Mumbai: Somaiya Vidyavihar brings forth an opportunity for the grassroot makers to be a part of Maker Mela, an initiative organised by Somaiya Vidyavihar University’s riidl (Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory), to accelerate the Maker Movement in India and to create a global community of Makers. The seventh edition of the Maker Mela virtual event will be held from 21st – 23rd of January 2022. Makers from across the globe can register to be a part of this three-day exposition of innovation at makermela.com. The deadline to register as a maker is 31st December 2021.
In 2021, Maker Mela initiated a virtual community platform for makers [makermela.com] to exhibit their innovations. Projects of more than 100 Makers from over 15 countries were showcased on the Maker Mela platform & received a traction from 12.5k+ audience from over 83 countries including 750+ cities across the globe. Makers from all age groups and various categories like Art, Craft, Technology, Biotech, Environment, Gaming and many more showcased their innovative ideas and iconic products.
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 will get an opportunity to pitch their ideas to eminent angel investors, VCs, government officials, and industry leaders. Makers can upload their project videos under each category on the Maker Mela platform. The innovators with the best projects will win cash prizes and vouchers worth INR 1 Lakh. The additional benefits for Makers include access to seed fund upto INR 1 Crore, deals like Google Cloud credits worth 3000 USD, AWS credits worth 2000 USD, Notion credits worth 1000 USD, and access to PayTm Mini App Program for enabling to scale B2C offering, among other benefits.
In 2017, Maker Mela received the “International Green Apple Environment Award” by The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Palace, London.
Maker Mela is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) put forth by the UN. Maker Mela walks towards these goals via three segments:
- SDGs like Zero Hunger; Good Health; Gender Equality; Clean Water and Sanitation; Affordable and Clean Energy; Good Jobs and Economic Growth; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and Sustainable Communities are achieved through the innovative solutions the Makers’ showcase on the platform.
- SDGs like Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Partnerships for the Goals are achieved through Networking and Collaboration with Fablabs, makerspaces, incubators and Technology companies across the globe.
- SDGs like Quality Education; Gender Equality; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure are achieved through the Talks, Panel Discussions and Workshops organized around promoting Maker Culture and conducting hands-on skill training sessions.
How will a Maker benefit from Maker Mela?
- 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
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, Mr. Amit Yadav, Mr. Sachin Khot and Mr. Sangram Chavan, along with a team of over 70 volunteers to conduct Maker Mela successfully.
Gaurang Shetty, Chief Innovation Catalyst, riidl 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.”
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