Application Terms

These terms are between Iqwat Foundation(“Iqwat”, “we”) and the individual submitting the application on behalf of a startup (“you”, “the applicant”).

By ticking the acceptance checkbox on the application form, you confirm that you have read these terms, that you have the authority to submit this application on behalf of the startup, and that the co-founders (if any) know you are doing so.

To be eligible, the startup must satisfy all four of the following at the time of application:

• At least one Kashmiri Pandit co-founder, or two or more Kashmiri Pandit co-founders together, hold 33% or more of the equity in the company.
• The company is formally registered. The Registrar of Companies in India, or the equivalent registrar in the country the company is incorporated in (for example Companies House in the United Kingdom, the Delaware Secretary of State in the United States, DED in the UAE, ACRA in Singapore, ASIC in Australia). A registration number and the registering authority are declared on the form. DPIIT recognition is no longer required; it is one of the documents an Indian startup may optionally share.
• The startup has something built · a working product, a first customer or user, first revenue, or a first paying pilot. Pre-revenue is fine so long as something is working.
• At least one Kashmiri Pandit founder can attend IGBC 2.0 in person, in Mumbai, on 31 October 2026, at their own cost, and will be on stage during the pitch.

We ask you to declare eligibility on the form. We do not ask every applicant to upload documents. That request goes only to the shortlisted finalists (see § 6). If the declarations turn out to be materially untrue, we may disqualify at any stage including after shortlisting.

Applications close on 14 October 2026 at 23:59 IST. Submissions received after this deadline will be politely refused.

You may update your application by re-submitting the form with the same email address before the deadline. Your latest submission replaces the previous one. Any review already made on the earlier version is preserved · a reviewer sees on the admin surface that the text changed after they read it, so they can re-read before finalising.

We will review every application on eligibility. A jury convened by Iqwat will then read the applications that pass eligibility and select five finalists.

Iqwat’s decision on shortlisting is final.There is no appeal or grievance process. We do not owe an explanation for the outcome, though we may share one at our discretion.

Finalists will be informed by 12 October 2026. If you have not heard from us by then, please assume this edition did not work out. We hope to see you at IGBC 2.0 regardless, and encourage you to apply again in future editions.

The grant pool amount will be announced on 12 October 2026, at the same time as the finalists are named. The pool will be divided between the shortlisted finalists in a manner that Iqwat will disclose at the same time.

The grant is contingent on documentary proof of eligibility.Finalists will be asked, on or after 12 October, to produce:

• A copy of the current cap table showing the Kashmiri Pandit founder(s)’ equity holding.
• Incorporation / registration papers issued by the registering authority declared on the form (Certificate of Incorporation from the ROC in India, Certificate of Incorporation from Companies House in the UK, Delaware Certificate of Incorporation, DED trade licence, etc.).
• DPIIT recognition certificate, if the startup is Indian and has one. Optional.
• Any further supporting documents Iqwat may reasonably request.

If the documents do not substantiate the declarations made in the application, the finalist forfeits the grant for that edition, and Iqwat may re-allocate that share of the pool to the next eligible startup in the queue. The disqualified finalist may still be invited to attend the conclave, at Iqwat’s discretion, without prejudice.

Applying to the challenge does not obligate Iqwat to award any grant to you. The obligation arises only upon Iqwat and the finalist executing the separate Finalist Agreement described in § 14.

A shortlisted startup’s pitch is presented from the IGBC 2.0 stage on 31 October 2026. Only a Kashmiri Pandit co-founder may present. If a non-KP co-founder is presenting on behalf of the startup (for example, because they are the CEO or the strongest speaker), a Kashmiri Pandit co-founder must still be on stage alongside them for the duration of the pitch.

All travel, accommodation and incidentals related to attending IGBC 2.0 are at the finalist’s own cost.

Your application is read by the Iqwat team and the jury for the purpose of running this challenge. We store the application record indefinitely for our own records and to inform future editions. We do not sell it to anyone or use it for advertising.

We may reach out to you (by email, phone or WhatsApp) about this challenge, future editions of the challenge, and related Iqwat programmes. You can ask us to stop at any time by writing to conclave@iqwat.com.

By applying, you grant Iqwat permission to feature your startup’s name, one-liner, sector, logo, founder photo, and public deck material on iqwat.com and in IGBC 2.0 communications (including social posts, emails and the printed programme). This permission is not contingent on being shortlisted. You can revoke it for future use at any time by writing to conclave@iqwat.com; already-published material may take a reasonable time to come down.

We will not publish confidential material · your customer names, revenue figures, or anything you have marked as confidential in the application · without explicit permission.

The jury and the Iqwat team will handle your application with care. The jury sees revenue, customer names, strategy and other sensitive material. We ask the jury to treat this material as confidential. We cannot guarantee individual jury members’ behaviour beyond that reasonable expectation.

We do not share raw applications with parties outside the jury and the Iqwat team without your permission.

You retain all intellectual property in your startup, your product, your ideas, your code, your writing, your branding, and any material you share in the application. Iqwat claims no rights over any of it. Nothing in these terms transfers ownership.

You may withdraw your application at any time before 10 October 2026 by writing to conclave@iqwat.com from the email address you applied with.

Iqwat may disqualify an application at any stage · including after shortlisting · for material misrepresentation, breach of these terms, or conduct that Iqwat reasonably determines is incompatible with the values of the Foundation and the community it serves.

These are application terms. Iqwat’s obligations under them are limited to running the application and selection process fairly, honestly, and in the timeline stated. Iqwat is not liable for the applicant’s decisions, expenses, travel, tax implications, or business outcomes arising from applying or being shortlisted.

Broader liability, indemnity, and grant-related obligations are addressed in the Finalist Agreement (§ 14).

If you are shortlisted, we will share a Finalist Agreement drafted with legal counsel. It covers grant disbursement, document verification, stage obligations, IP, confidentiality, liability, jurisdiction and indemnity in full. Both parties (Iqwat and the shortlisted startup) will sign it before the grant is paid and before the founder walks on the IGBC 2.0 stage.

These application terms are superseded by the Finalist Agreement to the extent of any conflict, once the Finalist Agreement is executed.

We may amend these Application Terms before the deadline for clarity or to fix errors. If a change materially affects an applicant’s obligations, we will notify affected applicants by email at the address they applied with. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the latest version.

These terms are governed by the laws of India, with jurisdiction of the courts of Mumbai. Any question about the application, these terms, or the challenge itself · write toconclave@iqwat.com. We read every message.