Mr. Sushil Mate

Sushil Mate is a Senior Manager at the National Innovation Foundation – India (NIF), where he supports strategic initiatives to foster grassroots innovation, technology transfer & commercialization, and ecosystem partnerships for business development. With over 16 years of experience across innovation in the humanitarian, development, and consulting sectors, he brings a distinctive blend of grassroots engagement, engineering expertise, and a global perspective to advancing India’s innovation landscape.

Prior to joining NIF, Sushil served as Head of Innovation with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Tanzania, where he managed an innovation portfolio focused on agriculture and food systems, climate-smart technologies, and digital solutions. He previously held regional innovation roles with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in the Middle East and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in South Asia, where he established field-based innovation initiatives, managed incubation and co-creation platforms, and strengthened partnerships with the private sector, academic institutions, and government stakeholders. His international experience also includes assignments with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Cambodia, along with consulting engagements spanning design research, enterprise development, and engineering-led product innovation for rural India and emerging markets.

He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Design Management from the National Institute of Design (NID); a Postgraduate Diploma in CAD/CAM and Tool Engineering from the Central Institute of Tool Design (CITD); and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Madhav Institute of Technology and Science (MITS), Gwalior. He is formally trained in qualitative research and Human-Centered Design.

His cross-sector and cross-regional experience across the UN system, INGOs, consulting, and engineering domains enables him to integrate field realities with systems thinking—ensuring that innovation efforts are inclusive, scalable, technologically robust, and locally grounded.