NABARD

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was set up in 1982 as India's apex development bank for agriculture and the rural economy. From its Mumbai headquarters, it channels credit, refinance, policy support and developmental funding towards rural infrastructure, agriculture, cooperatives, regional rural banks and rural enterprise.

NABARD ranks among the country's largest institutional backers of agri-innovation, funding agritech and rural startups both directly and via partner incubators. Its venture arm, the NABVENTURES Fund, runs a ₹500+ crore AIF that invests in agri, food and rural-focused startups from seed through growth stages. Alongside this sit catalytic capital and grant programmes for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), agri-startups and rural enterprises, plus refinance and credit-guarantee mechanisms that bring down the cost of capital for institutions lending to rural entrepreneurs.

On the developmental side, NABARD administers the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), the Watershed and Tribal Development Funds, and a dedicated FPO promotion programme that has formed thousands of producer organisations — many of which go on to become customers or partners for agritech startups. Agritech and rural-focused startups, FPOs, cooperatives, NGOs and rural enterprises can access its equity, grant and refinance instruments, subject to the terms of each programme. Founders working in agritech, food value chains, rural fintech, climate-resilient agriculture and FPO enablement can look at NABVENTURES for equity and at NABARD's grant and refinance programmes for non-dilutive support, with details at nabard.org.