Government-supported AIFs invest Rs 2,839 crore in 154 women-led startups
The government is implementing three flagship schemes — Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) — to support startups across categories and sectors at various stages of their business cycle.
According to Commerce Ministry, FFS has been established to catalyse venture capital investments and is operationalised by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which provides capital to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) which in turn invest in startups.
Supported AIFs have invested around Rs. 2,838.9 crore in 154 women-led startups in calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 ( as on October 31).
SISFS provides financial assistance to seed stage startups through incubators. SISFS is implemented from April 1, 2021.
As on October 31, supported incubators under the Scheme have approved funds of around Rs 284.79 crore to 1,635 women-led startups.
Meanwhile, CGSS is implemented for enabling collateral free loans to startups through eligible financial institutions.
CGSS is operationalised by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) Limited and has been operationalised from April 1, 2023.
As on October 31, 24 loans amounting to around Rs 33.17 crore have been guaranteed to women-led startup borrowers under CGSS.
According to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, it would be difficult to put together a statistic covering all types of new businesses and their success rate with any level of accuracy or lack of subjectivity.
Therefore, the information with respect to the success rate of these startups is not centrally maintained by the government. The government is undertaking various initiatives on pan-India basis to provide mentorship and training for women entrepreneurs, he mentioned in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
