Draft:Nabventures

NABVENTURES Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD. It is the Investment Manager of NABVENTURES Fund I with a target corpus of INR 500 crore. Till 2018, NABARD has been contributing to other funds dedicated towards its mission of fostering rural prosperity, but with the launch of NABVENTURE, it has for the first time launched a fund on its own. The fund focusses on investments in early to mid-stage start-ups in agriculture, agtech, agri-biotech, food, agri/rural fintech and rural businesses.

Objective
NABVENTURES, a wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD, focuses on investing in the agriculture, food, and rural development sectors of India. Their target is early to mid-stage startups that bring innovation and progress to these crucial industries. The major focus areas of the NABVENTURES Fund could be categorized into three fields:

Initiatives
NABVENTURE since its inception is nurturing various partnerships and taking different initiatives for the fulfillment of the goals, aims and objectives which was assigned to it by NABARD, its parent organisation. Some of its well-known initiatives are:
 * In 2020, NABVENTURE has made its maiden investment in Mumbai-based rural fintech startup Jai Kisan as part of a ₹30 crore funding. Jai Kisan plans to invest the capital to hire across roles in operations and process management, as well as invest in its technology platform, as it looks to provide newer financial services offerings.
 * In October 2020, Agritech startup Unnati had raised USD 1.7 million in Pre-Series A round from NABVENTURES fund., Unnati's app gives access to agri finance, knowledge support, choice of inputs, tracking farm lifecycle and access to buyers.
 * In 2021 it invested in Eggoz, an egg-focused consumer startup. The startup said it will utilise the fresh funds to expand its business footprint and hire fresh talent.
 * NABVENTURES also led an investment in JustDeliveries, a prominent provider of logistics solutions for perishables. It has secured $1 million in a pre-Series A funding round from a consortium of investors.
 * In January 2023, Rural commerce startup VilCart had raised $13 million in a Series A round led by Asia Impact with the participation of NABVENTURES Fund and other corporations.
 * In 2023, it has also invested Rs 10 crore in agritech Satyukt Analytics, a satellite agri-analytics startup. Satyukt deploys satellite technology and machine learning to provide software as a service-based advisory services to farmers.
 * In November 2023, an Affordable housing co-lending platform Bharat Housing Network has bagged ₹125 crore in its Series A funding round led by NABVENTURES.


 * In July 2023, NABVENTURES funded USD 3.5 Million towards Beyond Snack, a startup which aims to promote healthy snacks. The funding is believed to help the startup to expand and diversify its role in the current market.


 * The Government of India announced in 2024 that it is soon going to launch a Rs 750 crore fund which aims to promote investments and bring efficiency to the agricultural sector. For this a blended capital support will be rolled out by the Ministry of Agriculture which will be managed by NABVENTURES. The fund's goal is to support approximately 85 start-ups in expanding their operations over the next five years, with individual investments ranging up to Rs 25 crore. Further, a distinct trust will be set up within the Nabventures to formally register the fund with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

In 2021, the ogranisation announced that it will par down its average investment size per deal amidst tighter start-ups valuations. However it also conveyed to place more confidence and funding in the realm of agri-tech startups.