Bengaluru's New Hub Aims to Weave a Fragmented Social Sector

BENGALURU, India – February 16, 2026 – In a city synonymous with technological disruption, a new kind of innovation hub has opened its doors. On February 14, The/Nudge Foundation inaugurated the*spark | Pullur Centre, a sprawling 20,000-square-foot facility in Whitefield dedicated not to the next billion-dollar tech unicorn, but to fostering the next generation of social entrepreneurs poised to tackle India's most complex challenges.

The launch event drew over 150 leaders from across India's social impact landscape, including philanthropists, corporate CSR heads, funders, and the entrepreneurs themselves. The gathering underscored the centre's core purpose: to serve as a physical nexus for a sector often characterized by passionate but fragmented efforts.

A Purpose-Built Hub to Bridge a Systemic Gap

Located on the fifth floor of the "Pursuit of a Radical Rhapsody" building, the centre is the result of a powerful collaboration. It is supported by founding patrons Vijay Pullur and Nirmala Pullur—wife of the late Jay Pullur, who together founded Pramati Software—and was designed and built in partnership with the renowned developer Total Environment. The state-of-the-art facility features a 140-seat co-working space called Venture Commons and a configurable 150-person event space, the Dialogues Arena.

More than just shared office space, the centre is a direct response to a well-documented "structural gap" in India's social enterprise ecosystem. While the nation has witnessed a surge in social ventures and philanthropic capital, collaboration has remained largely episodic. Innovators often work in silos, struggling to access the right expertise, funding, and partnerships needed to scale their solutions. This fragmentation creates significant hurdles, from navigating unclear policy frameworks to attracting talent and sustainable investment.

Saurabh Nigam, Founder & CEO of ProGrowth People Solutions, highlighted the critical need for such infrastructure. "Having spent nearly two decades working in human resources, especially in the impact sector, I've seen how many strong ideas struggle to take off not because innovation is lacking, but because the basic infrastructure around them— talent, organisational design, and access to specialised support— is still evolving," he said. "Being part of a shared space like the*spark | Pullur Centre creates a much richer exchange: practitioners stay close to founders' realities, founders get earlier access to expertise, and both sides learn in the process."

The centre aims to be the antidote to this isolation, creating what The/Nudge calls an "ecosystem flywheel"—a neutral ground where ideas, capital, and talent can intersect with regularity, turning chance meetings into sustained, fruitful engagements.

The Power of Purposeful Partnerships

The creation of the*spark | Pullur Centre is a story of synergistic partnership. The vision and support from the Pullur family, deeply rooted in India's tech entrepreneurship journey, provided the foundational impetus. Vijay Pullur, CEO of WaveMaker Inc., articulated the philosophy behind their patronage.

"As a founder, I've learned that ideas do not scale because they were conceived well, but because they are refined through sustained dialogue and shared learning," Pullur stated at the launch. "the*spark | Pullur centre is meant to give social entrepreneurs that continuity of engagement, where conversations persist, relationships compound, and solutions evolve with the complexity of the problems they address."

This vision was given physical form by Total Environment, a builder known for its focus on sustainable, human-centric design. The centre eschews sterile corporate aesthetics for a biophilic layout that incorporates landscaped balconies, abundant natural light, and flexible, community-oriented workspaces. The design itself is an instrument of the mission, crafted to encourage interaction, reflection, and a sense of shared purpose.

Kamal Sagar, Founder of Total Environment, commented on this deliberate approach. "Good design is about creating spaces that work better for people - spaces that build trust, connection, and a sense of calm," he explained. "As the design partner of the*spark | Pullur Centre, that intent takes shape as a place people don't merely visit, but inhabit with purpose."

From Tech Hub to Impact Epicenter

The choice of Bengaluru as the location for this pioneering hub is significant. For decades, the city has been the engine of India's IT and startup economy, attracting global talent and capital. Now, it is solidifying its role as a crucible for social innovation. The same ecosystem that fosters tech startups—a deep talent pool, a culture of risk-taking, and access to venture capital—is increasingly being leveraged to solve problems of poverty, sustainability, and inclusion.

The*spark | Pullur Centre is positioned to accelerate this trend, acting as a vital piece of social infrastructure within the tech capital. By providing a permanent address for the social impact community, it aims to create network density, making it easier for entrepreneurs to find mentors, for funders to discover promising ventures, and for cross-sector partnerships to form organically.

The launch was attended by industry stalwarts like Prashanth Prakash, a Founding Partner at Accel India, and Maneesh Dhir, former MD of Apple India and a Board Member at The/Nudge Foundation, signaling a growing convergence between the worlds of mainstream business and social impact.

A Blueprint for a Nationwide Network

The/Nudge Foundation, which operates as The/Nudge Institute, brings a formidable track record to this new venture. Since 2015, the organization has worked to alleviate poverty by building resilient livelihoods, impacting millions of lives through partnerships with government bodies, corporations, and philanthropists. Its work spans direct interventions with ultra-poor households, incubation programs for over 150 non-profits, and high-level policy collaboration through its Indian Administrative Fellowship.

This deep expertise informs the vision for the*spark | Pullur Centre, which is explicitly conceived as the "first node in a larger, nationwide network of impact hubs." The Bengaluru facility will serve as a pilot and a learning lab, with the ultimate goal of replicating the model in other key regions across India.

If successful, this network could create a connected, catalytic infrastructure for social innovation on a national scale. It represents a long-term bet that the key to solving systemic problems lies not just in brilliant ideas, but in building enduring communities and collaborative ecosystems where those ideas can be nurtured, tested, and scaled. For the social entrepreneurs walking its naturally lit halls, the centre is more than a workspace; it is a promise of a more connected and impactful future.