Focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, the Mittal Institute’s annual Seed for Change (SFC) competition awards funding to bold, creative ideas developed by Harvard students with the potential to drive meaningful impact in India. Meet this year’s three grand prize winners.
2026 Seed for Change Winners
Seed to Scale: Decentralized Agroforestry Processing to Unlock Himalayan Smallholder Value Chains
Reyan Eda Upadhyaya, Master’s in Business Administration ’27, Harvard Business School
Project Proposal: Eastern Himalayan agroforestry systems are climate-resilient but economically underutilized, with up to 40% of fruit lost due to weak post-harvest infrastructure. As global demand grows for traceable, climate-smart ingredients, this is a critical window to connect smallholders to higher-value markets. This project pilots decentralized processing to convert underutilized tree crops into export-ready products, increasing incomes without expanding land use.
Turning Risk Hours into Growth Hours Through Safe After-School Spaces for Migrant Children
Piyush Borse, Master’s in Education ’26, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Project Proposal: Children in low-income Indian communities spend nearly 80% of their waking hours outside school, often in overcrowded homes and neighborhoods marked by violence and limited safe spaces. We are transforming these risk hours into structured, affordable after-school environments through sports, building physical health, psychological maturity, emotional regulation, and character among youth while strengthening community support systems.
ExploreYou
Vinay Shukla, Master’s in Public Administration ’26, Harvard Kennedy School
Project Proposal: ExploreYou will tackle India’s student mental health and employability crisis by replacing blind career guessing and exposure gaps with experiential “test-drives.” Our low-bandwidth simulations will allow students to experience different professions and their realities before making high-stakes choices.