ISB Launches Annual Startup Fellowship for Student Entrepreneurs — Startup Funding India, October 2026

Startup funding in India has a new campus-to-company pipeline. The Indian School of Business (ISB) has launched the PGP Class of 2015 Startup Fellowship, an annual fellowship that will provide early-stage financial support to student entrepreneurs through ISPROUTE, the school's pre-incubation programme.

The fellowship will be funded through the PGP Class of 2015 (Hyderabad cohort) Startup Endowment Fund, with ISB contributing additional funds to keep the support going every year. It will provide a yearly grant to an eligible student or student-led team from the ongoing Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) class to develop and advance an entrepreneurial venture.

The memorandum of understanding for the fellowship was exchanged between ISB Dean Professor Madan Pillutla and representatives of the PGP Class of 2015 Hyderabad cohort, in the presence of DNV Kumara Guru, Senior Director for Advancement, Alumni Engagement and External Relations, and Saumya Kumar, Director of ISB I-Venture. Dean Pillutla said the fellowship reflects the strength of ISB's alumni network and its commitment to nurturing future entrepreneurs.

Startup funding in India: alumni-funded fellowships are scaling

Alumni-funded startup fellowships are becoming a serious early-capital channel. They solve the classic student-founder problem: too early for angels, too cash-strapped for bootstrapping. A yearly grant routed through a structured pre-incubation programme like ISPROUTE gives founders mentoring and validation alongside money — exactly the combination that produces fundable companies.

Other B-schools and engineering colleges are likely to copy this endowment model. Student founders should watch for similar alumni funds opening at their own institutions.