SIDBI unveils “Prabhaav” – An Impact Study of the Fund of Funds for Startups

Jammu Tawi: Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), a key component of the Startup India Action Plan launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji in 2016, is today one of the flagship programmes of DPIIT, Government of India and has proven to be a game changing intervention of Government of India in country's Startup Ecosystem. The scheme is being managed by SIDBI on behalf of, and under the overall guidance and direction of DPIIT.In this connection, a third-party assessment of the scheme was undertaken by CRISIL, India's premier analytics company and pioneer of AIF benchmarking in the country. CRISIL's impact assessment report viz. Prabhaav, was unveiled today by SIDBI.Shri S. Ramann, Chairman & Managing Director, SIDBI along with Shri S P Singh, CGM Venture Finance, presented the report to Dr Vivek Joshi, Secretary, Dept. of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, GoI, Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh, IAS, Secretary, DPIIT and Shri Sanjiv, IRS, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce &Industry.The Fund of Funds for Startups, which contributes to the corpus of category I & II Alterative Investment Funds (AIFs), with a mandate for investment to startups, is one of the key initiatives which has transformed India into the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world today, by providing a sizeable catalytic pool of risk & growth capital to startups.Key highlights of the report indicate that as on November 30, 2023, as many as 129 AIFs have been sanctioned commitment out of FFS across segments. The scheme has already catalyzed investments to the tune of ~4x of the amount drawn with ₹17,534 crore invested in 938 unique startups. Thus, the scheme resulted in significant multiplier effect, promoting enhanced capital flow into this segment. While FFS largely focusses on early-stage funding in young companies, as many as 18 of its startups have already become unicorns. The scheme has also channelised investments in startups in emerging sectors such as deep tech, agri/agri solutions, health tech, financial services, and sustainability. Implemented with emphasis on diversity & inclusiveness, after launch of FFS, 129 startups beyond Tier 1 cities have received investments aggregating ₹1,590 crore. Another heartening outcome was the increasing support to women led startups as well as women led fund managers.The Secretary, DFS and Secretary, DPIIT appreciated the initiatives and progress demonstrated by SIDBI in managing the scheme and the outcomes already achieved.