India Accelerator announced the launch of a new vertical – Impact Labs in association with UNTILs (United Nations Technology Innovation Labs) dedicated to supporting startups focused on creating positive impact, promoting social inclusion and bringing change in the economy while operating as sustainable businesses.
IA is recognised for its long-term vision to nurture the burgeoning Indian startup ecosystem. With its recent initiative of launching an Impact-focused investment thesis, the accelerator aims to help innovators and social entrepreneurs turn their early-stage startups into sustainable and scalable ventures.
Impact Labs will provide extensive support and a strategic growth framework to propel the growth of startups with a primary focus on solutions catering to the Next Half Billion people in India who make up a majority focus of India’s socio-economic demographic segment. They aim to create an innovation ecosystem promoting resilience in Climate Action & CleanTech, Assistive Healthcare, Substitute & Alternative Materials, Social Development & Welfare, Agriculture, Land, Water & Waste, Sustainable E-commerce, Microfinance and Financial Inclusion, and DEI & Gender Tech.
Delighted with the announcement, Munish Bhatia, Co-founder of IA and managing Impact Labs said, “At IA, we are anchored towards the belief that exceptional startups lead to a better world and living. Impact Labs works in tandem with the approach of backing impactful solutions and thus, acts as a catalyst for startups that not only seek profits but also believe in the transformative power of impact.”
Elaborating on the approach of Impact Labs, Ashish Bhatia – Founder & CEO of India Accelerator said, “IA has been a versatile sparring partner for startups and with Impact Labs, we take the lead in bringing societal, environmental and economic changes. We do this by bringing in our expertise in – community building and acceleration, to help startups accelerate their impact and make their mark.”
In 2022, the social sector in India had witnessed substantial growth in financing with a 15% annual increase in total funding from $135 billion (₹11.1 lakh crore) in 2017 to $276 billion (₹22.6 lakh crore) in 2022. Impact investing market in India is projected to reach $27.1 Tn by 2030, indicating a significant interest and potential for impact-driven businesses.
Impact investments in India have shown competitive financial returns, with an average internal rate of return (IRR) of 10% since 2010, demonstrating that these investments can be financially rewarding as well as socially beneficial. Equity impact investments in India with an average holding term of around 5.2 years have produced an overall IRR of about 30% over the past 10 years while influencing more than 500 million lives nationwide (Next Half Billion). As part of its new thesis, Impact Labs becomes instrumental in solidifying the country’s leadership position in fostering a robust ecosystem for impact-driven startups.
Since the onset of 2024, Impact Labs has already closed over 20 funding deals, investing a cumulative $2.5 million capital through Impact Labs towards impact-first startups like Optimizers (Optical care), Giverly (Payments for Good), LivNSense (Green Value Chain), Dharaksha (Alternative Packaging) and Credit Siddhi (Financial Inclusion). As part of the plans, it further projects to inject $5 million through private capital and mobilize $ 5 million through CSR and government partnerships into developmental projects and innovations in healthcare, climate and assistive inclusion technology.
