Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (“KMBL” / “Kotak”) today announced Season 3 of the Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Programme, its flagship CSR initiative for early-revenue-stage startups. The third edition (August 2027 to October 2027) is designed to provide support to 100+ startups across India through mentorship, ecosystem access and catalytic funding, according to a press release.
The third edition brings together five incubation partners: IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, CIIE Initiatives (IIMA Ventures), NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore, T-Hub and FITT at IIT Delhi.
Since its inception, the Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Programme has received 4,500+ applications from startups across India, accelerated 125+ high-potential ventures, and awarded grants to 100+ startups, enabling founders to scale innovative and impact-driven solutions.
“The third edition takes high-calibre support to regions where entrepreneurs with promising ideas often lack access to structured ecosystem support. Our partnership with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park extends our reach across eastern and north-eastern India and connects Kotak BizLabs with a wider network of regional startup hubs. Our goal is to give every participating startup access to the mentorship, networks and funding support it needs to take its next step,” said Himanshu Nivsarkar, Head – CSR & ESG, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
The latest edition will focus on sectors like Agritech, Climate tech, Fintech, Sustainability, Healthtech, Edtech, Clean energy, Waste management and Sustainable manufacturing and have a special focus on deep-tech. Across the five incubation hubs, participating startups will receive access to mentorship, industry connections and growth support, with the respective incubators managing cohort selection and acceleration.
Ajay Jain, Chairman, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park Board, said, “IIMCIP has always prioritized impact first entrepreneurial endeavours and with that in mind, we are very pleased to partner with Kotak Mahindra Bank in enabling their CSR objectives. India has no dearth of aspiring entrepreneurs with solutions that can address our most pressing economic, environmental and social challenges – what they need is a strong ecosystem to support them. It is initiatives such as the Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Programme that play an important role in building the next generation of entrepreneurs, who in turn create livelihoods and take us closer to Viksit Bharat goals.”
The Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Programme is a CSR initiative of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited.
