Experts at Sustainability Summit Call for Early-Stage Support to Boost Green Start-ups

New and green start-ups need proper help right from the starting idea stage so they can turn fresh concepts into actual working technologies. This key point came up at The Hindu Sustainability Summit 2026 held in Chennai on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.

Expert Views and Challenges

Indumathi M. Nambi from the Environment and Water Resources Division at IIT Madras pointed out that student start-ups often miss out on early incubator support. She stated that pre-incubators are necessary to help students build and test their ideas, noting that building trust in new tech is a bigger roadblock than getting funds. She suggested adding a doctoral programme in entrepreneurship for better mentorship and commercial growth. Pravin Dongre, Executive Director at Indian Oil Corporation Limited, shared that IOCL has funded green energy and water start-ups for periods of 18 to 36 months, leading to commercial projects like eco toilets and nano fillers for oil pipelines. Karthika Gopi, Founder and CEO of Carbelim, added that net-zero goals need many solutions together, while real-world testing, protecting intellectual property, and scaling up remain difficult hurdles.

Action Steps

Speakers at the event called for stronger teamwork between industries, schools, and start-ups, along with teaching entrepreneurship starting from the school level.