GIFT International Fintech Innovation Hub (IFIH)

Choosing the right programme

• Building a fintech from idea to MVP and able to relocate to GIFT City: the Residential Program.
• Women-led fintech with a working product and a raise planned within 6 to 12 months: the Women in Fintech Accelerator.
• Student or under-29 builder: the Young Builders' Program, which starts with a hackathon.
• Funded fintech from post-seed to Series D: the Always On Program.

How applications work

• Programmes open in short windows of a few weeks, so watch the site and join the waitlist where one is offered.
• Residential and Young Builders' cohorts are onsite in GIFT City, so plan for relocation.
• Questions go to the programmes inbox listed on the site.

What to prepare

• A clear problem statement tied to financial services, since the themes are specific.
• For the accelerator: a pitch, financials and proof of early traction, because it focuses on investor readiness.
• For the hackathon route: a team of up to 4 and an idea you can pitch in two days.

GIFT International Fintech Innovation Hub (IFIH) is a fintech incubator and accelerator in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It describes itself as an initiative under Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, and it runs its programmes with Plug and Play as partner. Its campus is at Tower Two, GIFT City, and its programmes are built around India's International Financial Services Centre.

How programmes work

IFIH runs four programmes, each for a different kind of founder. The Residential Program is its flagship incubation programme for early-stage fintech founders. It is equity-free and runs for six months: three months fully onsite at GIFT City, then three months of virtual support. Themes are cross-border finance, GovTech and RegTech, Web3 and blockchain infrastructure, and security, risk and compliance.

The Women in Fintech Accelerator is an 8-week investment-readiness programme for women-led fintech startups. It has an immersion in GIFT City followed by investor matchmaking, with a minimum of 6 guaranteed 1:1 investor meetings and weekly pitch sessions.

The Young Builders' Program is for students, recent graduates and young innovators. It starts with a two-day fintech ideation hackathon and then moves selected teams into a residency of about two months at GIFT City. IFIH says plainly that this one is not a startup accelerator, and that participation is free for selected candidates.

The Always On Program is a rolling programme for fintech startups from post-seed to Series D. Onboarding is quarterly, with three months of active support followed by ongoing alumni access.

Who can apply

Each programme has its own gate. The Residential Program takes idea-to-MVP fintech startups. The Women in Fintech Accelerator needs at least one woman founder in a key leadership or decision-making role, a working product with early validation, a registered company in India or overseas, and plans to raise capital within the next 6 to 12 months. The Young Builders' Program is open to people below the age of 29 who are Indian citizens or enrolled in an Indian educational institution, applying alone or in a team of up to 4 members. The Always On Program is for later-stage startups that already have funding behind them.

Facilities and support

Participants get complimentary access to the GIFT IFIH campus as a co-working base. Partner services such as banking products, admin support, legal, incorporation and HR are available at preferential rates. Founders also get mentor office hours, access to regulators and investors connected to GIFT City, and lifelong access to Plug and Play's network across 20+ countries. Selected teams in the Residential Program and the Young Builders' Program can receive milestone-linked stipend support. The top three hackathon-winning teams in the Young Builders' Program get priority entry into the IFSCA Innovation Sandbox.

Where the programmes stand now

At the time of this review, Batch 2 of the Residential Program and the Women in Fintech Accelerator had both closed applications. The Young Builders' Program ran its 2026 intake with applications closing in August 2026, and the Always On Program was taking names for a waitlist for the next batch. Check the IFIH site or write to the programmes inbox before planning around a date.

Who runs it

IFIH is part of the GIFT City ecosystem, and says Plug and Play has partnered with over 400+ of the world's largest corporations to help them discover startups. Its programme pages list banks, venture funds and fintech operators as mentors and partners.