{"id":80561,"date":"2025-09-23T08:23:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/80561\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T08:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:23:17","slug":"how-ckinetics-supports-green-ventures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/80561\/","title":{"rendered":"How cKinetics Supports Green Ventures"},"content":{"rendered":"

A group of friends sits around a table in the Nilgiris, playing a board game<\/a> where each decision affects the fate of forests, animals, and communities. They laugh, debate, and sometimes pause, realising how fragile ecosystems truly are. This is \u2018Biomes of Nilgiris\u2019, a creation of \u2018Bluencore Games\u2019, where play becomes a pathway to empathy and awareness.<\/p>\n

Experiments like this are slowly reshaping how India thinks about sustainability. From reducing energy waste in hospitals and factories to turning board games into tools for conservation, startups like \u2018Smart Joules\u2019 and Bluencore Games embody what it takes to build with purpose. Their journeys reflect the struggle, ingenuity, and resilience needed in the sustainability space.<\/p>\n

At the centre of these stories stands \u2018cKinetics\u2019. Founded in 2010 by Upendra Bhatt and Pawan Mehra, the accelerator was envisioned not as a passive funder but as a collaborator in problem-solving. Its accelerator arm became a hands-on engine, helping fledgling companies confront regulatory hurdles, refine business models, build credibility, and access networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cStartups in renewable energy and sustainability face specific challenges when trying to secure funding,\u201d says Nikhil Agarwal, director at cKinetics. \u201cIt is not just about finding investors, it is about helping them understand long-term value, complex impact metrics, and the patient capital required for real change.\u201d<\/p>\n

As director, Nikhil often finds himself bridging technical ambition and market realities. \u201cUpendra and Pawan built cKinetics to bridge the gap between sustainability innovation and business viability,\u201d he tells The Better India. \u201cToo many founders have good ideas, but no way to frame them in a way investors understand. They need support beyond capital; they require help to navigate policies, build models, and deliver credible metrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning energy loss into opportunity<\/p>\n

The idea for Smart Joules took root in December 2014. Arjun Gupta, Sidharth Gupta, and Ujjal Majumdar came together, sharing a sense that energy efficiency was an under\u2011explored and urgent opportunity. In many industrial settings, they observed enormous waste, including electricity consumption far higher than needed, ballooning costs, and rising emissions.<\/p>\n

\"fundingThe idea for Smart Joules took root in December 2014. Photograph: (The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile renewables were getting headlines, we saw massive wasted potential in simply using energy more intelligently,\u201d says Sidharth, the co-founder of the company. The approach they adopted was modest in appearance but rigorous in execution. First, they mapped a client\u2019s electricity use over a year to establish a baseline. Then, after interventions \u2014 technical upgrades, behavioural changes, or process improvements \u2014 they tracked monthly consumption.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reductions are tangible; factories that once consumed 1,000 units of electricity<\/a> each month often see their usage drop to just 700 units after we step in,\u201d Sidharth explains.<\/p>\n

To date, the team at Smart Joules has cumulatively helped abate around 170,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, with annual reductions ranging from 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes. For many of their clients, these savings translate into reduced energy bills, improved operational efficiency, and a lighter environmental footprint.<\/p>\n

Yet even with such tangible impact, convincing early investors was never easy. \u201cWhile solar and wind are important for our energy future, energy efficiency delivers immediate and measurable results by reducing consumption at the source,\u201d admits Sidharth. \u201cMany investors struggled to appreciate the scale of our impact or the steady returns we offer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was in this gap of understanding that the role of cKinetics became pivotal. They worked with Smart Joules to sharpen its investor pitch, tighten its financial model, and demonstrate compliance and performance in ways that built long-term trust.<\/p>\n

Where play becomes learning<\/p>\n

Some founders turn to technology or hardware, others to storytelling. Shelly Sinha chose the latter. In 2023, she founded Bluencore Games, formally incorporating in September 2024, with a mission to educate, provoke, and engage. She believes that games can be more than entertainment \u2014 they can be portals to awareness and understanding.<\/p>\n

Biomes of Nilgiris is Bluencore\u2019s flagship board game, inspired by the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. \u00a0In the game, players step into roles such as wildlife activists, forest rangers, and citizen scientists. Each decision ripples through the ecosystem, earning them \u201cecology points\u201d or triggering consequences. Real\u2011world data, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of endangered species, is woven into the gameplay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"fundingIn 2023, Shelly Sinha founded Bluencore Games, formally incorporating in September 2024, with a mission to educate, provoke, and engage. Photograph: (Instagram @blu.encore)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur game is built on real-world data, because this makes the gameplay a fun form of experiential learning<\/a>,\u201d Shelly explains. \u201cWhen players come across endangered species, they interact with the storyline and understand the conservation challenges those species face in the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

But creativity alone was not enough to open funding doors. Many funders found it difficult to pin Bluencore with traditional categories. \u201cGrantors and investors often want quantifiable and tech\u2011centric metrics, but what about behaviour change, story, awareness in the sustainability and conservation space? Those are harder to measure, yet equally important,\u201d says the founder.<\/p>\n

Once again, cKinetics supplied more than funds. Shelly remembers, \u201cThe team supported us with export compliance, international logistics, financial projection, and even legal frameworks. Those operational challenges can stall a creative idea if not addressed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The breakthrough moment came with Bluencore\u2019s debut game, first developed under the title \u2018War of Civilisations\u2019. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the game blended science fiction and fantasy to explore global themes like climate change, emerging energy technologies, and the evolution of societies. Players step into a richly imagined world where characters have superpowers shaped by the planet\u2019s shifting ecological balance.<\/p>\n

Over time, the game was rebranded as \u2018War for Atraxia\u2019, keeping its core mechanics and immersive world-building intact but strengthening its environmental themes and weaving in a deeper reflection of real-world ecological challenges.<\/p>\n

The game found a global audience through a successful international crowdfunding campaign, an impressive debut for a first-time publisher. Its mix of storytelling and sustainability resonated widely, sparking conversations in education, climate circles, and the gaming community. The venture also earned a coveted spot among less than one percent of startups awarded the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme \u2014 a major validation of both its creative and business potential.<\/p>\n

Weaving a mosaic of change<\/p>\n

Smart Joules and Bluencore are not alone. cKinetics believes sustainability is not a single path<\/a> but a mosaic of efforts \u2014 from technology innovation and financial models to behavioural change and storytelling. Among its other incubatees and ventures supported are:<\/p>\n