riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar is all set to board the train of innovation and a community driven platform – Maker Mela

Mumbai, October 19, 2022: Somaiya Vidyavihar brings forth an opportunity for the grassroot makers to be a part of Maker Mela, an initiative organized by riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar (Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory Foundation), to accelerate the Maker Movement in India and to create a global community of Makers. The eighth year celebration of the Maker Mela virtual event will be held from 13 - 15 of January 2023. Makers from across the globe can register and become a part of the maker community at ​makermela.com till 30th November 2022. The door to opportunities is always open with year round registrations preceded and followed by a series of events and initiatives that do not end with the "classic" three days of the event.

In 2021, Maker Mela initiated a virtual community platform for makers [makermela.com] to exhibit their innovations. Seven years of Maker Mela, both in-person and online, have brought together companies, universities, schools, research centers, people, thoughts, opinions, knowledge and skills from all over the world, creating increasingly strong and permanent links thanks to a universal language: that of innovation.

Projects of more than 250 Makers from over 25 countries are showcased on the Maker Mela platform and received a traction of about 104k views from over 105 countries including 1000+ cities across the globe. Witness everything from kocrait sustainable chocolate, to water and soil friendly cleaning products, to assistive oral care device, handmade paper cutting and the list goes on for each category. While promoting the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset, Maker Mela is a platform for like-minded individuals focused on creating a community of makers enabling them to create local solutions for global problems. Makers can upload their project videos or showcase on ground. The innovators with the best projects will win cash prizes and vouchers worth INR 1 Lakh.

Taking a leap of success, Maker Mela received the “International Green Apple Environment Award” by The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Palace, London in 2017.

Maker Mela is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) put forth by the United Nations (UN) through ecosystem and community partnerships, creating a platform for makers from all versatile backgrounds.

What's in the bag for Makers?
- Exclusive benefits for exceptionally performing makers on Maker Mela virtual platform
- Best Makers wins cash prizes & vouchers worth INR 1 Lakh
- Pitching Session for shortlisted makers & connect to investors
- Access to grants upto INR 10 Lakhs per innovator
- Incubation Support [Help in Legal, Financial and any other incubation services]
- Access to seed fund upto INR 1 Crore
- Access to deals like Google Cloud credits worth 3000 USD, AWS credits worth 2000 USD, Notion credits worth 1000 USD & PayTm Mini App Program enabling to scale B2C offerings
- Access to Labs [Fablab / Biolab / SMAC lab / XR lab]
- Online Media Outreach

At Maker Mela, we aim to promote innovation through the diffusion of digital culture and the development of individual and collective entrepreneurship, rewarding the projects that are deemed most worthy. By taking part in the call, you will have the opportunity to submit your idea to the curators, and those selected will be able to use, free of charge, a space to display their innovative project or a slot in the digital section to be the focus of a discussion or a speech during the Maker Mela gathering.

Maker Mela is organized by a core team headed by Mr. Gaurang Shetty, Mr. Deven Sharma, Mr. Prerak Gala, Ms. Hetal Mundra, Ms. Bhavna Pandya, Mr. Raj Dhiravani and Mr. Amit Yadav along with a team of over 70 volunteers.Gaurang Shetty, Chief Innovation Catalyst, riidl Somaiya Vidyavihar says​, “After the huge success of the sixth edition of Maker Mela last year, we are delighted and thrilled to bring Maker Mela 2022. We believe that today’s tinkering / DIY projects will be tomorrow’s Made in India. We have created a platform to help makers showcase their projects and the maker movement will uplift local innovators and help them connect with the global community of Makers.”