Product innovation in India gets a boost this summer with the ASME Innovation Showcase (IShow) – a global competition for hardware led social innovations.
iShow is in its 8th annual edition, and comes to India for the first time, with Villgro as the India implementation partner. What sets this event apart from many others is its focus on product-based innovations that have social impact. This, in particular, excites us at Villgro given our own longstanding work with invention-based social enterprises, supported by the Lemelson Foundation as well as on other kinds of product innovations.
Several of our past incubatees have developed products in sectors like health, agriculture, energy; products that they have successfully taken to market and that have created tangible social impact – Biosense Technologies, Uniphore, Promethean Power and Skymet, to name a few. And we continue to work with companies that are working on ideas or prototypes or products that are in the market or that they are seeking to bring to market soon – such as VectorDoc, Bempu, Windmill Health, Onebreath, SkillTrain, Flybird Innovations, KamalKisan, SustainEarth.
By working with ASME to support iShow in India – through reviewing applications, evaluating enterprises, conducting mentoring and other workshops and possibly including a couple of the finalists in our incubation portfolio – we are hoping to bring greater focus to impact and innovation and also offer social enterprises in India, including those in our portfolio, greater access to funding, mentoring, technical support, networks and more.
Applications now open
Applications to the ASME iShow are open to individuals and organisations taking physical products to market that will have a social impact. Applicants should have an existing prototype and be interested in receiving financing, technical support and access to industry networks to assist in taking their product to market.
The 30 finalists will be competing globally in showcases held in India, USA and Kenya in April, May and June, respectively. The ASME IShow provides the full experience of product development and commercialisation to innovators, bridging the gap between engineering knowledge and practical business skills.
Participants will receive feedback on their idea, access to industry best practice and contact with a global community of engineering experts. 30 finalists will pitch to the judges in person - receiving product exposure, advice and technical insights and 9 innovators will win a share of $500,000 (Rs 3.1 crore) in prizes - including an extensive design and engineering review by a panel of experts.
Of the finalists selected for the India showcase, Villgro is also on the lookout for exciting enterprises that we can support through our incubation programme.
Important dates:
Mar 15: Applications close
April 1: Social voting
April 20: Finalists announced
April 20: India showcase
May 14: US showcase
June 24: Kenya showcase
For more information and to apply, visit: www.thisishardware.org
To know more about Villgro’s incubation programme, visit www.http://183.82.33.232:8095/villgro2020/incubation