Social Ventures, Hardware Innovators, and Mentors Worldwide Invited to Apply for 2025 ASME ISHOW Accelerator

NEW YORK (March 26, 2025) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is currently accepting applications from social innovators focusing on scaling hardware technology solutions that address urgent global challenges through the ISHOW accelerator, part of the ASME Hardware portfolio of programs. This global program is open to individuals and ventures taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and/or environmental impact and that support ASME’s mission of advancing engineering for the benefit of humanity. ASME is particularly interested in hardware solutions that address humanitarian and habitat issues, the water, food and energy nexus, and human health.

ASME ISHOW applicants should have an existing prototype and an interest in receiving technical and financial support, as well as access to expert networks that can assist in taking their product to market. Apply now at https://thisishardware.org/current-competitions.

Finalists are chosen for each of three regional ISHOW events from hundreds of applications received each year. Since 2015, the ISHOW accelerator has been tapping into the innovation ecosystems in India, Africa, the Americas and beyond. ISHOW finalists selected to join the 2025 cohort will have an opportunity to earn a share of $100,000 in seed grants, in-kind support, design services, business development assets, and expert insights through ISHOW’s rigorous review methodology.

“Through the vision and creativity of these talented entrepreneurs and the guidance of expert mentors, ASME ISHOW is transforming groundbreaking ideas into market-ready products that improve lives,” said ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile. “This program is a key component of ASME’s support for the future of energy and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

The application deadline is April 1 for innovators in Africa seeking consideration for ISHOW Africa, a virtual event to be held June 10-12; applications are due May 2 for social entrepreneurs in the Americas seeking consideration for ISHOW Americas, a virtual event scheduled for July 29-31. Three ventures selected at each event will join the ISHOW 2025 cohort.

Finalists for ISHOW India will be announced soon. ASME ISHOW India will be held April 24-25 at T-Hub, Hyderabad, Telangana, with an awards ceremony on April 25 at 6 p.m. local time. Register for the awards ceremony at https://konfhub.com/ishowindiaawards2025.

“Hard-tech innovators addressing urgent social and environmental challenges must be better equipped to overcome significant obstacles,” says Iana Aranda, ASME’s managing director of sustainability. “We are dedicated to building on a decade of experience to ensure that social ventures realize their vision for a better world, for everyone.”

The 2025 ISHOW cohort will be invited to participate in the annual ISHOW Bootcamp in the winter to receive an extensive and customized design and engineering review by experts curated to guide them as they scale to market. They will also receive design services to support their product development. They become part of the ISHOW alumni network, an international community of hardware innovators and stakeholders with exclusive access to experts and resources.

Experts familiar with product development and scaling hardware-led social innovations to market are also encouraged to join our 2025 expert cohort to act as mentors and advisors to impactful social ventures and entrepreneurs.

ASME annually matches up to 30 carefully selected innovators/ventures with appropriate engineering experts to ensure that the proposed hardware solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. ASME seeks interest from experienced technical and business mentors to expand its panel of judges and experts, which includes successful entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors, and industry representatives from leading organizations worldwide. These subject-matter experts provide technical and strategic guidance based on ISHOW’s five key pillars: customer/user knowledge, hardware design and validation, development and manufacturing optimization, implementation strategy, and impact. The ASME Expert Cohort of industry professionals advises both early-stage startups and more mature ventures.

To date, ASME has provided support to over 250 startups from more than 35 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for vulnerable populations worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address key issues related to clean combustion, crop threshing, fetal health, food waste prevention, health diagnostics, safe drinking water, and many more that advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

ASME is grateful to its implementation partners around the globe, including The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of both the ISHOW and a multi-year strategic investment in the ASME to support the hardware impact innovation system. Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.

Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including GenH, PlenOptika, Himalayan Rocket Stove, SAYeTECH and others here.

About ASME ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) II & III LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community. For more information, visit www.asme.org.

About the ASME Foundation 

The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life. For more information, visit www.asmefoundation.org.

Media Contact: 

Monica Shovlin
MCShovlin Communications LLC (for ASME)
monica@mcshovlin.com
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