Fund of Funds for Startups
A ₹10,000 crore government fund-of-funds that capitalises SEBI-registered AIFs, which in turn invest equity into startups.
What you get
₹10,000 crore corpus; your cheque size is set by the AIF
Nodal ministry
DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Support type
Equity
Best suited for
Growth / Scaling
Typical timeline
AIF-driven — a normal VC diligence cycle of 2–6 months
What this scheme actually is
FFS does not invest in startups. It invests in venture funds, which then invest in you. Operationalised by SIDBI, it commits capital to SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds on the condition that each deploys at least twice the FFS contribution into startups. For a founder, the practical takeaway is that a large slice of Indian domestic VC money is FFS-backed — and those funds have a mandate to write cheques into DPIIT-recognised startups.
Implementing agency: SIDBI
What the scheme sets out to do
Who can apply
What you get
How to apply, step by step
- 1
Understand that you approach the fund, not the government
There is no startup-facing FFS application form. SIDBI publishes the list of AIFs it has backed; you raise from those funds exactly as you would from any VC.
- 2
Get DPIIT recognition in place
FFS-supported AIFs must deploy into DPIIT-recognised startups to have the investment count against their obligation. Recognition makes you a cleaner fit for their mandate.
- 3
Shortlist FFS-backed AIFs by thesis
Match on sector, stage and cheque size using the SIDBI Venture Capital list. A seed-stage SaaS company pitching a growth-stage manufacturing fund is wasting both parties' time.
- 4
Prepare an investment-grade pack
Deck, three-statement financial model, cap table, data room and a defensible valuation view. This is a commercial raise — the government origin of the capital changes nothing about the diligence.
- 5
Run the diligence and close
Term sheet, financial and legal due diligence, definitive documents, and the PAS-3 / valuation filings on the Indian side once the money lands.
Where applications go wrong
What we actually do on a FFS mandate
Services this usually needs
No consultant can guarantee a sanction — that decision sits with the evaluating committee, bank or incubator. We commit to an honest eligibility view, an application built to the evaluator’s format, filing inside the window and a documented follow-up cadence. That is stated in every engagement letter we sign.