NIFT Foundation for Design Innovation (NFDI)

Choose your route

• Only an idea, no company yet: apply for pre-incubation (Precube). It runs for three months in workshop mode.
• Registered private limited company: apply for incubation. It lasts 24 months and can be extended by 12.
• Earning revenue and ready to scale: ask about the six-month acceleration programme.
• Pick your incubator by product: Home and Spaces (Delhi), Apparel for Athleisure and Activewear (Chennai), Fashion and Lifestyle Accessories (Mumbai), or Smart Wearable Systems (Mumbai).

How applications work

• Register on the NFDI website and fill in the application form. There is no application fee.
• The chief operating officer of your incubator talks through your idea and helps you build a Business Model Canvas, which your pitch deck is based on.
• You present to the NFDI Selection and Monitoring Committee, which decides on admission.
• NFDI says you can apply round the year, but NFDI also issues numbered cohort notices, so check the site for the current one.

What to prepare

• A clear pitch covering your startup, growth plan, business model and why you want to join.
• A private limited company registered in India if you want full incubation. NFDI will not take a proprietorship.
• Your DPIIT recognition number if you have one, since the policy prefers recognised startups.
• A product that fits fashion, textiles, accessories or wearables. The committee weighs the team, how new the idea is and how far it can scale.

Before you sign

• Equity: NFDI takes a small stake, and its policy states more than one version of it. Ask for the exact terms.
• Service charges: services are paid, so ask for the current list of charges.
• Seed funding: you must be a private limited company that has been incubated for at least six months.
• Questions: write to incubation@nfdi.in.

NIFT Foundation for Design Innovation (NFDI) is the startup incubator of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, under the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. It is a Section 8 company with its office on the NIFT campus at Hauz Khas, New Delhi, and incubators on NIFT campuses in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. It backs founders in fashion, textiles and design-led products, and it says it is open to external startups as well as NIFT students, alumni and faculty.

The four incubators

NFDI runs four incubators, each in a different part of the fashion and design economy. Home and Spaces, at NIFT Delhi, covers new product development in textiles for apparel, home and spaces, including new textile materials and technology, plus brand building. Apparel for Athleisure and Activewear, at NIFT Chennai, works on performance and lifestyle clothing, including stitch-less and hybrid joining of fabrics. Fashion and Lifestyle Accessories, at NIFT Mumbai in Kharghar, helps turn product ideas into prototypes and samples. Smart Wearable Systems, also at NIFT Mumbai, covers textiles with sensors, smart materials and connectivity for health, fitness and fashion. You apply to NFDI once and your idea is routed to the incubator that fits it.

How the programmes work

There are three stages. Pre-incubation, also called Precube, is for teams or individuals with an idea who are not yet a registered company. It runs in workshop mode for three months, online, offline or hybrid at any NIFT campus, and covers customer validation, market mapping, the Business Model Canvas and building a pitch. Incubation is for registered companies that will work from the centre in person or in hybrid mode. It lasts 24 months to begin with and can be extended by another 12 months at NFDI's discretion. Acceleration is a six-month programme for startups that already earn revenue or want to scale, with mentoring in design, business and technology and introductions to angels and venture capital.

Incubated startups can get technology mentorship from NFDI and NIFT experts, a co-working facility on the NFDI campus, access to the design innovation lab and research labs, student interns, help with marketing, and business mentor and investor connects. Startups pay an incubation service charge for services. NFDI also says it offers seed funding support, but it does not give loans.

Equity and cost

NFDI takes a small equity stake. Its 2021 incubation policy sets the stake for incubation at 2 to 2.5% for NFDI on a non-diluting basis, and elsewhere says NIFT also takes a share, with the combined total capped at 9.5%. The policy pages give these two versions, so ask NFDI which applies to you before you sign. Applying costs nothing.

Who can apply

NFDI says there is no age limit above 18 and that students may start a company alongside their studies. For incubation the startup must have a private limited company registered in India at the time of incubation. Proprietorships are not allowed, and limited liability partnerships may be considered at NFDI's discretion. NFDI says it is recognised by DPIIT. For seed funding, the startup must be a private limited company that has been incubated at NFDI for at least six months. NIFT students get a discount on service charges for samples made for academic purposes.

How selection works

You apply online at the NFDI website. The application is screened, then you present to the NFDI Evaluation Committee with details of your startup, a growth plan and your business model. The committee decides on admission. Its policy says it weighs the background of the team, how new the idea is, and how far it can scale. NFDI says you can apply round the year, and NFDI also publishes numbered cohort notices. The result of its 6th cohort shortlist was announced on 28 September 2026.

Location and contact

The NFDI office is at the NIFT campus, Hauz Khas, Near Gulmohar Park, New Delhi 110016, open Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. The Mumbai incubators are at the NIFT campus in Sector 4, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, and the Chennai incubator is at the NIFT campus in Taramani. For incubation enquiries write to incubation@nfdi.in. The NFDI site also posts tenders and recruitment notices, including a current call for a chief executive.