‘If you had ₹25 lakh to fix Bengaluru…’: Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath calls on innovators to lead city’s transformation

The Namma Bengaluru Challenge invites startups to create climate-resilient urban solutions, offering grants and market access.

Published on: Nov 1, 2025, 13:32:13 IST

By Anagha Deshpande

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Billionaire entrepreneur and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath has called on citizens and innovators to participate in the ‘Namma Bengaluru Challenge ‘26’, a new initiative aimed at making Bengaluru stronger, smarter, and greener.

The program, supported by the Government of Karnataka and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), is accepting applications until November 4.

Sharing the announcement on X (formerly Twitter), Kamath wrote, “For everyone who cares about making our city stronger, smarter, and greener; Namma Bengaluru Challenge is your chance to lead the change.”

(Also Read: Bengaluru Metro to add 5th Yellow Line train from November 1, cutting wait time to 15 minutes )

The Namma Bengaluru Challenge, organised by UnboxingBLR in partnership with Social Alpha and WTFund, seeks to identify and support high-potential startups and innovators working on climate resilience and sustainable urban solutions.

The initiative aligns with the city’s Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP) launched in 2023, which aims to manage rapid urban growth while addressing environmental degradation and infrastructure stress.

Once known for its green spaces and mild weather, Bengaluru now faces the challenges of urban congestion, pollution, and resource strain brought by its rapid expansion. The Challenge hopes to harness the city’s technology ecosystem to develop scalable, climate-aware solutions for sustainable growth.

Selected startups under the program will receive pilot grants of up to ₹25 lakh to deploy their products with implementation partners from government, private industry, or civil society for up to six months. They will also gain market access, validation, and exposure by deploying their solutions within Bengaluru’s urban systems.

Participants will get a chance to showcase innovations before government agencies, industry leaders, and investors, and may access seed funding of up to ₹1 crore, subject to due diligence by Social Alpha.

The organisers said the initiative is part of a larger effort to “reimagine Bengaluru’s urban future” through collaboration between policymakers, entrepreneurs, and citizens committed to climate action and equitable development.

Applications for the Namma Bengaluru Challenge are open until November 4, 2025.

(Also Read: Techie quits Oracle in Bengaluru to sell Falooda, builds 18-outlet ice cream brand across India and Dubai )

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anagha Deshpande
Anagha Deshpande is Deputy Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times. She is currently part of the news team. Before moving into this role, she worked with the Bengaluru desk, where she extensively covered civic issues, Karnataka politics, infrastructure, and urban governance. Over the past seven years, Anagha has worked across multiple facets of digital journalism, including reporting, editing, and video production. She briefly stepped away from journalism, only to realize that the newsroom is where she has the most fun. Her interests lie in tracking national and state politics, particularly South Indian politics, as well as social issues and public policy. She has previously worked with Deccan Herald, Mid-day, The Federal, and ThePrint, and has lived and worked in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai. When she isn't chasing stories, Anagha enjoys long aimless walks, reading, hiking, discovering new teas, and, by her own admission, overthinking almost everything.Read More

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