The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia), a non-profit organisation focused on climate education, early-stage incubation and ecosystem building, has received a ₹2 crore corporate social responsibility (CSR) grant from Zerodha.
Use of Funds and Focus Areas
SusMafia said the funds will be used to build a skilled, climate-aware workforce and support climate-tech startups developing solutions across air quality, water and sanitation, waste management, carbon reduction and the circular economy. The organisation aims to enable early-stage ventures to scale solutions that deliver measurable environmental impact.
Organisation Background
Founded in 2018, The Sustainability Mafia operates as a coalition of entrepreneurs, investors and sustainability practitioners. Its model focuses on collaboration, capacity building and structured programmes for founders, investors and students working in the climate space. The organisation seeks to address systemic gaps such as the shortage of industry-ready climate talent, limited early-stage validation for founders and weak linkages between innovators, capital providers and real-world pilots.
Programmes and Impact to Date
According to the Bengaluru-based non-profit, its flagship Climate Ninja programme has trained more than 400 climate professionals. In parallel, its early-stage incubation initiatives have deployed about ₹1 crore in grants to support emerging climate ventures. SusMafia said it currently works with a network of over 80 climate entrepreneurs operating across multiple sustainability-focused sectors.
Zerodha’s Perspective
Commenting on the grant, Nithin Kamath, chief executive officer of Zerodha, said that strong climate outcomes depend on founders and practitioners receiving the right support early in their journey. He added that ecosystem-level capacity building is critical to creating long-term climate impact.
Next Phase of Growth
Looking ahead, SusMafia plans to train more than 300 additional Climate Ninjas, support over 20 early-stage climate startups and convene regional and national ecosystem events such as SusCrunch to bring together stakeholders from across the sustainability landscape.
The grant marks a significant expansion of SusMafia’s efforts to strengthen India’s climate innovation and talent ecosystem through structured, early-stage support.
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