Stage 01
Submit
Send your idea, sketch, video or prototype online, on a basic phone connection or through WhatsApp.
SafeguardA dated, private record of your submission.
South Asian ingenuity, carried to scale.
Submit an idea or a prototype at no cost. We help you protect it, build it to world-class standards and bring it to the investors and markets that can carry it to millions of people.
A growing South Asian city at dawnRail, rooftops and a rising skylineAn inventor presents a device to investorsInventor AI: helping reviewers, never replacing themUniversity students build and test a prototypeFig. 1 · A low-smoke cookstove takes shapeA young inventor fine-tunes her prototypeInstitutions and citizens moving forward togetherAI-generated imageAage illustration
Sheet 1 of 15 · OverviewAGE-2026-001
A virtual invention house for a whole region.
In Hindi and Urdu, aage (आगे · آگے) means “ahead” or “forward”.
Aage · Inventors Unleashed South Asia is a virtual invention house for young inventors in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and across the diaspora. Submit an idea or a prototype at no cost. We help you protect it, build it, test it and meet the investors who can take it to markets worldwide.
Fee to inventorNone
Countries8 + diaspora
LanguagesEN · HI · BN · UR
Stages8, idea to market
OwnershipStays with you
Protection routesNational · PCT · IAP
We earnOnly after you do
StatusIn preparation
Sheet 2 of 15 · Our wayAGE-2026-002
Our way: frugal ingenuity, raised to world-class.
South Asia has a long tradition of doing more with less: the repair that keeps a machine running, the clever fix that serves a village. Aage takes that resourcefulness seriously. Our work is to turn it into rigorous, tested and certified products that can serve hundreds of millions of people.
- 01Frugal by design
We start from what people can afford and maintain. Low cost is not a compromise; it is a design requirement, and often the hardest one to meet.
- 02Rigour without shortcuts
An ingenious fix becomes a product only when it is tested, safe and certified. We bring engineers, laboratories and standards bodies into the work from the start.
- 03The village and the laboratory
Some of the region’s best inventors have never set foot in a university. We seek out grassroots innovators and pair them with university labs, so that each learns from the other.
- 04Built on shared rails
Open digital public infrastructure for identity, payments and data lets a good idea reach millions quickly. We encourage inventors to build on these shared rails rather than reinvent them.
- 05Scale is the test
We ask of every invention: could it serve a hundred million people? Designing for that scale from the first sketch changes the choices an inventor makes.
From improvised fix to certified product
- Improvised fix
A local solution that already works, somewhere, for someone.
- Tested design
Measured, improved and documented with engineers.
- Certified product
Safe, standards-compliant and ready to manufacture.
- Millions served
Affordable enough, and robust enough, to reach a whole region.
Sheet 3 of 15 · Who we areAGE-2026-003
Who we are and what we do.
Aage brings together inventors’ advocates, patent professionals, engineers, investors and diaspora mentors who share one conviction: South Asia’s next industries will be built by its own inventors.
Who we are
We are builders, not promoters. Launched in 2026 and coordinated from Long Beach, California, with partners being invited across the region, Aage exists because talent is spread evenly across South Asia while access to patents, workshops and capital is not. Our work is to close that gap, one inventor and one country at a time, and to earn nothing until the inventors we serve succeed.
What we do
- DiscoverWe find inventors and creators in all eight countries and across the diaspora, in villages as well as cities, online, by WhatsApp and through local hubs.
- ProtectWe guide every invention to the right protection route and help cover official filing fees.
- BuildWe connect inventors with workshops, universities and engineers to build, test and certify their prototypes.
- ConnectWe introduce inventions to investors, manufacturers and first buyers, in the region and worldwide.
- CelebrateWe honour the inventors moving their countries forward through the Aage Award and Crown the Creators.
Films
Film coming soon
Film coming soon
Film coming soon
Sheet 4 of 15 · From the Stone Age to AIAGE-2026-004
From the Stone Age to artificial intelligence, invention leads the way.
Invention is how humankind has survived, adapted and prospered: from the first stone tools to the artificial intelligence of today. South Asia has been part of that story for thousands of years. With the right support and networks, its young inventors can help lead the next chapter.
Invention is how nations rise.
- An idea
- A prototype
- A factory
- Jobs and skills
- A stronger country
- Progress for humankind
One invention, carried to market, becomes a company. A company creates jobs and skills. Jobs build stronger countries, and stronger countries move all of humankind forward.
The path of human progress
- About 3.3 million years agoThe first stone tools
The oldest known tools, found at Lomekwi in Kenya, open the human story of invention, a story to which every region has added.
- About 9,000 to 7,500 years agoEarly farming and the first dentistry
At Mehrgarh, in today’s Pakistan, early farmers drilled teeth with stone-tipped drills: among the oldest known evidence of dentistry.
Born in South Asia - About 3200 BCEWriting
Some of the world’s earliest writing systems appear in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and knowledge begins to outlive memory.
- 3rd millennium BCEThe planned city
Mohenjo-daro, in the Indus Valley of today’s Pakistan, was laid out on a strict grid with an elaborate drainage system, wells and soak pits: early evidence of town planning.
Born in South Asia - About the 3rd or 4th century CEThe dot that became zero
The Bakhshali manuscript, found in the village of that name in today’s Pakistan, uses a dot as a placeholder for tens, hundreds and thousands. That dot later developed into zero as a number in its own right.
Born in South Asia - 5th to 13th centuriesGreat centres of learning
Nalanda, in today’s India, taught for some 800 years; Somapura Mahavihara, in today’s Bangladesh, was a renowned intellectual centre until the 12th century.
Born in South Asia - Mid-7th centuryOil painting
Murals in the caves of Bamiyan, in today’s Afghanistan, are described by researchers as the earliest clear example of oil painting in the world.
Born in South Asia - 7th to 11th centuriesSteel made by the wind
At Samanalawewa, in today’s Sri Lanka, furnaces facing the monsoon winds produced high-quality steel on a large scale.
Born in South Asia - 1440sThe printing press
Books could be copied quickly, and knowledge spread faster than ever before.
- 18th and 19th centuriesSteam and electricity
Engines and electric power transformed how people live, work and travel.
- 1960s and 1971Oral rehydration solution
Research in Dhaka and field work in Kolkata showed that a simple salt-and-sugar solution could save lives from diarrhoea. The Lancet called it potentially the most important medical advance of the 20th century.
Born in South Asia - 1990sThe internet
Computers around the world connected, and information became available to billions.
- 2016Payments on shared digital rails
India’s Unified Payments Interface showed how open, interoperable digital infrastructure can bring instant payments to hundreds of millions of people.
Born in South Asia - TodayArtificial intelligence
Machines that learn now assist discovery, from medicine to climate research.
- NextSouth Asia’s inventors
With the right support and networks, South Asia can help lead what comes next. Aage exists to build that support.
Scroll to follow the path →
Sources: Science News Explores (Mehrgarh) · UNESCO (Mohenjo-daro) · University of Oxford (Bakhshali manuscript) · UNESCO (Nalanda) · UNESCO (Somapura Mahavihara) · ESRF (Bamiyan) · Archaeology (Samanalawewa) · Bulletin of the WHO (oral rehydration) · Digital India (UPI)
Ingenuity is South Asia’s most renewable resource.
A region of creators
With the commitment of governments, civil society and every woman and man of the region, and with strong support networks behind them, South Asia can take a leading role in the next age of invention. We are a region of creators and inventors.
- Governments
Policies, patent offices and public purchasing that back local invention.
- Civil society
Schools, universities, associations and media that celebrate the people who build.
- Every woman and man
Ideas, talent and the courage to try, in every country and across the diaspora.
- Strong support networks
Investors, mentors, manufacturers and partners who carry inventions to market.
Sheet 5 of 15 · Inventions UnleashedAGE-2026-005
Inventions Unleashed.
Ten bold ideas to free South Asia’s inventive power, from the village workshop to the global market. Each one is designed to be piloted, measured and scaled across the region.
- New ideaThe Invention Passport
One secure digital record for every inventor: dated submission, reviews, protection status and milestones. It travels with them across borders and opens doors with investors.
- New ideaMobile invention labs
Shipping containers fitted with 3D printers, small machine tools and solar power, touring towns and rural districts so that no idea is lost for lack of a workshop.
- New ideaEight National Challenges
Each year, every participating country sets one national challenge, in water, clean air, energy, food or health, and invites its inventors to solve it, with a first buyer ready.
- New ideaAdopt a Patent
Members of the diaspora sponsor the official filing fees of one invention from their country of origin, and follow its progress from patent to market.
- New ideaThe Pay It Forward Trust
A share of every success fee goes into a trust that funds the next cohort, so each inventor who succeeds lifts the ones who follow.
- New ideaThe South Asia Invention Index
An annual public index of patents, prototypes, investment and support for inventors in each country, so that progress is measured and celebrated.
- New ideaInventor AI on WhatsApp
A multilingual assistant that answers inventors’ first questions in the languages of the region, explains protection in plain words and helps them prepare a strong submission, all from a basic phone.
- New ideaTraditional knowledge, protected
A registry, built with communities and with their consent, that helps protect traditional knowledge and ensures communities share in the value it creates.
- Our wayVillage Innovation Scouts
Trained scouts, often students and retired engineers, travel to villages and small towns to find grassroots inventors whose solutions already work, document them with their consent and bring them into the programme.
- Our wayThe Frugal-to-Scale Studio
A studio of engineers, designers and testing partners that takes an improvised fix and turns it into a certified, manufacturable product, while keeping it affordable and keeping the inventor in charge.
Sheet 6 of 15 · CommitmentsAGE-2026-006
Our claims, written the way patents are.
A patent ends with claims: precise statements of exactly what is protected. These are the commitments every inventor can hold us to.
- Submitting is free.No evaluation fees, no marketing packages and no upfront charges of any kind.
- We earn only after you do.A modest share of a licence or of a company you build, disclosed and agreed in writing before any deal is signed.
- Your invention stays yours.If we cannot help it reach the market, nothing changes hands and you are free to pursue any other route.
- Private by default.Nothing is shown to an investor or published without your explicit consent.
- Every answer is honest and written.Including “not yet”, always with the next step you can take on your own.
- Our results are public.Each year we publish how many inventions were accepted, protected, funded and brought to market.
Sheet 7 of 15 · The routeAGE-2026-007
Eight stages from idea to market.
Each invention moves at its own pace. Some will license to a manufacturer after stage five; others will grow into companies. Every stage has a safeguard for the inventor.
Stage 02
Evaluate
Independent reviewers assess novelty, feasibility and market need, and write up their findings for you.
SafeguardReviewers declare any conflict of interest.
Stage 03
Protect
Prior-art guidance, referral to pro bono patent help, and support with official filing fees.
SafeguardWe take no ownership at this stage.
Stage 04
Build
Prototype support through maker spaces, universities and engineering mentors near you.
SafeguardFunding released by milestone, not in one lump.
Stage 05
Validate
Real users test it. We help with pricing, standards and certification for your target markets.
SafeguardEvidence filed in your own data room.
Stage 06
Connect
Curated introductions to angels, funds, manufacturers and diaspora investors, plus showcase days.
SafeguardInvestors sign confidentiality terms first.
Stage 07
Commercialise
License it, start a company, or sign a supply agreement with a buyer: the route that fits.
SafeguardIndependent legal review of every contract.
Stage 08
Go global
Export readiness, distribution partners and online channels to reach buyers worldwide.
SafeguardLifelong access to the alumni network.
Sheet 8 of 15 · Who it servesAGE-2026-008
Two sides of one table.
For inventors and creators
Talent is spread evenly across South Asia. Access to patents, workshops and capital is not. That gap is what we close.
- Who can apply
- Inventors aged 16 to 35 (with a parent’s consent under 18), working alone or in teams of up to five.
- Where from
- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, or the South Asian diaspora anywhere in the world.
- Stage
- From a first sketch to a working prototype already in use.
- Sectors
Keep the “how” private for now. In your first submission, describe the problem, who would buy the solution and what it does. Do not include the technical details of how it works until we have discussed protection with you.
Submit your inventionFor investors and partners
A screened pipeline of South Asian inventions, each with the evidence investors look for before they commit.
- What you see
- Independent technical review, patent status and filing route, prototype evidence and market validation, organised in a data room.
- Who joins
- Angel investors, funds and development finance institutions, manufacturers seeking licences, diaspora investors and foundations.
- Ways to engage
- Our role
- Aage makes introductions. It does not hold investor funds, sell securities or give investment advice. Every investment is made directly between the parties under applicable law.
Sheet 9 of 15 · ProtectionAGE-2026-009
Protecting an invention in South Asia.
South Asia has no regional patent office: each of the eight countries has its own office and its own law. Only India and Sri Lanka belong to the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Choosing the right route early saves inventors money and time, and we guide each inventor to the route that fits their market.
| Route | Coverage | How it works | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| National offices | Each of the eight countries, under its own law and office | A separate application with each national office, prepared with an independent local agent. | Inventions aimed at one or a few national markets |
| PCT | India and Sri Lanka in the region, and more than 150 countries worldwide | One international application preserves the right to file in many member countries later. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan are not currently members, so protection there needs a direct national filing. | Inventions with export or licensing potential abroad |
| WIPO Inventor Assistance Program | Countries where the programme operates; in South Asia, currently Pakistan | Eligible inventors with limited means are matched with volunteer patent attorneys. | Inventors who need professional help they cannot afford |
| Trade secrets and design rights | Every country | Keeping know-how confidential, or protecting how a product looks, when a patent is not the best tool. | Processes that are hard to copy, and products sold on their design |
Sources: WIPO: PCT Contracting States · WIPO: Paris Convention states not bound by the PCT · WIPO: IAP participating countries · FIU Law Library: International IP organizations
The Patent Fee Fund
Official filing fees are the barrier most young inventors cannot cross, even when legal help is free. The Patent Fee Fund, financed by sponsors, will cover official fees for selected inventions. Sponsors can fund a single filing or an entire cohort.
Sheet 10 of 15 · The AwardAGE-2026-010
The Aage Award.
Each year, every participating country names its Inventor of the Year: the person whose invention is doing most to move the country forward. The national winners then compete in a regional final for the Aage Award, presented on World Intellectual Property Day, 26 April.
Stage oneNational rounds
Run with a partner university or innovation hub in each country, with a local jury.
Stage twoNational Inventors of the Year
One winner per country, celebrated at home and supported for a full year.
FinalThe regional final
The Aage Award is chosen from the national winners by a jury drawn from across the region.
Six categories
- Grand AwardThe invention doing most to move its country and the region forward.
- Young InventorFor inventors aged 16 to 21.
- Women in InventionHonouring women who build, and the girls who will follow them.
- Diaspora InventorAn invention built for South Asian markets or produced in the region.
- Frugal to ScaleAn affordable invention, made locally, that is ready to serve millions.
- People’s ChoiceDecided by public vote.
The Impact Score
The Award rewards real impact, not only a promising idea. Every entry is scored on five published criteria.
- Jobs created and people served30%
- Affordability and local manufacturing20%
- Ability to scale across borders20%
- Protection secured15%
- Integrity and willingness to mentor15%
Proposed weighting, to be finalised with the founding jury.
$50,000Regional winner
The Aage Award, presented on World Intellectual Property Day.
$10,000Each category winner
Six categories, decided at the regional final.
$2,500Each national winner
Plus full support through every stage of the programme.
More than a cheque
Multi-country patent filing paidPrototyping or manufacturing grantFront row at the investor showcaseA year of mentoringA documentary featureA trophy handmade by artisans of the regionA year as national ambassador
No entry fee, ever. An independent jury drawn from across the region declares any conflict of interest. Cash awards are paid partly on award and partly against milestones, so each award builds a business. Award amounts are targets and will be confirmed as founding sponsors join.
NowFounding sponsors and national partners invited
26 April 2027Founding showcase of the first cohort
26 April 2028First full Award and Creator of the Year final
Every year afterHost country rotates across the region
Sheet 11 of 15 · Crown the CreatorsAGE-2026-011
What should a nation crown?
Pageants command sponsors, prime-time television and a nation’s attention. A crown tells the next generation what its country values. For the next decade, we propose that those resources crown the young people who build.
Miss and Mister Creator of the Year
Keep everything that makes a pageant work: national pride, regional rounds, glamour, a live televised final and a crown. Change what is judged.
- Contestants aged 18 to 35 present an invention, a business or a creative work that solves a real problem.
- Each country crowns a Miss Creator and a Mister Creator; national winners go on to the regional final of the Aage Award.
- Engineers, investors and entrepreneurs judge alongside a public vote, using the Impact Score.
- The prize is a crown with real weight: seed funding, paid patent fees, a year of mentoring and a year as national ambassador visiting schools.
The Youth Enterprise Decade
We invite governments, sponsors, broadcasters and pageant organisers to redirect the resources they give to pageants into creator competitions for ten years. Ten years is enough to change what a generation dreams about.
This is not a campaign against contestants. Many are accomplished, and some pageants fund scholarships and good causes. Pageant organisers know how to produce a show, raise sponsorship and fill a stadium, which is exactly what a creator gala needs. We invite them to lead this change with us.
Support the pledgeOn the Aage channel
A YouTube channel with new episodes every week, in English and in the languages of the region. Verified inventions only: every featured invention is reviewed by an engineer before it airs.
- Inventors UnleashedProfiles of South Asian inventors and what they need next.
- Crown the CreatorsThe case for Miss and Mister Creator of the Year.
- Patent in 60 SecondsPlain-language lessons on protecting an idea.
- Frugal to ScaleHow an improvised fix becomes a certified product that millions can afford.
- Out of Poverty for GoodHow nations once among the poorest in the world built their industries.
- The Road to the AwardFollowing each year’s cohort to the final on World Intellectual Property Day.
- Investor RoomInvestors explain, in their own words, what they look for.
Channel launching soon.
Sheet 12 of 15 · Across the regionAGE-2026-012
Built to reach all eight countries.
Aage works through institutions that already exist, so every country can take part without waiting for new buildings.
Aage Hubs
One partner university, innovation hub or maker space in each country hosts intake days, prototyping and the national round of the Award.
Patent offices
Working with the eight national patent offices, WIPO and, where it operates, WIPO’s Inventor Assistance Program to lower costs and speed up referrals.
The First Buyer pledge
Governments and large companies each agree to pilot one Aage invention a year. A first customer is often what convinces investors.
South Asia Invents Week
Open days, school challenges and investor showcases in every participating country, in the week leading up to World Intellectual Property Day.
The Virtual Invention Warehouse
A public online gallery of protected South Asian inventions, shown with their inventors’ consent, where investors and buyers can browse.
Open to everyone
Submission by WhatsApp and SMS, a mobile app that works offline, and community radio partners for rural areas, in the languages of the region.
Aage is designed to support goals the region’s governments have already set: Sustainable Development Goal 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure; the regional cooperation of SAARC, founded in Dhaka in 1985, whose eight members are the eight countries we serve; and each country’s own intellectual property and innovation policies.
Sources: United Nations: SDG 9 · SAARC Charter Day · WIPO: World Intellectual Property Day
Sheet 13 of 15 · StructureAGE-2026-013
One mission, two entities.
The free programme and the commercial work are kept separate, so inventors are served first and every deal stays transparent.
Aage Foundation
- Runs the free inventor programme, evaluations and mentoring
- Manages the Patent Fee Fund
- Funded by grants, sponsors and donors
Aage Ventures
- Handles licensing, company formation and investor introductions
- Earns disclosed success shares only after deals close
- Reinvests part of its returns in the Foundation’s programme
Both entities are being established.
Sheet 14 of 15 · Sister organisationsAGE-2026-014
One family. Six regions. Each with its own way forward.
Aage is one of six sister organisations in the Inventors Unleashed family. Each is a separate entity with its own identity, languages and way of thinking. All share the same promise to inventors: free to submit, ownership stays with the inventor, and a success share only when a deal succeeds.
- Kuumba · Africa InventionsAfrica & the diaspora
- Adelante · Inventors Unleashed Latin America & CaribbeanLatin America & the Caribbean
- Aage · Inventors Unleashed South Asia This siteSouth Asia & the diaspora
- Maju · Inventors Unleashed Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia
- Alga · Inventors Unleashed Central Asia & CaucasusCentral Asia & the Caucasus
- Vaka · Inventors Unleashed Pacific IslandsPacific Islands
Where every invention begins
Every invention began with a question.
How do we solve a problem that keeps coming back in our lives or in our communities? How do we improve a solution that exists but still falls short? Most of history’s great inventions started there.
- 01Ask
What problem could you solve today? Which existing invention or solution could you make better, cheaper, safer or easier to use?
- 02Write it down
Put the problem and your idea on paper, with a sketch if you can. Date it and keep it. A written idea can be tested, improved and protected.
- 03Contact us
When you think you have the solution, or even part of it, submit it. We will help you with the rest.
Questions to start your notebook
- What wastes time, money or energy in your home, farm, school or business every week?
- What tool or service almost works, but fails the people who need it most?
- What problem do people around you simply accept because no one has fixed it?
Our responsibility
No one will build our future for us.
No one else will solve our problems, transform our raw materials, or invent and create in our place. It is time to stop waiting for others and to take action today.
- Solve a problem.
- Propose a solution.
- Build what comes next.
Every problem we solve brings us closer to well-being and a better future for the generations that follow.
Invention made life as we know it possible.
Will you take the lead and create something, or remain a passenger on the locomotive of progress?
No idea or prototype is too small. Submit what you have in mind today: ideas once dismissed as insignificant have changed the world.
Sheet 15 of 15 · ApplyAGE-2026-015
Start here.
Inventors, tell us about your idea. Investors and partners, tell us how you would like to take part. We reply to every message.
Aage is in preparation. Submissions open formally once our founding partners are confirmed; until then, you can register now through the forms below and we will keep your place.
Every idea is welcomeNo idea or prototype is too small. Submit what you have in mind today: ideas once dismissed as insignificant have changed the world.
Submission received.
Thank you. A reviewer will reply within ten working days with a written first assessment and the next step.
Interest registered.
Thank you. We will be in touch about the founding cohort and the first showcase.
Nomination received.
Thank you. We will contact the nominee and keep you informed.
Questions inventors ask.
Is it really free?
Yes. Submitting, evaluation, mentoring and introductions cost the inventor nothing. Aage is funded by sponsors and grants, and earns only a disclosed share of a licence or company after a deal is made.
Who owns my invention?
You do. Submitting gives us no rights to it. Any share we receive later is agreed with you in writing before a deal is signed, and you can seek independent advice first.
Do I need a patent before applying?
No. Most inventors apply before filing anything. We help you decide whether and where to file, and in what order, so you do not lose your rights by revealing too much too early.
I live outside South Asia. Can I apply?
Yes. Inventors of the South Asian diaspora are welcome, especially when the invention can serve or be produced in the region’s markets.
How are investors involved?
Investors register their interests and, after signing confidentiality terms, see inventions whose inventors have agreed to be introduced. Investments, licences and contracts are made directly between the parties.
What if my invention is not accepted?
You receive a written explanation and practical next steps. You can improve the invention and submit again at any time.
Is Aage already open?
Aage is in preparation. Submissions open formally once our founding partners are confirmed. You can register now through the forms on this page: we will keep your place and contact you as soon as intake opens in your country.