New Delhi: Thirty startups working in agriculture technology, clean technology and healthcare have received a combined CSR funding of Rs. 2.64 crore from the SBI Foundation and the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) at IIT Kanpur under the SBIF LEAP: Innovators for Bharat programme.

The funding was announced at the SBIF LEAP: Innovators for Bharat Demo Day and Investor Connect, held at IIT Kanpur’s Noida campus. The initiative, supported by the SBI Foundation, the CSR arm of the State Bank of India, is implemented by SIIC, IIT Kanpur, to help emerging enterprises develop and validate innovative solutions and take them closer to market adoption.

Of the 30 startups selected under the programme, 20 are working in the agritech sector, five in clean technology and five in healthcare. Under the funding framework, six growth-stage startups received Rs. 12 lakh each, while 24 early-stage startups received Rs. 8 lakh each, taking the total CSR support to Rs. 2.64 crore.

Beyond financial assistance, the programme provides startups with incubation support, mentoring, capacity building and opportunities to connect with investors and industry stakeholders. The objective is to help them move from prototype development and validation to commercial deployment and market adoption.

According to the programme's impact assessment, participating startups have reached more than 8,000 farmers and benefited 900 women, while generating 195 direct employment opportunities. Their interventions have also helped prevent stubble burning, protect 800 acres of farmland, avert over 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and convert more than 3,000 tonnes of agricultural waste into clean biomass fuel.

In the healthcare sector, startups supported under the initiative have assessed and assisted more than 4,000 people. The cohort has also filed or secured at least eight patents, while seven participating startups are led by women founders or CEOs.

The programme's progress also reflects varying stages of business development among the participating enterprises. Ten startups are advancing through partner pilots and regulatory milestones, nine are scaling through revenue generation and paid pilots, while the remaining 11 are validating their prototypes for field deployment.

The demo day also provided an investor engagement platform, with eight startups participating in one-on-one pitching sessions with representatives of 14 investment firms. These included Hyderabad Angels, Anicut Capital, Indian Angel Network and Anthill Ventures. The interactions were aimed at helping startups explore funding opportunities and strategic partnerships.

Pratyush Mehrotra, President and Chief Operating Officer of SBI Foundation, also interacted with startup founders during the event. Dr. Ashutosh Agnihotri, Chief Executive Officer of SIIC, IIT Kanpur, addressed the gathering at the programme's inauguration.

Through SBIF LEAP: Innovators for Bharat, the SBI Foundation and SIIC, IIT Kanpur, are seeking to strengthen early-stage and growth-stage enterprises developing solutions to address challenges in agriculture, healthcare and clean technology. By combining CSR funding with incubation and investor access, the initiative aims to help these ventures build scalable businesses while generating social and environmental impact.

BI Bureau