Scale-Up Program
Kheyti: Building the future of Climate Conscious and Smart Farming
Taking climate resilient solutions to the next level with MIF’s Scale-Up.
July 28, 2025
As part of Scale-Up, MIF’s no-equity accelerator, industry experts provide bespoke, long-term mentorship to help startups overcome growth challenges and scale sustainably.
The Scale-Up program, Marico Innovation Foundation’s flagship no-equity accelerator, is designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential, innovative startups across the sectors of plastic waste management, clean technology, and agri-technology, addressing some of India’s most urgent challenges. Through bespoke mentorship and long-term guidance, the program helps startup founders overcome growth barriers and unlock their true potential.
As part of this personalised mentorship, MIF mentors recently visited three startups from the Scale-Up cohort—Zerocircle, PadCare Labs, and Without by Ashaya—showcasing MIF’s hands-on approach and commitment to nurturing Indian innovation.
Scale-Up offers structured, long-term engagement with startups—typically spanning 3–5 years or until they achieve the INR 100 crore annual revenue milestone. Each startup is assigned a dedicated portfolio manager who works closely with the founding team throughout their journey.
MIF carefully matches mentors and functional experts from Marico and the wider Indian industry with each startup. These mentors help founders identify strategic and operational bottlenecks, enabling them to design innovative, scalable solutions.
Through mentorship, startups gain actionable insights across key functions, including go-to-market strategy, manufacturing capacity, finance, sales, organisational culture, and leadership—all critical to achieving sustainable growth and long-term impact.
MIF mentors go beyond boardroom discussions by providing implementation support, often reviewing progress on-site, including at factories or R&D facilities. This ensures founders can effectively execute new strategies, diversify, pivot, or adapt as they scale.
The program also connects startups to MIF’s extensive network of industry leaders, funders, experts, and fellow innovators, opening doors to new opportunities and collaborations.
Additionally, MIF Mentorship Councils, comprising senior professionals and business leaders with decades of expertise, provide long-term strategic and functional guidance.
Zerocircle, a sustainability-focused startup addressing the global plastic crisis, produces biodegradable packaging from seaweed. Inducted into Scale-Up in April 2025, Zerocircle represents MIF’s push toward supporting climate-positive technologies.
During the visit, the MIF team observed Zerocircle’s production process, which spans sustainable films and coatings, and explored the company’s ongoing R&D in coating technologies.
The MIF team was impressed with the depth of experimentation and progress on the subject during its visit. The visit reflected MIF’s belief in supporting innovative material science ventures that align with India’s circular economy goals.
PadCare Labs, inducted into Scale-Up in March 2025, recycles used sanitary pads into end-use materials like plastic and cellulose pulp, driving impact in waste management and women’s hygiene.
MIF mentor Gajanan Naik and the portfolio manager recently visited PadCare’s upcoming factory site to review design layouts and operational flow.
The mentorship focused on improving factory design, safety, material movement, and integration of drying systems, ensuring operational efficiency as the company scales its production.
MIF mentor observed encouraging progress on the basic layout and machine placement at the factory. With continued guidance from MIF, PadCare is set to strengthen its manufacturing foundation and expand its circular hygiene solutions.
Without by Ashaya, part of Scale-Up since March 2024, is redefining recycling by creating the world’s first sunglasses made entirely from chip packets. The startup’s proprietary technology converts multi-layer plastic (MLP) into high-performance materials used in consumer products.
MIF recently attended the launch of Without’s 10,000 sq ft demonstration plant, “The Cradle,” which recycles unrecyclable materials such as MLP and textiles through a chemo-mechanical process. The event included plant tours, keynotes, and interactive sessions where the team shared insights on R&D, technology, and social impact.
The visit also included a museum-style exhibit on Without’s evolution, as well as a hands-on session to assemble custom sunglasses from their recycled materials. MIF continues to support Without by Ashaya in advancing R&D for PET conversion, mentoring on factory design, and refining strategic growth plans, helping the company move closer to large-scale commercialisation.
Through Scale-Up, MIF continues to strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem, providing no-equity, long-term support that enables startups to scale with purpose and impact.
By combining strategic guidance, on-ground engagement, and access to an influential network, MIF ensures that its mentored startups not only grow faster but also contribute meaningfully to solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Taking climate resilient solutions to the next level with MIF’s Scale-Up.
Over the Wall Season 12 concludes with innovative solutions from top B-schools for real-world challenges faced by startups in Scale-Up, MIF's no-equity accelerator.
As India celebrates its 76th Republic Day, Marico and Marico Innovation Foundation stand as leaders exemplifying corporate citizenship through distinguished contributions to business sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Subscribe to InnoWin, our monthly newsletter, where we blend insight with inspiration & action with aspiration.
Join our mailing list
