Startup Affiliation Programme
A programme by CII Centre of Excellence
A paid annual affiliation that gives Indian startups an official CII CIES certificate and badge, a public profile and access to the CII CIES network.
At a glance
| Best for | Indian startups operating for two years or more, in any sector, that want a recognised credential and access to the CII CIES network |
|---|---|
| Stage | Early revenue – Growth |
| Duration | Certificate valid for 24 months |
| Cost | Paid |
About Startup Affiliation Programme
The Startup Affiliation Programme is CII CIES's gateway for Indian startups. It is a certification and network, not an incubation or funding programme, and access to individual programmes is still subject to each programme's own eligibility. CII CIES's home page groups it with its market-access programmes, but its own affiliation page describes a certificate and network, so do not expect a corporate pilot from it by default.
What you get
- An official CII CIES affiliation certificate and a digital badge, valid for 24 months
- A public profile on the CII CIES platform
- Networking, masterclasses and policy consultations
Who can apply
- Operating for at least 2 years
- Registered and incorporated in India
- A dedicated founding team able to execute and scale
- Demonstrated innovation, a unique value proposition or a clear competitive advantage
- A commercially available product or service with customer adoption or market validation
- Open to all sectors
How selection works: An expert panel reviews the application. Only startups the panel recommends pay the annual affiliation fee, which depends on the startup's annual revenue.
How to apply: Submit the online application on the CII CIES startup affiliation portal with company details, revenue documentation and team information. The stated timeline is 30 days from the date of application. 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.
- Corporate Innovation ProgramA thirty-two-week programme in which growth-stage startups work with large companies to co-create solutions to specific domain problems.
- 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.