SmartMFG Innovation Programme
A programme by CII Centre of Excellence
A market access initiative to co-develop, pilot and scale manufacturing solutions with an industrial manufacturing partner; the last date was 30 June 2025.
At a glance
| Best for | Early or growth-stage industrial-technology startups with a deployable solution for heavy manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Stage | Early revenue – Growth |
| Cost | Free |
About SmartMFG Innovation Programme
The SmartMFG Innovation Programme was a market access initiative to find startups with solutions for manufacturing, covering safety, efficiency, sustainability and product quality. The industrial manufacturing partner is not named on the page. The call closed on 30 June 2025.
What you get
- Selected startups were considered for co-development and pilot implementation
- Participation was free
Who can apply
- Startups and technology providers in Industry 4.0, deep tech, AI, IoT, sustainability, industrial automation, non-destructive testing, inspection systems or packaging
- Early or growth-stage ventures with deployable, scalable solutions for heavy manufacturing environments
How selection works: Applications were screened for relevance, then evaluated on innovation, scalability and fit with the problem statements.
How to apply: Applications were taken through the programme's page on the CII CIES startup affiliation portal. Watch the CII CIES site for a repeat call.
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.
- Corporate Innovation ProgramA thirty-two-week programme in which growth-stage startups work with large companies to co-create solutions to specific domain problems.
- 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.
- 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.