India’s Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme, which was introduced in 2016 as part of the Startup India initiative, has since committed INR 7,385 Cr to 88 alternative investment funds (AIFs). This was revealed by the government today.
A Press Information Bureau statement reveals that these AIFs, with a combined capital of INR 48,000 Cr, have invested INR 11,206 Cr in 720 startups, under the Funds for Startups.
Chiratae Ventures, India Quotient, Blume Ventures, IvyCap, Waterbridge, Omnivore, Aavishkaar, JM Financial, Fireside Ventures, and more are a few of the investment companies backed by the FFS Scheme.
The hyperlocal delivery platform Dunzo, the fitness company CureFit, the direct-to-consumer meat and seafood company FreshToHome, the B2B marketplace Jumbotail, the edtech Unacademy, and other notable businesses have all received funding from these FFS-supported AIFs.
A $1.5 billion (INR 10,000 crore) Fund of Funds for Enterprises (FFS) was formed by the Indian government in 2016 to support the nation’s innovative early-stage to growth-stage startups.
It would assist investment companies with a 12-year maximum tenure and a corpus of under INR 1,000 Cr. Thus, the FFS would lessen the reliance of Indian companies on foreign investors for funding.
Fund of Funds for Startups records a CAGR of over 21% since launch in 2016
In a statement, the government said that 38 of the AIFs were managed by first-time fund managers, and that the Fund of Funds had assisted in anchoring 67 AIFs. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIBDI) oversees FFS, which supports Category 1 and 2 AIFs.
The standard practice dictated that the AIFs personally contribute at least twice the contribution from FFS. “Investments into eligible startups is approximately 3.7 times of FFS disbursements,” the statement added.
In FY22, India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade announced that there were over 73K recognised Indian startups, providing jobs to nearly 7.7 Lakh Indians.
The minister of state for science and technology added that the government had sponsored nearly 10.6K companies through the FFS and the Startup India Seed Fund (SISF) programmes.
