Agropak Wins ₹31.4 Lakh Big Pi Grant at SusCrunch 2026 for Climate Innovation

New Delhi, July 21, 2026: Agropak, a biotech startup developing natural fibre-based packaging solutions for the beauty and personal care industry, has won the ₹31.4 lakh Big Pi Grant at SusCrunch 2026, receiving what organisers describe as India's largest non-dilutive grant for early-stage climate startups.

Presented by The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia) during the third edition of SusCrunch, the grant is intended to help climate startups accelerate innovation, commercial validation and market adoption without diluting founder equity. In addition to the grant, Agropak will receive mentorship, strategic guidance, access to incubators and government programmes, and continued support through SusMafia's investor and fellowship network.

The event also brought together investors including Zerodha and 3one4 Capital, along with corporates such as Reliance, Biocon, Zomato and Apollo Hospitals, highlighting growing interest in climate-focused innovation.

The Big Pi Grant, jointly supported by SusMafia and the BITS Pilani PIEDS Accelerator, attracted more than 50 applications from startups across the BITS Pilani, IIT and wider startup ecosystem. Five startups working in areas including water and waste management, climate intelligence, sustainable materials and the built environment were shortlisted after multiple rounds of evaluation based on innovation, climate impact, scalability and founder-market fit.

According to SusMafia, previous recipients have used the grant to strengthen their businesses. BioCompute, the 2024 winner, has since established laboratory infrastructure, expanded internationally and raised over ₹5 crore in funding, while Bisket Labs, the 2025 recipient, secured the Karnataka Government's ELEVATE Grant.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Ganesh Shankar, Co-founder of The Sustainability Mafia and Founder of FluxGen, said, "Every founder needs access to business, capital and talent. No founder can build all three alone."

Founded as a founder-led climate community, The Sustainability Mafia now comprises 84 climate founders and more than 700 Climate Ninjas. The organisation states that startups within its network have collectively raised over US$350 million, employ more than 3,000 people, generate ₹2,100 crore in annual revenue, divert over 363,000 tonnes of waste from landfills and mitigate around 1.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually.

The initiative aims to strengthen India's climate innovation ecosystem by supporting early-stage entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship and ecosystem partnerships to help scale climate solutions.