was the first institutional supporter for 61% of its social entrepreneurs. The homepage gives 64% for organisations whose first support came from UnLtd India.

The digest gives 23 million lives impacted by its organisations. The homepage shows 28.02M in one instance and 25.8M in another.

The About Us page lists its top sectors as Education (26%), Livelihoods (18%), Environment (15%) and Agriculture (13%).

Who runs it

UnLtd India says it has been awarded the GuideStar India Transparency Key award. Its About Us page also says it joined GuideStar India's pool of credible NGOs after a due diligence process.