India Australia RISE Accelerator for Science-based Tech-startups

RISE Accelerator is delivered through a powerful partnership between CSIRO and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

The RISE Accelerator provides support to startups, micro, and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who are working on innovative technology and are considering overseas expansion between India and Australia.

Challenge Statements

• Catalysing climate smart agriculture
  • The scale of farm operations in India and Australia differs greatly, yet both nations face similar climate variability and agricultural resilience challenges.
  • They’re seeking deployable, novel solutions for agricultural production, to support national economies, farmer livelihoods, and food security. Solutions should prioritise farmer needs and on-farm practices.
• Does your technology or solution address one or more of these challenge statements?
  • Can you optimise natural resource inputs?
    • Innovative technologies and solutions that optimise access to and use of water, drive optimal soil nutrition and health, and/or protect or restore critical natural resources.
  • Can you boost productivity and profitability?
    • Innovative technologies and solutions that promote agricultural yield, resilience, and productivity through efficient use of fertilisers, pesticides, seeds or feed.
  • Can you influence energy use and emissions?
    • Innovative technologies and solutions that optimise on-farm energy and or lower emissions.
  • Can you go beyond incremental innovation to create sustainable farming systems in the longterm?
    • Breakthrough innovations that move beyond legacy technologies and practices to cater to changing climate, population, and economic circumstances.

Benefits 

• A targeted learning curriculum
  • The learning curriculum will help you navigate early steps in a new region, validate and adapt technology and research overseas, fast-track connections to the right partners, customers and talent, and build credibility to succeed in international markets. They’ll also explore a theme-specific curriculum.
• Non-equity grants
  • You will be eligible for a non-equity grant subject to achievement of program milestones. Non-equity grants will be up to A$75,000 for Australian organisations, or INR 4.5 million for Indian organisations.
• A virtual program with the opportunity to travel
  • Most of the learning elements of the program will be delivered virtually, with key in-person experiences to meet cohort peers and immersive learning. One representative will be funded to participate in three in-person experiences across the nine months – twice within your home country, and once to your target market.
• Science, technology and IP development
  • They’ll support you to validate, adapt and scale your technologies overseas. They’ll help you understand how to develop and protect your IP across borders.
• Test and pilot your tech
  • They’ll support you to broker pilot collaborations with established businesses or institutions in your target market to provide you with testing and demonstration opportunities.
• Connect with customers
  • They’ll connect you with potential end customers, providing opportunities for them to be involved in pilots and testing processes.
• Connections with investment
  • The program promotes investment opportunities, supporting due diligence and identifying high-potential startups for investment. Program participation enhances credibility and offer investors full transparency.
• A network of experts
  • You will have a dedicated expert-in-residence to provide tailored and practical support. You’ll also have access to a pool of experienced subject matter experts from across regulatory, technical and industry fields.
• Connection after the program
  • At the end of the program, they will continue to foster ongoing connections between cohorts, mentors, investors and industry experts through.

Eligibility Criteria

• For Australia
  • They cannot consider your Program application if you do not satisfy all the eligibility criteria. To be considered, you must meet all the following:
    • a company incorporated in Australia with ABN and ACN or an incorporated trustee applying on behalf of a trust
    • be headquartered or domiciled in Australia
    • incorporated for less than 10 years
    • registered for GST
    • has not had revenue of more than $20 million in any of the last 3 financial years
    • have a technology or solution at TRL 7 or higher. They may consider solutions at TRL 5-6 that have a clear potential to rapidly advance through expansion into India
• For India
  • RISE Accelerator Program is open to Indian Start-ups and SMEs.
    • Company registered as a Start-up, as defined, and recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
    • Company registered in UDYAM as a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as defined in the MSMED Act, 2006
    • Incorporated in India for less than 10 years
    • The majority stake (more than 51%) of the Start-up/MSME must be held in India
• Have or be actively developing a technology or solution that aligns with one or more of the RISE Accelerator Round 2 Challenge Statements.

For more information, visit CSIRO.