Schaeffler India Limited, a leading motion technology company, has announced the launch of the Schaeffler India Social Innovation Fellowship 2026–27, a flagship initiative designed to recognise and empower innovators developing sustainable solutions to address India’s pressing social and environmental challenges.
Now in its fifth edition, the fellowship underscores Schaeffler India’s continued commitment to fostering inclusive growth through innovation, technology and purpose-driven entrepreneurship. The programme aims to support individuals and innovators whose ideas have the potential to create measurable social impact while contributing to long-term sustainable development.
Through the fellowship, Schaeffler India seeks to nurture breakthrough solutions that address critical issues across communities, encouraging innovation that can improve lives, strengthen resilience and promote environmental sustainability.
The Schaeffler India Social Innovation Fellowship 2026–27 reaffirms the company’s long-term vision of leveraging technology and innovation as catalysts for positive societal transformation while enabling changemakers to scale impactful solutions across India.
The fellowship is designed to identify, support and accelerate 10 high-potential social innovators from across India, with a deliberate focus on entrepreneurs from Tier II, Tier III and rural geographies. Through financial grant, structured mentorship, industry exposure and access to leading innovation ecosystems, the program enables innovators to strengthen and scale solutions addressing some of India’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. The 24-week cohort program delivered by IIMA Ventures at IIM Ahmedabad, equips fellows with business, impact and investor readiness capabilities.
“At Schaeffler, we believe that technology and innovation have the power to create meaningful social change. The Schaeffler India Social Innovator Fellowship is more than a fellowship; it is a platform that nurtures purpose-driven innovators, enabling them to transform bold ideas into scalable solutions that address some of India’s most pressing development challenges,” said Mr. Harsha Kadam, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Schaeffler India Limited.
Since its inception in 2021, the fellowship has supported over 41 early-stage social innovators across India, helping them strengthen their ventures through financial assistance, mentorship and access to industry networks. Several fellows have gone on to receive national recognition, attract investments and successfully scale their innovations.
Applications for the 2026–27 cohort are open from July 15, 2026, and close on August 31, 2026 to individual innovators, startups and organisations (for-profit and non-profit) between 18 and 35 years of age who have developed functional prototypes and are working to solve critical development challenges across healthcare, agriculture, education, sanitation & WASH, clean energy, livelihoods, manufacturing safety, mobility, environment and sustainability.
Selected startups will receive mentorship, learning opportunities with IIMA Ventures, ecosystem access, along with fellowship grants of Rs 2 Lakhs each, structured networking opportunities and post-program impact tracking to support the growth and scale of their innovations.
The selection process includes application screening, document verification, multi-stage evaluation, interactions with subject matter experts, and a final jury presentation before industry leaders.
The Schaeffler India Social Innovator Fellowship Program 2026 is implemented by IHFC (I-Hub Foundation for Cobotics), in partnership with India Accelerator serving as the program management and evaluation partner, and IIMA Ventures delivering the cohort-based mentorship and venture development program.
To apply, visit: https://indiaaccelerator.co/schaeffler-social-innovator-fellowship
