Mission Impact
Social Innovation Challenge '25
Dive into a global platform where bold ideas meet real-world impact. Partnering with JICA, T-Hub invites social innovators to tackle pressing SDG-aligned challenges with scalable solutions.
Applications Open till October 17, 2025
Catalyze innovation in social entrepreneurship and position your startup for global growth.
About Mission Impact 2025
Mission Impact: The Social Innovation Challenge, launched in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is a high-stakes global initiative designed to ignite transformative solutions in the social impact ecosystem. This challenge empowers early-stage and growth-stage startups to showcase innovative, scalable social impact solutions addressing critical social issues.
At its core, MI ’25 fosters a dual mission:
- Innovations: Inspire and evaluate groundbreaking SDG-aligned solutions to pressing challenges.
- Network: Curate an ecosystem and network of high-potential startups, unlocking access to global ecosystem, mentorship, and market opportunities in social impact.
By participating, startups gain equity-free grants, unparalleled visibility, expert feedback, and connections to Japanese corporates, investors, and international markets via T-Bridge. Join us to not only solve societal problems but also accelerate your venture’s trajectory in a competitive, inclusive landscape.
Our Vision
T-Hub and JICA envision a world where social entrepreneurship drives inclusive, sustainable growth. Leveraging T-Hub’s proven track record, we aim to decentralize innovation across Telangana and beyond. Through a dedicated Social Impact Zone at T-Hub, we’re building capabilities for startups to become globally competitive.
This challenge is one of a kind, offering participants access to open innovation with Japanese corporates, PoC development, and structured market entry into India and Japan. It’s more than a competition, it’s a launchpad for lasting impact.
Challenge Structure
Outreach & Promotional Workshop Aug - Oct 2025
Attract a diverse pool of 2500 social impact startups and organize a grand promotional workshop for partners.
- Call for applications and invite startups submission
- Promotional workshop featuring T-Hub, JICA leaders and partner
- Select 50 shortlisted startups for bootcamp by T-Hub, corporate partner, JICA and Eexternal committee
Selection & Boot Camp Mid-Oct 2025
Selected 50 Startups would undergo bootcamp to identify top 20 finalists of the challenge.
- Assemble a judging panel
- Evaluate submissions with structured metrics
- Conduct a rapid BootCamp for feedback
- Select Afinalists
Finale & Demo Day Nov2025
Showcase top 20 startups and identify 4 grand winners of the challenge to receive grants.
- Social Impact Showcase with finalists pitching to judges
- Keynote addresses by prominent partners
- Award ceremony
- Networking interactions between finalists,judges 7 partners
Focus Sectors
Technology & Innovation
- AgriTech & Precision Agriculture
- AI-Enabled Diagnostics & Telemedicine
- EdTech & Adaptive Learning
Essential Services
- Healthcare Access & Affordability
- Water & Waste Management
- Education Inequality
Environmental Impact
- CleanTech & Energy Access
- WasteTech & Circular Economy
- Environmental Protection
Social & Economic
- Financial Inclusion
- CivicTech & GovTech
- Disaster Management
Prizes and Incentives
Grand Prize
Minimum ₹3,00,000 for each of the top 2 startups—unrestricted capital to scale your impact.
Sector Spotlight
Sector Spotlight: ₹2,00,000 each for 2 standout ventures in priority sectors.
Additional Perks
Global visibility, JICA network access, mentorship, potential PoC with Japanese corporates, and T-Bridge market expansion support.
Grand Prize
Minimum ₹3,00,000 for each of the top 2 startups—unrestricted capital to scale your impact.
Sector Spotlight
₹2,00,000 each for 2 standout ventures in priority sectors.
Additional Perks
Global visibility, JICA network access, mentorship, potential PoC with Japanese corporates, and T-Bridge market expansion support.
Prerequisites for Participants
- Early-stage or growth-stage social impact startups with SDG-aligned social impact solutions.
- Diverse teams from any geography; focus on scalability and measurable impact.
- Prepare a succinct proposal; no extensive decks required initially.
- Commitment to a condensed timeline for maximum efficiency between October-December.
Corporate Partners in Social Impact
Collaborate with industry leaders across sectors:
- Mobility: Bosch
- Climate: Mercedes-Benz
- Skill Development: HDFC Bank
- Rural Innovation: Next Bharat
- Climate, Agri: Kotak
- Finance: YES Bank
- Livelihood: United Way
- Predictive Maintenance: Hexagon
- Sustainability: Mahindra
- Agri, Fin, Health: Citibank
- Clean Energy: Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)
Program Timelines
Corporate Partners in Social Impact
Collaborate with industry leaders across sectors:
- Mobility: Bosch
- Climate: Mercedes-Benz
- Skill Development: HDFC Bank
- Rural Innovation: Next Bharat
- Climate, Agri: Kotak
- Finance: YES Bank
- Livelihood: United Way
- Predictive Maintenance: Hexagon
- Sustainability: Mahindra
- Agri, Fin, Health: Citibank
- Clean Energy: Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)
Bosch
Mercedes-Benz
HDFC Bank
Next Bharat
Kotak
YES Bank
United Way
Hexagon
Mahindra
Citibank
Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)
FAQ's
Early-stage and growth-stage social impact startups worldwide, focusing on SDG-aligned sectors. Teams must demonstrate scalability and impact potential.
Fill the application form, submit a concise proposal via our online form, addressing problem, solution, impact, and team. Attend the kickoff webinar for informed clarity.
No entry fees. The challenge is virtual, minimizing time and resource commitment. Note that the launch and demo day are in-person events at T-Hub
Winners and finalists tap into JICA's network, T-Bridge for Indo-Japan market access, and T-Hub's incubation programs, including potential funding from the Social Impact Fund.
Join us
If your startup is pioneering solutions in social impact, aligning innovation with purpose, apply now to MI ’25. Don’t just innovate; ignite lasting change.
Activation Partners
T-Hub
India's premier innovation hub, T-Hub empowers 2000+ startups with access to technology, talent, mentors, corporates, investors, and government. Since 2015, we've transformed business models and built a future-ready ecosystem in Telangana and beyond.
JICA
The Japan International Cooperation Agency drives sustainable development worldwide. Through this partnership, JICA supports India's largest social innovation incubator, fostering inclusive startups via infrastructure, funding, and bilateral bridges.
