The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia) awarded India’s largest non-dilutive grant for early-stage climate startups, the ₹31.4 lakh Big Pi Grant, to Agropak, a biotech startup that builds a natural fibre materials platform to create premium bio-based packaging solutions for the beauty and personal care industry. Organisers presented the grant on July 21, 2026, at the third edition of SusCrunch 2026, aiming to help promising climate startups accelerate innovation, commercial validation and market adoption without diluting founder equity.
Funding Without Giving Up Equity
Beyond the ₹31.4 lakh grant, Agropak will receive mentorship, strategic guidance, access to incubators and government programmes, and continued support through SusMafia’s investor, fellowship and grant ecosystem. The grant draws its name from the mathematical constant π (3.14), symbolising bold thinking and breakthrough innovation.
The third edition of SusCrunch also drew participation from leading investors including Zerodha and 3one4 Capital, alongside corporates such as Reliance, Biocon, Zomato and Apollo Hospitals, reflecting growing interest among investors and industry leaders in partnering with climate startups to accelerate sustainable innovation and commercial deployment.
A Critical Moment for Climate Funding
The announcement arrives at a crucial time for climate innovation. According to the Tracxn India Climate Tech 2026 Report, India’s climate-tech ecosystem has attracted nearly US$12.8 billion in funding across 1,583 startups between 2008 and June 2026, reflecting growing investor confidence in sectors such as clean energy, circular economy, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. However, the State of Climate Tech 2025 report notes that global early-stage climate funding has fallen to a five-year low, making non-dilutive grants increasingly important for helping startups bridge the gap between research, pilot projects and commercial scale.
A Competitive, Multi-Round Selection
SusMafia and the BITS Pilani PIEDS Accelerator jointly support the Big Pi Grant, which received over 50 curated applications from founders across the BITS Pilani, IIT and broader startup ecosystem through the SusVentures network. Evaluators shortlisted five startups working across water and waste management, climate intelligence, sustainable materials and the built environment after multiple rounds assessing innovation, founder-market fit, climate impact, validation and scalability. Agropak emerged as the winner.
Previous recipients illustrate the grant’s impact. BioCompute, the 2024 winner, has since established laboratory infrastructure, conducted thousands of experiments, expanded into the Bay Area, and raised over ₹5 crore from investors including WTF Fund, Grad Capital and 1517 Fund. Bisket Labs, the 2025 recipient, subsequently secured the Karnataka Government’s ELEVATE Grant, demonstrating how early-stage non-dilutive funding can help climate startups unlock larger opportunities and accelerate growth.
Building a Founder Ecosystem
Ganesh Shankar, co-founder of The Sustainability Mafia and founder of FluxGen, commented on the initiative: “Every founder needs access to business, capital and talent. No founder can build all three alone.”
Founded as a founder-led climate community, The Sustainability Mafia has grown into a network of 84 active climate founders, known as Mafiosos, and more than 700 Climate Ninjas. The organisation reports that startups within its community have collectively raised over US$350 million, employ more than 3,000 people, generate ₹2,100 crore in annual revenue, divert over 363,000 tonnes of waste from landfills, and mitigate approximately 1.56 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.
Neeraj Jain, co-founder of Solar Square, a Series C rooftop solar company with over $100 million in funding, described the SusMafia community as “the start of a movement” while joining Ashish Goel, founder of Urban Ladder and Optimist and an investor in more than 30 startups, for a Climate Sitdown conversation.
Looking Ahead
As India advances toward its net-zero ambitions, strengthening the climate innovation ecosystem will require more than venture capital alone. Early-stage grants, founder communities, industry partnerships and market access are becoming increasingly critical in helping breakthrough technologies move from laboratories to commercial deployment. Through initiatives such as the Big Pi Grant, The Sustainability Mafia aims to equip the next generation of climate entrepreneurs with the capital, mentorship and ecosystem support needed to build scalable climate solutions.
About The Sustainability Mafia: The Sustainability Mafia, legally registered as The Sustainability Engine Foundation, operates as a founder-led climate community focused on strengthening India’s climate innovation ecosystem. It runs five initiatives Climate Ninja, SusVentures, Mafiosos, Investados, and Corporados to support climate talent, startups, funding, and industry partnerships. SusCrunch is its flagship annual initiative, bringing together founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders to accelerate climate innovation in India.
