Global Business Innovation Programme: India - Urban Systems, July 2025

The Global Business Innovation Programme is structured around three main stages. Each business will have a designated Innovate UK Business Growth innovation and growth specialist to support them for at least the duration of the offering, including developing a work plan to capitalise on the opportunities identified.

The three main stages of the Global Business Innovation Programme are:

• Get Ready: A two-day in-person workshop to build knowledge and understanding of the market and potential opportunities, including how to do business, cultural aspects, how to protect your IP and training on how to better articulate your value proposition
• Visit the Market: Explore the opportunities first-hand through meetings with key companies, research organisations and potential collaborators and partners, through pre-arranged meetings and organised matchmaking
• Exploit the Opportunity: An exploitation workshop and one-to-one support from an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation and growth specialist to help you follow up and maximise the opportunities identified through the programme

The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to actively participate in all three stages.

To apply you must:

• Be a business focused on developing innovative solutions for urban systems
• Be a UK-based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and internationalise
• Be a company with fewer than 250 employees
• Be the CEO, founder or a senior decision maker in the business who is able to attend and complete all the programme activities

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, a business can only take part in two GBIPs in any rolling 12-month period (measured by the date of the Get Ready Workshop).

India is striving to promote core elements of infrastructure in large urban areas such as good water and electricity supplies, sanitation and affordable housing.

Over the next 30 years, some 400 million people are expected to move into urban environments across India. This presents major challenges and opportunities, which are captured in part by the Government of India’s ‘100 Smart Cities’ mission.

The programme will include a visit to Tamil Nadu, where there are mature smart cities, and another city that is developing rapidly. This programme supports the wider work by other parts of the UK government-led innovation ecosystem.

We are looking for innovative businesses that focus on delivering urban systems solutions that address the following types of challenges:

• Citizen engagement and sustainable behaviour change
• Intelligent buildings and housing
• Resilience to natural shocks
• New energy solutions
• Improving urban health
• Smart mobility
• Urban infrastructure and planning
• Water and waste management
• Circular economy

The main cost to participate in the programme is the time commitment of a senior person from the business. The commitment includes working with an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation and growth specialist, attending the Get Ready Workshop (2 days), Visiting the Market (1 week) and attending the Exploit the Opportunity Workshop (1 day).

Innovate UK will fund and organise flights, accommodation in India and any conference fees, and one night for the Get Ready Workshop in London, for successful applicants. Innovate UK will also fund for any reasonable adjustments throughout the initiative.

Only one representative from each company will be funded.

On acceptance, a commitment fee of £1,000 will be obtained from each delegate, which will be refunded on completion of the full activities and agreed action plan. Non-completion after formal acceptance may result in forfeiting some or all the commitment fees.

“We made over 50 contacts from the trip and were very happy to have met the other businesses on the programme, as well as the Indian High Commission and UKRI colleagues. This helped us to achieve an even richer ecosystem to get established in offering urban system solutions.” Stephen Passmore, Resilience Brokers – Urban Systems India, 2022 Cohort

“The visit enabled a huge number of contacts who otherwise I doubt would ever have happen. Especially the high-level ones with city and important institution leadership teams.” Dobrin Dimitrov, Faradai – Urban Systems India, 2022 Cohort

“The ability to have warm introductions was large, as was the size of organisations and demand for collaboration. It was an assistance to speed up collaborations through trusted networks.” Gordon Rates, AirNode – Urban Systems India, 2022 Cohort

“My expectations were exceeded. The broadness and quality of the contacts and networks we were introduced to was high. They will support our proposed market entry and launch.” Phil Cheadle, KLT Filtration – Urban Systems India, 2022 Cohort

Key dates from August 2025 – February 2026:

• Closing date for applications: Tuesday 5 August 2025 at 10:00
• Get Ready Workshop: Wednesday 3 & Thursday 4 September 2025 (In-person, London)
• Visit the Market: Saturday 4 – Saturday 11 October 2025 (In-person, India)
• Exploit the Opportunity Workshop: Thursday 5 February 2026 (In-person, London)

An example of the market visit itinerary in October 2025:

• Depart the UK: Saturday 4 October 2025
• In market: Monday 6 – Friday 10 October 2025 (Opportunities for B2B meetings, site visits and networking)
• Depart India and arrive in the UK: Saturday 11 October 2025

The application form can be found here.

If you have any questions, we are happy to help, email us at event.enquiries1@iukbg.ukri.org.