Acceleration
A programme by Deshpande Startups
A sixteen-week cohort programme for early-revenue, market-ready startups, focused on growth, distribution and investment readiness.
At a glance
| Best for | Early-revenue and market-ready startups ready to scale |
|---|---|
| Stage | Early revenue – Growth |
| Duration | 16 weeks |
| Format | In person |
| Run with | I-Venture @ISB |
About Acceleration
Acceleration is a cohort-driven, high-touch programme aimed at market access and investment. It sets out to improve existing processes, build distribution channels and open new markets, with intense mentoring in whichever area is holding the startup back. Three named cohorts are shown on the site and all are closed: Agri and Food Acceleration, run with I-Venture @ISB, Elevate Women Acceleration, and We Enable Bharat Acceleration. The page still invites founders to register interest for the next one.
What you get
- Business training modules on growth and productivity
- Mentorship on promotion strategy and marketing plans
- Peer networking and partnership identification
- Sessions with investors, funding sources and financial institutions
- Market access and scale-up support, fundraising support and a startup toolkit
- Founder-focused learning labs and peer-to-peer learning
Who can apply
- Startups at early revenue with a market-ready product
How selection works: a call for applications, screening, a pitch to a jury, due diligence, then an agreement and onboarding.
How to apply: register your interest through the form on the programme page. Enquiries go to dsaccelerator@dfmail.org.
Where to apply
Other Deshpande Startups programmes
- IncubationA twelve-month, sector-agnostic programme for startups past the prototyping stage, run on the Hubballi campus.
- YUVA ValidateA free five-week hybrid programme that helps student founders test whether their startup idea is worth building.
- Grind2GrowthA six-month entrepreneurship development programme for early-stage founders from North Karnataka.
- NIDHI EIRA Department of Science and Technology fellowship that pays a monthly stipend so a technical founder can work on their venture full time. Between intakes.
- NIDHI PRAYASA prototyping grant with lab access, for turning an idea or proof of concept into a working prototype.
- MeitY GENESIS EiRMeitY Startup Hub's entrepreneur-in-residence track, with grant support and on-campus incubation for early technology innovators from smaller cities.
- MeitY GENESIS PilotEquity-based funding to run a paid pilot with a large corporate, PSU or unicorn. Between intakes.
- MeitY Matching Fund (GENESIS Investment 2.0)A one-for-one matching investment against private capital a startup has already received, plus a structured acceleration programme.
- Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)Seed funding from the national scheme, disbursed to selected startups through Deshpande Startups as an approved incubator. Between intakes.
- Bridge2Bharat HubballiA soft-landing package for growth-stage startups opening operations in Hubballi.
- Infinity Innovation LabsFour hardware labs on the Hubballi campus - mechanical, PCB assembly, 3D printing and electronics - open to startups and small manufacturers.