Varanasi

What is on in Varanasi.

• Sat 31 Oct 6 pm eChai Startup Demo Day

Varanasi's startups, on one map.

Where founders in Varanasi build.

Questions about Varanasi.

What does the startup ecosystem in Varanasi look like?

It is a craft economy with a young startup layer on top rather than a generalist tech hub. The largest group of companies here are Banarasi silk and handloom houses that took their own weaving online, and the second is the set of agritech, foodtech and deeptech ventures incubated at IIT (BHU). Tourism, IT services and a small fintech and cleantech presence make up the rest. The companies list above shows who is building what, filterable by vertical.

What is the Banarasi silk cluster and how do startups build on it?

Banarasi silk is Varanasi's GI tagged brocade craft, woven on pit looms across Madanpura, Lallapura, Alaipura and Lohta by a weaver base numbering in the lakhs across the district and around it. It is also the state's One District One Product designation for Varanasi, which brings branding, e-commerce listing and export support plus a common facility centre for shared production and testing. Most of the D2C brands on this page are weaving families who already owned the supply chain and added an online storefront, which is why the D2C and handloom verticals overlap so heavily here.

Who are the best known companies from Varanasi?

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank is the clearest one, started in the city in 2009 as a microfinance institution and listed on the exchanges in 2023. SMV Green Solutions is the best known impact company, financing electric rickshaws for pullers on lease to own terms and holder of a 2019 Ashden Award. On the silk side, Sacred Weaves, HolyWeaves and House of Banaras are among the most recognised Banarasi brands selling worldwide.

Which incubators and coworking spaces are in Varanasi?

Almost all of the incubation sits on the BHU and IIT (BHU) campus. MCIIE is the anchor technology business incubator, running since 2008, alongside the Atal Incubation Centre at the Institute of Management BHU, BioNEST-BHU for life sciences, and the RKVY-RAFTAAR agri business incubator that runs the PRASFUTAN seed stage cohort. Coworking is small and concentrated in Sigra, and the coworking section below lists the spaces.

Are there investors and VCs in Varanasi?

None are based in the city. The research turned up no Varanasi headquartered angel network, fund or investor group, which is an honest gap rather than an oversight. Founders here fund themselves through incubator seed grants at MCIIE, the Atal Incubation Centre and RKVY-RAFTAAR, through UP's StartinUP scheme, which carries enhanced Purvanchal incentives, and through national angel networks and investors based in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Where do founders network in Varanasi?

Mostly on campus. E-Cell at IIT (BHU) is the most active body, running its annual entrepreneurship summit in early February and a Techstars Startup Weekend in September, and the campus incubators convene founders through their cohorts. Off campus, the grassroots Varanasi Startups community is the main city wide group. The communities section below lists them.

Does eChai run events in Varanasi?

No. eChai has no Varanasi chapter, and this page is a map of the ecosystem plus an open invitation to help start one. The nearest active chapter is eChai Lucknow. If you are a founder or community builder here who would like to convene the first free, open eChai meetup in Varanasi, get in touch.

Which are the top startup verticals in Varanasi?

Handloom and silk and D2C lead by a wide margin, with foodtech and agritech next, most of that second group coming out of the campus incubators. Travel, IT services, deeptech, climate tech and fintech each carry a smaller set. Use the vertical chips above to browse the companies in each.