Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) Innovation Grant

Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) offers Innovation Grants to early-stage startups and student entrepreneurs registered in Kerala. The scheme provides up to ₹7 Lakhs for prototype validation and productisation, and special grants of up to ₹10 Lakhs for women-led startups or hardware startups to validate their technologies. KSUM's Innovation Grant scheme has disbursed more than ₹25 crore to startups since inception and structures its up-to-₹15-lakh support around Team, Product Innovation, Marketing, Financials, and Grant Utilisation Plan criteria scored by an Expert Committee. Consistent with this record's milestone-based disbursal, KSUM typically releases roughly half the grant upfront and the remainder only after a progress review and utilisation certificate, and the higher special-category ceiling for women-led or hardware startups reflects KSUM's recognition that hardware validation costs more than software validation.