Impact Orbit , Skilling & Livelihood Innovations Program

• Social impact startups in skilling, livelihoods or sustainability, operational for over a year.

About this scheme

Impact Orbit , Skilling & Livelihood Innovations is an incubation program by NSRCEL, the startup hub at IIM Bangalore, in collaboration with Capgemini. The program supports social ventures addressing gaps in India's skilling and livelihood ecosystem, especially in non-metro and rural contexts.

The initiative focuses on enabling ventures to innovate, implement, and scale impactful solutions that create dignified and sustainable livelihood pathways. Selected ventures receive structured incubation support over approximately 8, 9 months, along with access to domain experts, strategic guidance, and institutional networks.

Program highlights include clarity in value proposition and business models, alternate sources of funding and fundraising readiness, legal and compliance support, impact measurement readiness, leadership capacity building, and leveraging technology for scale.

The program supports both for-profit and non-profit ventures and provides grants of up to Rs. 12.5 lakhs to selected ventures. NSRCEL does not charge any fees or take equity from founders.

Sectors in focus include Youth Employment Innovation, Future-Ready Skills Development (including green skills and digital fluency), Entrepreneurship & Self-Employment (nano enterprises/MSMEs), Rural Income Enhancement (including food processing, agri, value addition, arts & crafts, tourism, climate-resilient livelihoods with special focus on women), and Inclusive Economic Participation (PWD, LGBTQAI+, and other marginalized groups).

Who can apply

• Must be a registered for-profit or non-profit entity
• Must have been operational for a minimum of 1 year
• Must be at MVP to Early Revenue/Growth stage with proven PoC or pilots
• Must demonstrate early traction or early customers
• Must have at least one full-time founder actively committed
• Must have a minimum of 3 employees
• Must be an impact-first venture with direct potential to impact at least 3 UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Should operate within the identified focus sectors of skilling and livelihood innovation

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

Benefits & funding

• 12.5 lakhs, 8-9 months of structured incubation, access to domain experts, strategic guidance, and institutional networks.
• Benefits include fundraising readiness, legal/compliance support, impact measurement, leadership capacity building, and technology leveraging.
• No fees or equity taken.

How the application process works

The journey below is informational, compiled from the official program guidelines. Applications are submitted directly with NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore, in your own name.

1. 1

   Online application submission, followed by selection committee review.

2. 2

   Shortlisted ventures have an internal review and 1:1 conversation.

3. 3

   Further shortlisted ventures pitch to an external panel.

4. 4

   Due diligence is conducted for selected ventures before final onboarding.

Frequently asked questions