The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia) Receives INR 2 crore CSR Funding From Zerodha to Strengthen India’s Climate Talent and Startup Ecosystem

The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia), a non-profit organisation working at the intersection of climate education, early-stage incubation, and ecosystem building, has received an INR 2 crore CSR funding from Zerodha to strengthen India’s climate talent and startup ecosystem. The funding will support SusMafia’s efforts to build a skilled, climate-aware workforce and enable climate-tech startups to scale solutions that drive measurable impact across critical areas, including air quality, water and sanitation, waste management, carbon reduction, and the circular economy.

These programs are designed to address critical gaps in the climate ecosystem, particularly the lack of industry-ready talent, early-stage validation support for founders, and trusted platforms that connect innovators with capital, corporates, and real-world pilots.

Over the past few years, the Foundation has built a robust climate education and incubation ecosystem. Through its Climate Ninja program, it has trained 400+ climate professionals, while its early-stage incubation efforts have deployed ₹1 crore in grants to support emerging climate ventures. Today, this work is anchored by a strong and growing network of 80+ climate entrepreneurs, collectively driving impact across sectors.

With this support, the Foundation will deepen its work across climate education, knowledge dissemination, and early-stage incubation, through structured learning programs for students and professionals, hands-on support for early-stage climate ventures, development of shared knowledge resources, and learning-focused ecosystem engagements that enable collaboration among founders, practitioners, and institutional partners.

The proposed use of funds includes training 300+ Climate Ninjas, supporting 20+ early-stage climate startups, and convening regional and national ecosystem gatherings such as SusCrunch, bringing together stakeholders across the climate and sustainability spectrum.

Through a systematic approach that combines capacity building, innovation incubation, and applied learning. The Sustainability Engine Foundation works closely with climate-tech founders, students, and professionals to design, deploy and disseminate practical solutions that can deliver measurable environmental and social impact.

Commenting on the grant, Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha “Strong climate outcomes emerge when founders, practitioners, and learners have access to the right knowledge and support early in their journey. The Sustainability Engine Foundation is building this connective tissue for the climate ecosystem, and we’re pleased to back their work.”

While Ganesh, Director of SusMafia, said, “At the heart of our work is the belief that sustainability scales faster when communities work together toward a shared goal. This grant strengthens our ability to build that community bringing founders, talent, and partners closer as we collectively work to make sustainability the default choice. It enables us to deepen our efforts with greater focus, reach, and impact.”

Zerodha, known for backing long-term, high-impact climate and sustainability initiatives, supports organisations working on climate resilience, natural resource management, and ecosystem development across India.