India’s first accelerator program that helps Product Managers build inclusive products that serve diverse users & explore untapped markets.

10 Companies

20 Fellows

Impact 5M users

Expert classes + prototyping support

May - October 2024 Bengaluru

Apply Now

Fellowship Overview

The Inclusive Product Manager Fellowship (IPMF) is a pioneering program aimed at driving inclusive innovations within the Indian tech product ecosystem. It targets mid-career product managers in leading companies, and over five months, 20 product managers & designers (Fellows) from 10 top product companies in India will learn about inclusive product management and then focus on creating new features for their own products, or tweaking existing features), that are inclusive and drive more value to underrepresented users. 

A carefully-curated group of experts will host deep-dive sessions and will mentor Fellows through these five months. The IPMF core team will also provide essential support – user immersion with underrepresented user groups, prototyping workshops, design support, market research support, and business case modelling support – to the Fellows as they develop these prototypes. 

For companies, the IPMF offers a structured program that enables them to quickly and cost-effectively understand the needs of marginalized segments, carry out quick cycles of prototype development and testing, carry out business case modeling, and then integrate these features into the products. 

For participating product managers and designers from these companies, who join as Fellows, the program represents a career-defining opportunity to not only sharpen their expertise in a fast-evolving domain but also to position themselves as industry leaders in inclusive innovation. 

The different stages of the Fellowship over five months are highlighted below. 

learn

Learn

Expert classes on inclusive design principles, inclusion diagnostics, user immersion, and interactive games to simulate diverse experiences.

noun innovation

Ideate

Develop ideas for inclusive features, shortlist based on business potential and impact

design

Build & Test

Design and build prototypes for inclusive features; testing sessions with underrepresented users; ongoing mentoring

feedback

Refine

Refine features based on feedback; prepare business case and pitch for internal stakeholders

Value proposition for companies

Unlock New Markets

IPMF enables your company to discover and serve new markets by developing products that meet the needs of diverse communities, driving growth and expanding your customer base.

Drive Inclusion & Impact

Collaborate with IPMF to integrate inclusive features in your products, enhancing accessibility for all users and making a tangible difference in their lives.

Professional Growth

Your team gains top-tier training in inclusive product design from IPMF, earning recognition for their enhanced skills and bolstering your company's expertise.

Lead the Change

Joining IPMF positions your company as a frontrunner in promoting inclusivity within the tech industry, enhancing your brand's reputation and appeal.

Value proposition for Product Managers

Drive Real Innovation

By joining our fellowship, you'll not only discuss inclusivity in abstract terms but will actively work on developing real features that make technology accessible and inclusive. This hands-on approach ensures that your contributions have a tangible impact, pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve for all users.

Unlock Business Potential

Discover the vast business opportunities that inclusive products present. The fellowship guides you in identifying and tapping into new markets, driving growth for your company by addressing the needs of previously underserved communities.

Achieve Professional Recognition

Completing the fellowship not only equips you with critical inclusive product management skills but also rewards you with a certification that highlights your expertise in this emerging field. This certification serves as a testament to your commitment and capabilities, enhancing your professional credibility.

Learn and Grow

Immerse yourself in an environment dedicated to mastering inclusive product management. Through expert-led sessions and real-world project work, you'll acquire the skills necessary to lead and innovate within the tech industry, ensuring you can navigate the complexities of creating products that serve a diverse user base.

Build a Meaningful Network

Connect with peers, industry leaders, and advocates for inclusivity. The fellowship offers unparalleled networking opportunities, allowing you to form valuable relationships with professionals who share your vision for a more inclusive tech world.

Experts & Mentors

The Fellowship will feature entrepreneurs, product leaders, and experts in inclusive design from both India and outside. The Fellows will have a chance to engage deeply with these experts and mentors through both expert talks as well as 1-1 mentoring sessions within the ideation and prototyping stages. Some of the confirmed experts include: 

Mansi Gupta

Mansi Gupta

Founder of UnConform. Works with companies to help deploy a women-centric design lens in products and services.

Pavni Diwanji

Pavni Diwanji

Former VP Instagram and Google leading key products. Deep experience in build inclusive products & applying a gender-lens at scale.

Anuj Rathi

Anuj Rathi

Chief Product & Marketing Officer at Jupiter and former SVP at Swiggy. Passionate about building inclusive products for India.

Vikrama Dhiman

Vikrama Dhiman

SVP of Product at Gojek with deep experience in running 80+ person product teams. Deep interest and experience in product inclusion.

Srinivasu Chakravarthula

Srinivasu. C

Director of Product Accessibility at Freshworks and renowned expert in making products inclusive for people with disabilities.

Rohan Arora

Rohan Arora

Cofounder of Evolve, the world's most inclusive mental health app. Passionate about LGBTQIA inclusion in products and services.

Hemanshu Jain

Hemanshu Jain

Founder & CEO at Khyaal: India's #1 app for senior citizens. Passionate about product inclusion especially for seniors.

Abhishek Ghosh

Abhishek Ghosh

Product strategist at Pandora, ex-Swiggy and ex-McKinsey. Founder of Qonnect, a unique LGBTQIA networking platform.

Priya Ajmera

Priya Ajmera

Chief Evangelist at Societal Thinking and former Head of Strategy at Yahoo. Passionate about scaling gender inclusive products.

Rahul Bajaj

Rahul Bajaj

Laywer, founder of Mission Accessibility, Rhodes Scholar. Passionate about disability inclusion in technology products.

Partners

The Fellowship program brings together a very carefully curated set of organisations who bring in expertise and depth in different aspects of inclusive product management.  

MA Logo

Mission Accessibility

Mission Accessibility works towards dismantling the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing apps and websites in India. Registered as an NGO, it has been setup by two blind lawyers and works with leading product companies in India to make their products more disability inclusive.

QONNECT logo original

Qonnect

Qonnect is a global LGBTQIA+ professional networking platform with 2,000+ members. It operates across more than 6 countries and seeks to create and support the next generation of LGBTQIA+ role model leaders within startups and corporates. Qonnect is seeking to promote greater queer inclusion in tech products.

The Product Folks

The Product Folks

The Product Folks is among the world's largest PM communities with over 200k+ members. TPF helps PM grow their skills and careers and also helps people break into PM careers. TPF is keen on helping embed inclusive product management practices in the Indian tech ecosystem.

Women in Product

Women In Product:

Women In Product seeks to support women in the product ecosystem by giving them a safe community to network, grow and thrive in their careers. It's a women-only community led by amazing women product leaders and is keen on driving gender-inclusive product management practices in India.

Omidyar Network India

Omidyar Network India is a leading impact investment firm investing in entrepreneurs who are tackling India’s hardest problems.A key focus is to enable every Indian to feel empowered and safe and derive value from digital products through the use of inclusive tech practices and products.

BELONGG LOGO BLACK SOLID

Belongg is a social innovation venture focused on driving intersectional inclusion within technology products and global development programs. Belongg conceptualized IPMF and is keen to make this the leading program for product inclusion in India.

Dalberg main maroon

Dalberg is a leading global advisory firm focused on social impact and works leading organisations on key strategy and impact projects. It has been a core part of the IPMF journey and is bring key strategy and program support.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Inclusive Product Manager Fellowship is a specialized program designed to equip product managers and designers with the skills and knowledge necessary to create products that are accessible and valuable to a diverse range of users. It emphasizes professional growth and learning in the realm of inclusive product design. The fellowship does not offer a stipend, underscoring its focus on the long-term career benefits of participating, such as acquiring invaluable knowledge, networking opportunities, and experience in the field of inclusive design. The aim is to foster a generation of product leaders who can integrate inclusivity into the core of their product development processes, thereby addressing the needs and preferences of underserved users.
The Fellowship is primarily based in Bangalore, known for its vibrant innovation and technology scene. It uniquely blends virtual activities with in-person sessions to foster deeper connections among participants and facilitate hands-on learning experiences. Spanning five months, the program is thoughtfully structured to balance in-depth learning with practical application, requiring approximately 60 hours of commitment. This part-time structure is designed to accommodate professionals who are balancing other obligations, allowing them to immerse fully in the program without compromising their current roles.
The Fellowship’s training program covers a wide array of topics, including the foundational principles of inclusive design, user research methodologies with marginalized communities, prototyping for inclusivity, and strategies for scaling inclusive products. It is highly interactive, combining expert-led sessions with practical workshops and collaborative projects. Fellows are expected to engage actively in discussions, participate in hands-on projects, and collaborate with peers, ensuring a dynamic and comprehensive learning experience. Direct interaction with marginalized user groups is a critical component, offering real-world insights and fostering empathy-driven design perspectives.
Direct engagement with users from marginalized communities is a cornerstone of the Fellowship. It facilitates these interactions to provide fellows with a firsthand understanding of the challenges and barriers these users face. This approach ensures that the solutions developed by fellows are grounded in real user needs and are designed to be genuinely accessible and inclusive. Through such engagements, fellows gain valuable insights that inform the development of products that truly meet the needs of underserved populations.
The Fellowship is underpinned by the principles of inclusivity and a focus on serving underserved users. “Underserved users” refer to individuals or communities that have historically been overlooked or inadequately served by technology, including people with disabilities, those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and individuals in remote areas. “Inclusion” in product design means creating products that are accessible, usable, and valuable to as wide a range of people as possible, actively considering the diversity of user needs. This approach ensures that technology advancements benefit everyone, especially those who have been marginalized or excluded in the past.
The Fellowship provides extensive support and resources for fellows to develop and implement inclusive projects. This includes mentorship from industry experts, access to a global network of professionals, and resources for prototyping and user testing. Additionally, fellows receive guidance on market intelligence and business case development to ensure that their projects are not only impactful in terms of inclusivity but also commercially viable. This comprehensive support framework is designed to enable fellows to bring innovative, inclusive products to market, thereby making a significant social impact.

The Inclusive Product Manager Fellowship is a structured product development program designed not merely as a training initiative but as an incubator for creating inclusive features in tech products. It equips Product Managers with the skills to think critically about inclusivity, and also provides prototyping support, user research sessions, access to a panel of experts and users with underrepresented backgrounds. All of this, thus, adds significant business value to participating organizations. 

The Fellowship program is priced at INR 5 lakh per Fellow or INR 10 lakh per participating organization (two Fellows). This investment supports the comprehensive suite of resources, expert mentorship, and prototyping support provided, ensuring participants can make tangible progress in their inclusivity goals within the program’s timeframe.

We acknowledge that organizations are at various stages in their journey towards inclusivity and may also have different capacities for investment. Therefore, we offer both complete and partial exemptions, particularly for companies working on products that promise deep social impact at scale. This flexibility ensures that the Fellowship is accessible to a wide array of organizations committed to enhancing inclusivity in their products and services. For those interested in exploring exemption options, detailed instructions are provided within the application process, facilitating a straightforward approach to apply. This structured exemption process ensures our program remains inclusive and impactful, supporting organizations regardless of their financial standing in contributing meaningfully to the tech ecosystem’s inclusivity.

There are four key dates for the Fellowship:

  • Application deadline: The Fellowship applications are due 9pm India time on the 21st of April 2024
  • Cohort selection announcement: Selected Fellows and companies will be informed on the 3rd of May 2024
  • Commencement: Fellowship sessions will start on the 20th of May 2024 
  • Conclusion: The Fellowship will conclude in the second half of October 2024 with demo-day

The application process is explained in detail on the “Fellowship Details” page on the website. It involves filling an application form thoughtfully and also getting senior management buy-in from the participating companies. 

Subscribe to receive updates.

Connect With Us

We are looking to collaborate with companies, innovators, experts, researchers, and funders focused on inclusive products. Please write to us at contact@ipmf.co to discuss ideas. 

Scroll to Top
Skip to content