Schaeffler Social Innovator Fellowship 2026
National fellowship supporting early-stage startups and social enterprises building scalable solutions for India's development challenges.
About the Program
The Schaeffler Social Innovator Fellowship 2026 is a national fellowship by Schaeffler in partnership with IHFC (Technology Innovation Hub, IIT Delhi), India Accelerator, IIMA Ventures, and H.O.P.E. to identify, support, and accelerate high-potential social innovators building scalable solutions for India's most pressing development challenges. The fellowship provides business acceleration, innovation support, mentorship, investor readiness, strategic partnerships, and national visibility to selected fellows.
Eligibility requirements
- Working MVP or validated solution.
- Pilot deployments or early traction.
- Early customer or beneficiary validation.
- Potential for measurable social impact and scalability.
- Committed founding team.
- Early-stage startups and social enterprises.
Offerings / Benefits
- Fellowship grant.
- Business strategy support.
- Investor readiness.
- Financial planning.
- Peer learning.
- 1:1 mentorship.
- Business acceleration.
- Corporate and investor connects.
- Innovation support.
- Technology guidance.
- Strategic partnerships.
- National visibility.
- Industry mentorship.
- Founder community access.
Sectors supported
Selection process
- Application → Evaluation → Fellowship selection → Mentorship and business acceleration → Innovation support → Strategic partnerships and investor readiness.
Related funding opportunities
Two-year incubation program supporting women-led startups with grants, mentorship, incubation, and business acceleration.
National technology translation and commercialization program supporting healthcare innovations from development to product trials, deployment, commercialization, and market adoption.
Seed funding support for technology-driven Indian startups to accelerate product development and commercialization.