Azim Premji Foundation Social Startups Programme

About

A two-phase programme for aspiring first-time founders under 40 to launch community-rooted civil society organisations in four Indian geographies, with an eight-month paid seeding phase and a possible two-year grant after milestones.

Benefits

• 💰Monthly honorarium
  INR 45,000 per month during the eight-month seeding phase.
• 📝Registration and compliance support
  Guidance on registering the organisation and completing key compliance requirements during the seeding phase.
• 🎓Capacity building
  A one-month residential orientation/boot camp, learning sessions, field visits and partner introductions during the seeding phase.
• 🤝Peer network
  Opportunity to learn alongside other development professionals building new organisations.
• 🏆Two-year grant pathway
  Conditional on successful completion of seeding-phase milestones, eligible organisations may receive INR 15–20 lakh per year for two years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be under 40 years of age as of 1 January 2027 (under 35 preferred)
• Must hold a graduate degree in any discipline
• Must have at least three years of full-time grassroots development-sector work experience; internships do not count and official sources conflict on whether fellowships count
• Must not already have a registered organisation or be a founder/co-founder of an existing registered organisation
• Must intend to establish and run a new civil society organisation
• Must be willing to relocate and be based full-time for at least three years in one of the programme geographies: Bengaluru Urban, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, or North-East India
• Must propose work within the specified focus areas for the chosen geography

Participation Commitments

• Complete an online application with eligibility details, chosen location and theme, work experience, statement of purpose, references and CV
• Undergo eligibility screening, document verification, statement of purpose review, online interview and in-person panel
• Relocate to and work full-time in the selected programme geography, with a minimum tenure of three years
• Register and run a new civil society organisation
• Take part in the orientation, trainings and exploratory fieldwork organised during the eight-month seeding phase
• Complete the required seeding-phase milestones, including registering the organisation, to be considered for the two-year grant
• Selection process expected to be completed by February 2027
• Seeding phase expected to begin on 1 April 2027
• Grant-phase assessment stated for November–December 2027

Target Region

Applicants must intend to work in and relocate to one of four programme geographies in India: Bengaluru Urban, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, or North-East India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura); the minimum tenure to be based at the chosen location is three years.

Target Sector

Agriculture & Food, Education, Government & Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Other