Launch of the Indo-German "AI for Mittelstand" Working Group

On 15 April 2026, Germany's association for small- and medium-sized enterprises, BVMW, and India's premier association for the IT sector, NASSCOM, launched the AI for Mittelstand Working Group at BVMW’s flagship event “Zukunftstag” in Berlin. The working group was established under the framework of the Indo-German AI Pact and the Indo-German Digital Dialogue.

The official launch was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Andreas Jahn, Member of the Federal Executive Board for International Affairs and Foreign Trade at BVMW, and Shivendra Singh, Vice President and Head of Global Trade at NASSCOM.

The working group will explore business opportunities, with a particular focus on supporting AI uptake in the Mittelstand. It aims to strengthen B2B partnerships, enable two-way market access, and promote joint innovation in sectors such as manufacturing, mobility, energy efficiency, and healthcare.

From AI pact to AI uptake

At the launch event, representatives from the German Federal Ministry for Digitalisation and Government Modernisation (BMDS), the Indian Ministry for Electronics and Information Technoloy (MeitY), and the Embassy of India in Berlin underlined the shared commitment to translating the Indo-German AI Pact into practical collaboration. Across the opening remarks, the NASSCOM-BVMW partnership was welcomed as a concrete way to bring this ambition to life, by stronger links between German Mittelstand and India's AI ecosystem.

Representatives from BVMW and NASSCOM highlighted the strategic value of combining India’s strengths in AI, IT, and digital innovation with the needs and capabilities of the German Mittelstand. The discussion also highlighted the importance of locally relevant AI solutions, built to create value for businesses and support wider economic cooperation.

Tata Consultancy Services presented their use case "Rewiring Manufacturing: How AI Drives Efficiency and Predictability". It clearly demonstrated how AI helps industrial companies improve efficiency, strengthen predictability, and create added value in industrial supply chains, and how industrial AI can be scaled.

Building the partnership further

While BVMW and NASSCOM are the working group’s lead organisations, AI for Mittelstand is a collaborative initiative. Already during the launch, several organisations, including Hexaware, Nagarro, LTIMindtree, Bitkom, and Tata Consultancy Services, expressed interest in becoming active members. Together, the efforts of the working group can be scaled, reaching more businesses and amplifying Indo-German cooperation in AI.

Currently, BVMW and NASSCOM are designing tangible activities under the working group in support of the Indo-German Digital Dialogue. Activities will anchor around three objectives:

• Creating greater awareness of industrial AI
• Supporting B2B partnerships
• Co-innovating and co-creating AI solutions to be used in German Mittelstand

If you would like to participate in the AI for Mittelstand Working Group, do reach out to us via digital-dialogues@giz.de!