How to Apply for Schaeffler Social Innovator Fellowship 2026 — ₹2L Grant, 8-Month Cohort

Applications pass through a rigorous and transparent multi-stage evaluation before a cohort is finalised.

Applications are gathered through a national call, with outreach to incubators, universities, NGOs and ecosystem partners, and are submitted online through the India Accelerator platform.

• Application screening: the first pass verifies that an application is eligible and fits the fellowship's vision and objectives.
• Multi-stage evaluation: shortlisted ventures are reviewed in detail against a framework covering how significant the problem being solved is, how innovative and unique the solution is, demonstrated product-market fit, and overall market readiness.
• Deeper assessment: the review also weighs the go-to-market strategy, the capability and commitment of the founding team, existing traction and validation, scalability potential, and the measurable social impact expected.
• Expert jury: finalists present their solutions to a jury, which is the closing stage of assessment.
• Selection of the top 10 fellows: the jury process results in 10 social innovators joining the cohort.
• Demo Day: a presentation opportunity for the selected fellows that typically signals the start of the intensive part of the journey.

The programme itself runs in three phases: outreach and selection, the fellowship journey, and post-fellowship engagement.