The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has opened applications for the 2022 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW). The global hardware accelerator is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and or environmental impact and that improve the quality of life around the world.
Deadline for applications is 15th March, 2022. An information session for interested applicants is scheduled to take place online at 9 a.m. EST Thursday, February 10. As a requirement, all applicants should have an existing prototype and interest in receiving financial or technical support and access to expert networks that can assist in taking their product to market.
Eight finalists will be selected for each of three regional events from hundreds of applications received each year. This year’s finalists will participate in regional events held virtually on April 26th to 29th for the India/Asia Pacific (ISHOW India), June 7 to 10 for the Middle East and Africa (ISHOW Kenya), and July 19 to 22 for the Americas (ISHOW USA). Three companies at each event will join the ISHOW 2022 cohort. The finalists will receive product exposure, advice, technical insights through ISHOW’s review methodology, and compete for a share of Ksh. 22.7 million (USD 200,000) in seed grants, support, design services, and marketing and business development assets.
The 2022 ISHOW cohort will be invited to the annual ISHOW Bootcamp in the fall to receive an extensive and customized design and engineering review by experts recruited to guide them as they scale to market. They will also have a chance to earn a second round of seed grants from ASME. They become part of the ISHOW alumni network, an international community of hardware innovators and stakeholders with exclusive access to experts and resources.
To date, ISHOW has enabled over 180 startups from more than 30 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for people in underserved communities worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address issues including clean combustion, fetal health, safe drinking water, and many more that address the UNSDGs.
Speaking on this year’s ASME Innovation Showcase, ASME Executive Director and CEO Tom Costabile said, “We are proud to offer a forum for engineering problem-solving that truly improves lives. We are continually impressed by the creative talent of ASME ISHOW participants and their passion for helping underserved communities around the world.”