Empowering Young Innovators – A CSR initiative by Cisco, supported by Nasscom foundation

Cisco, in partnership with Nasscom Foundation, felicitated ten winning student-led start-ups from the 7th cohort of its CSR initiative, thingQbator, at the Neovation 2025 event. Chosen from over 1,367 submissions through a rigorous shortlisting process, these promising teams have turned their innovative ideas into working prototypes and scalable ventures.
The program, now in its 7th cohort, had a participation of 3734 young students, with the top 10 teams receiving INR 5 lakh each in seed funding aimed at addressing critical societal challenges in areas like healthcare, waste management, transportation, household IoT, and public infrastructure.
Designed to empower young innovators, thingQbator provides a platform where college students across the country, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities are mentored to turn their ideas into prototypes and viable businesses.
It enables them to transform their ideas into working prototypes and devise localized solutions to community problems. A total of 3,734 students participated in cohort 7 across India, showcasing a strong spirit of innovation. All 1,367 ideas progressed to the ideation stage, reflecting the creative depth across campuses. From these, 125 teams comprising 343 students advanced to the prototyping stage, receiving dedicated mentorship. With 1,233 mentoring hours delivered, students refined their ideas into impactful, tech-driven solutions addressing real-world challenges.
Harish Krishnan, Managing Director and Chief Policy Officer, Cisco India and SAARC, said The future of social innovation here holds immense promise—and at Cisco, our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all is deeply aligned with this vision. “We take immense pride in supporting this transformation through initiatives like thingQbator, which provides students with the tools, mentorship, and platform to turn bold ideas into scalable solutions. Through programs like this, we aim to nurture ideas by empowering young innovators.”
Jyoti Sharma, CEO, Nasscom Foundation commented, “India is witnessing a remarkable surge in innovation, driven by the passion and creativity of the young minds. It is truly inspiring to see how student-led innovations are translating into scalable ventures, reinforcing the belief that with the right guidance and opportunities, our youth can lead the charge in shaping a better, more inclusive future.”
Through its inception in 2018, the Cisco thingQbator initiative has trained over 10262 students, aiming to shift their mindset to innovators. Over the years, with 5351 hours of mentoring, the program has led to the development of 409 prototypes, with 63 teams already registered or incubated at start-up accelerators. At its core, the initiative empowers students to craft innovative solutions for real-world challenges, fostering design thinking, community problem-solving, and essential go-to-market skills.