Emergent Ventures India by Mercatus Center

• Suited to Indian founders, students, researchers, and independent thinkers with bold, unconventional ideas at any stage.

About this scheme

Emergent Ventures India is the India track of Emergent Ventures, a global grant-and-fellowship initiative housed at the Mercatus Center, a privately funded research institute at George Mason University in the United States. The Mercatus Center works at the meeting point of academic research and public policy, championing market-oriented ideas that lift living standards, and Emergent Ventures extends that mission to individuals with outsized ambitions.

Running since 2018, the programme seeks out founders and original thinkers chasing highly scalable, "zero to one" ideas, the kind that propose a wholly new answer to a fundamental problem instead of tweaking what already exists. Selectors look for transformational potential rather than incremental gains, and a credible route to becoming self-sustaining counts in an applicant's favour.

Support is equity-free and tied to a specific project, so recipients give up no ownership. Grant sizes are deliberately flexible, scaling from small amounts to sizeable awards according to what a project needs and how much impact it could have, and the money is meant to advance prosperity, opportunity, liberty, and broad social well-being. Funds can cover any expense that genuinely moves the project forward.

Beyond the cheque, the fellowship side opens a door into the community and intellectual network around the Mercatus Center, connecting recipients with like-minded peers. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis at mercatus.tfaforms.net (questions go to emergentventures@mercatus.gmu.edu), and the track is open to individuals, including students, as well as registered entities and non-profits.

Who can apply

• Anyone aged 13 or above can apply, whether an entrepreneur, researcher, student, builder, writer, scientist, or policy thinker, since the programme weighs the strength and potential impact of an idea over formal qualifications or affiliations.
• The proposal needs to be a scalable "zero to one" idea aimed at meaningful social improvement, submitted by an individual or a team with one point of contact; India-track applicants should pick "India" under the "My Project Will Affect" field on the form.

Eligible entity types: Individual Innovator, Private Limited, LLP, Proprietorship, Section 8 / NGO

Benefits & funding

• Equity-free, project-specific grants that leave founders with full ownership of their work.
• Flexible award sizes, from small grants to substantial sums, scaled to each project's needs and likely impact.
• Backing for ambitious ideas that advance prosperity, opportunity, liberty, and wider social well-being.
• Entry into the peer community and intellectual network around the Mercatus Center.

How the application process works

The journey below is informational, compiled from the official program guidelines. Applications are submitted directly with Mercatus Center, George Mason University (USA), in your own name.

1. 1

   Complete the short online form at mercatus.tfaforms.net with a proposal of up to 1,500 words covering your background, the problem, your solution, what makes it novel, and why now.

2. 2

   Add an optional ballpark budget and any supporting material.

3. 3

   Wait for a decision, which usually arrives within about a week.

Documents checklist 3

• Online application form
• Proposal of up to 1,500 words
• Ballpark budget (optional)

Need help getting these in order? IncorpX provides assistance for incorporation, DPIIT recognition, MSME and GST registrations along with document preparation.

Frequently asked questions