The Funds of Funds launched under the Startup India Initiative in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has committed ₹7,385 crore to 88 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) as of September 24 this year, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The ministry also stated that these AIFs have also invested ₹11,206 crore in 720 startups. FFS was announced with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore, has been playing a monumental role in mobilizing domestic capital in the Indian startup ecosystem.
In an official statement, the Commerce Ministry said, "The corpus amount is to be built up over the 14th and 15th Finance Commission Cycles (FY 2016-2020 and FY 2021-2025) through budgetary support by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The support has been extended to SEBI-registered AIFs under FFS which has not only made capital available for startups at the early stage, seed stage, and growth stage but also played a catalytic role in terms of facilitating the raising of domestic capital, reducing dependence on foreign capital, and encouraging home-grown and new venture capital funds.
It further said that Dunzo, CureFit, FreshToHome, Jumbotail, Unacademy, Vogo, ZosTEL, Zetwerk, etc are some of the notable startups funded through FFS.
On the other hand, Chiratae Ventures, India Quotient, Blume Ventures, IvyCap, Waterbridge, Omnivore, Aavishkaar, JM Financial, and Fireside Ventures, are among the prominent AIFs of leading startup investment firms supported under FFS. The AIFs supported by FFS have a corpus target of more than ₹48,000 crore.
According to the ministry, the amount committed under FFS has seen notable growth over the years recording a CAGR of over 21% since the launch of the scheme.
FFS has helped anchor 67 AIFs out of 88 AIFs supported and 38 of these are first-time fund managers which is in line with FFS's core objective of anchoring venture capital investments for Indian startups, it added.
The returns generated from the success of these startups and the innovation created will remain within the country and facilitate the generation of employment and the creation of wealth.