Corporate Innovation Program
A programme by CII Centre of Excellence
A thirty-two-week programme in which growth-stage startups work with large companies to co-create solutions to specific domain problems.
At a glance
| Best for | Growth-stage startups ready to work closely with a corporate business unit and adapt their product to it |
|---|---|
| Stage | Growth |
| Duration | 32 weeks |
About Corporate Innovation Program
The Corporate Innovation Program lets growth-stage startups collaborate with large companies and use their expertise. The focus is co-creating and solving specific domain problems with a corporate business unit, in the focus areas its corporate partners select.
What you get
- Thirty-two weeks of collaboration with a large company
- Work on a defined problem alongside a corporate business unit
Who can apply
- The same criteria as the Corporate Accelerator Program: growth stage, proven product-market fit, existing clients, measurable traction, a committed team with a full-time co-founder, and regulatory compliance
- Startups must also be ready to work closely with corporate business units and adapt their solutions to the corporate's requirements
How to apply: If you want to work with the corporate partners in one of the select focus areas, use the apply link on the programme page, which leads to the CII CIES startup affiliation portal's call for applications. Dates, fee and equity terms are not stated. Questions: info@ciicies.in.
Where to apply
Other CII Centre of Excellence programmes
- Corporate Accelerator ProgramA sixteen-week market access programme in which growth-stage startups demonstrate or pilot their innovations inside large corporates.
- Startup Affiliation ProgrammeA paid annual affiliation that gives Indian startups an official CII CIES certificate and badge, a public profile and access to the CII CIES network.
- FutureSites Innovation ProgramA call for retail-technology startups to solve defined problems with a retail business unit of an oil and gas company and pilot in real stores; the last date was 22 February 2026.
- ICONN NINJA India ProgrammeA corporate acceleration programme with JICA and Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support that links Indian startups with Japanese corporates; two cohorts have run and both are closed.
- SmartMFG Innovation ProgrammeA market access initiative to co-develop, pilot and scale manufacturing solutions with an industrial manufacturing partner; the last date was 30 June 2025.
- NextGen Procurement ProgrammeAn industry-led call for growth-stage startups to co-develop a procurement platform that helps MSMEs find and buy standard metal cutting tools; the last date was 30 April 2026.