Bengaluru: Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026 has announced five winning climate-tech startups that will each receive ₹25 lakh to pilot their innovations across the city.
The initiative is led by UnboxingBLR in partnership with Social Alpha and WTFund, with support from the Government of Karnataka and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
Bengaluru: A Living Lab for Climate Innovation
Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026 aims to transform Bengaluru into a real-world sandbox for testing climate solutions on actual streets, buildings, and communities.
The programme enables startups to pilot deployable innovations before scaling them across other Indian cities.
The five winners were selected from nearly 600 registrations across India, positioning Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026 as one of the country’s most competitive climate innovation programmes.
Over the next six months, the selected startups will pilot solutions addressing critical urban challenges across construction, water, and waste – key pillars of Bengaluru’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP).
Prashanth Prakash, Chairman and Co-founder of UnboxingBLR, said that the challenge demonstrates how collaboration between entrepreneurs, government, and industry can convert pilots into solutions that reshape how the city is built and sustained.
Also Read: Ashok Leyland Greenfield Factory Launched in Lucknow to Drive Clean Mobility
Consortium and Partners Supporting Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026
The challenge is backed by a strong ecosystem of partners committed to systemic climate action.
Challenge Partners
- Bangalore International Airport Limited
- Brigade Group
Program Partners
- Bangalore Climate Action Cell (Climate Action Partner)
- WRI India (Knowledge Partner)
- Brigade REAP
- CoEvolve Estates (Pilot Partner)
- Biome Environmental Solutions (Pilot Partner)
- GoodEarth (Pilot Partner)
Why Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026 Matters
Bengaluru has lost 93% of its lakes and green cover due to urban expansion, while construction activity has grown by over 1,000% in the past two decades.
These trends have intensified water shortages, heat stress, air pollution, and waste management challenges, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities.
Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026 addresses this gap by moving climate innovation from laboratories into neighbourhoods, supported by government bodies, industry leaders, and investors.
Manoj Kumar, Founder of Social Alpha, noted that the diversity of selected innovators – from sustainable construction to circular materials—reflects the complexity of urban climate challenges and the importance of piloting solutions to enable scale.
The Five Winners of Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026
- Carbon Craft Design
- Category: Sustainable Construction
- Founder: Tejas Sidnal
- Carbon Craft Design develops low-carbon blocks and panels using industrial waste and recovered carbon, offering alternatives to conventional construction materials.
- SatiQ Concrete Manufacturer
- Category: Low-Carbon Concrete
- Founders: Shantanu Bhattacherjee, Smrati Jain
- SatiQ creates next-generation cement binders that significantly reduce the carbon footprint of concrete used in urban infrastructure.
- Tellus Habitat
- Category: Water & Sanitation
- Founders: Dr Seema Sukhani, Naveen Janardhana
- Tellus Habitat’s R3H2O system treats sewage locally using bio-filters, enabling wastewater reuse and reducing pressure on the city’s sewage network.
- Go Do Good
- Category: Plastic-Free Packaging
- Founders: Khushboo Gandhi, Chanakya Medh, Ronak Gandhi
- Go Do Good offers plant-based coatings and inks that replace plastic layers in food packaging, reducing plastic waste while maintaining food safety.
- Sunbird Straws
- Category: Circular Biomaterials
- Founders: Chirag M G, Saji Varghese
- Sunbird Straws produces compostable straws from fallen coconut leaves, combining biodegradable materials with livelihood creation for rural women.
Also Read: BYT Capital Rolls Out INR 180 Crore Category II AIF for Lab-to-Market Deep-Tech Ventures
A Blueprint for Climate-Resilient Indian Cities
As Indian cities confront heatwaves, floods, water scarcity, and waste crises, Namma Bengaluru Challenge 2026 presents a model where governments, corporates, and climate entrepreneurs collaborate from pilot to policy to scale.
Leaders from Brigade Group, UnboxingBLR, and Bangalore International Airport Limited highlighted the role of evidence-based pilots, city-level adoption, and collaboration in accelerating urban climate action.
UnboxingBLR is a Bengaluru-focused collaborative platform founded in 2023 by Prashanth Prakash and Malini Goyal.
The platform brings together communities and institutions to co-create the city’s narrative through initiatives such as the Namma Bengaluru Challenge, BLR Hubba, the We Are City Data Report, and the Code to Culture podcast.
