Nabventures launches first-ever venture capital fund for agriculture and rural-focused startups

Nabventures, a subsidiary of NABARD, has recently launched its first-ever Rs 700-crore venture capital fund for equity investments in agriculture and rural-focused startups. The fund will have a high impact as it will provide a boost to investment ecosystem in the core areas of agriculture, food and improvement of rural livelihoods. It is registered with SEBI as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund . The Nabventures Fund has a proposed corpus of Rs 500 crore with a greenshoe option of Rs 200 crore and has also received an anchor commitment from NABARD. Till now, NABARD has been contributing to other funds and this is the first time that the rural development bank has launched a fund of its own. NABARD is now 100% owned by the government, which has been focusing on startups through a slew of measures.