From Kitchens to Communities: Powering India’s Green Movement, One Ecopreneur at a Time
India’s path to a net zero, nature positive future will be powered by thousands of ecopreneurs — entrepreneurs focused on solving sustainability challenges.
Across the country, from crowded lanes in Hubli to the forest frontiers of Madhya Pradesh, a new story is emerging: one where renewable energy, restoration, and entrepreneurship intersect. Through its commitment to sustainability, Salesforce is helping accelerate this shift by supporting ecopreneurs in their missions.
Kitchens as ‘Climate Labs‘
Consider the story of Channavva Savadatti, a 42-year-old mother of four in Hubli. When her husband could no longer work after heart surgery, Channavva turned to cooking to support her family. She began selling rotis, earning just ₹50 a day. The work was exhausting, the income meagre.
Everything changed when the Urban Community Lab, run by Junior Achievement (GAME) and the SELCO Foundation with support from Salesforce, stepped in. With access to decentralized renewable energy machines, she scaled production from 50 to more than 300 rotis a day. With the extra income, she expanded into vermicelli and chakali making through support from the government’s PMFME policy convergence initiative.
Today, Channavva is not just an entrepreneur; she is an employer, a community role model, and the financial backbone of her family. She embodies the potential of clean energy to drive resilience and dignity.
Her story is one of many. The Urban Community Lab is already reaching more than 2,000 entrepreneurs across Bangalore and Hubli-Dharwad, 60% of them women — a powerful demonstration of our commitment to equality. These are not pilot experiments; they are replicable models of what happens when renewable energy becomes a tool for entrepreneurship.
From small farms to restoration enterprises
In central India, another dimension of the ecopreneur economy is unfolding. Through the Land Accelerator India, Salesforce and WRI India are supporting restoration-focused startups across Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
Over 17 months, selected high-potential enterprises receive tailored mentorship, business training, and investment readiness support. They also gain access to industry leaders, impact investors, and media visibility. Each enterprise receives an innovation prize to fuel its journey. The goal is simple but ambitious: to unlock India’s restoration economy by turning degraded lands into opportunities for livelihoods, carbon sequestration, and climate resilience.
By equipping early-stage ecopreneurs to attract private capital and scale their models, the program is building a pipeline of businesses that can deliver both ecological and economic returns. These restoration champions are showing that conservation is not charity; it is enterprise.
The ventures span diverse sectors. Dharaa Livelihood Initiatives strengthens forest-based economies and empowers women, while Konkuwan Herbs supports small farmers through sustainable rural practices. In agriculture, AgriForetell by IgnisNova Robotics applies AI and remote sensing for data-driven decisions, and AgrowSure develops affordable, sustainable farming solutions.
In the environmental space, Avris Environment Technologies provides biogas, sewage, and wastewater systems, while Waste Management Services advances solid waste recycling. AGSO Agrosoldier and KumaonKhand AIH are pioneering models that restore ecosystems while generating livelihoods.
Together, these ventures show how restoration-focused enterprises can bridge ecology and economy, creating livelihoods while healing landscapes.
Accelerating climate tech for the global south
Another Salesforce partner, Climate Collective Foundation, is driving climate innovation through entrepreneurship across South Asia. An India-based nonprofit and part of Salesforce’s global accelerator network, the Foundation has supported over 1,100 climate tech startups through 63 accelerator programs, making it the largest non-governmental climate tech accelerator in the Global South.
To strengthen this ecosystem further, Climate Collective is developing Mosambi, an AI-powered platform designed to streamline investment in climate tech startups. The platform addresses key barriers such as fragmented information, limited engagement between investors and startups, and a lack of transparency in impact measurement. By improving access to data and investor confidence, Mosambi aims to mobilize greater capital for climate innovation and help scale solutions that address the region’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Toward an ecopreneur economy
What ties these stories is more than entrepreneurship. It is the rise of a new paradigm for green enterprise. Across India, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and investors are coming together to build sustainable growth at the intersection of people and planet. This vision is rooted in Salesforce’s 1-1-1 philanthropic model, which reflects our belief that business is the greatest platform for change.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, President and CEO, Salesforce South Asia, commented, “Salesforce is deeply committed to India’s future, where the greatest opportunity for innovation lies at the grassroots. We are empowering the nation’s ecopreneurs to build and scale climate-smart solutions into the fabric of enterprise. These initiatives help us enable communities to lead with purpose, confidence, and pride, making climate action a tangible reality.”
India’s climate challenge is vast, but the seeds of transformation are already here. Every solar-powered roti machine, every hectare of restored land, every woman who turns resilience into leadership is part of a larger story.
Naomi Morenzoni, SVP, Climate and Innovation Philanthropy said, “We are in a pivotal moment for our planet. Philanthropy must go beyond aid and become a catalytic tool for innovation, risk-taking, and scaling. By investing in ecopreneurs, we are changing the narrative. Environmental efforts become core to how businesses operate and create value in the world. ”
The ecopreneur economy is still emerging, but its trajectory is clear. When ecopreneurs rise, communities rise, and with them, the promise of a greener tomorrow.
