ANDE: Can you introduce yourself and your organization?
Sujata Rathi: I’m Sujata Rathi, a Director in FSG’s Mumbai office. FSG is a global nonprofit consulting firm that partners with foundations, businesses, and nonprofits to advance more equitable systems change.

ANDE: How do you see the current state of green entrepreneurship and where are the biggest constraints for green SGBs?
Sujata Rathi: There’s growing interest in small and growing businesses (SGBs) addressing environmental challenges through innovations in energy, circularity, agriculture, and water. But green SGBs face distinct barriers to growth.

Many start as informal enterprises and scale into complexity quickly, often without strong systems for financial management, compliance, or strategic planning. They need targeted support to strengthen business models and build operating capacity, yet most incubators and accelerators aren’t designed around their specific needs.

Access to finance is another major constraint. Green SGBs often rely on emerging technologies or business models whose viability isn’t fully proven, which can make lenders cautious. Many are stuck in the “missing middle”: needing amounts too large for microfinance, but too small, or perceived too risky, for commercial banks. Even when “green finance” is available, it often favors mitigation and more mature sectors such as renewable energy and infrastructure, leaving early-stage and adaptation-oriented ventures behind.

Beyond capital, green SGBs frequently lack support systems. Peer networks, partnerships, and forums that elevate the sector’s relevance to funders and policymakers can be as important as financing.

ANDE: Where does the Climate & Environment Learning Lab fit into that picture?
Sujata Rathi: The ANDE Climate & Environment (C&E) Learning Lab is a strong example of the kind of support system green SGBs need. Capacity building through training and practical tools can help founders strengthen core skills and decision-making.

Just as importantly, learning forums create space for SGBs to learn from each other and build networks and partnerships they can carry beyond the sessions. The program also brings a more holistic ecosystem lens by increasing awareness and engagement across stakeholders, such as philanthropy, investors, and policymakers, which is essential for creating an enabling environment for green SGBs.

ANDE: What programs is FSG running to support entrepreneurship, and how can others collaborate with you?
Sujata Rathi: FSG supports entrepreneurship by working across the ecosystem to help scale market-based solutions to social and environmental challenges. Our work combines direct support to SGBs, such as hands-on guidance to strengthen business models, with efforts to reduce ecosystem barriers through learning, dissemination, and advocacy.

We partner with philanthropy, incubators, and accelerators focused on green entrepreneurship to refine their strategies and better respond to founders’ needs. That includes engaging directly with entrepreneurs to understand constraints, testing approaches with them to ensure fit, and using ongoing learning and evaluation to improve program effectiveness.

We also help strengthen collaboration across the ecosystem. In Bengaluru, for example, we supported the launch of Saamuhika Shakti, a collective focused on improving the lives of waste pickers. Through convenings and workshops on topics such as circularity and just transitions, we create platforms for SGBs across the value chain, philanthropy, and support organizations to co-develop and implement solutions, and share lessons through field-facing knowledge products.

ANDE: What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs building environmentally conscious businesses?
Sujata Rathi:

• Focus on sectors with both impact and demand. Target areas where environmental outcomes and market pull align, and where customers can pay. 
• Design around real customer needs. Use structured feedback loops and refine the offering continuously; human-centered design can help when you’re still learning the problem space. 
• Build with a systems lens. Map suppliers, distribution channels, partners, and constraints so your model can scale within the broader ecosystem. 
• Measure impact and translate it into business value. Environmental outcomes matter, but so do the business gains from sustainability, such as cost savings from resource efficiency or reduced risk. 
• Invest in relationships. Strong networks with peer SGBs and ecosystem actors accelerate learning, unlock partnerships, and support growth over time.