Nabventures

What Nabventures does

NABVENTURES Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), incorporated in April 2018 to manage Alternative Investment Funds focused on transforming Indian agriculture and rural enterprise. Headquartered at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, the company operates as a SEBI-registered Category II AIF investment manager, deploying patient capital alongside strategic and operational support to early and mid-stage startups in agriculture, food, rural businesses, and agri/rural financial services.

The company manages two distinct fund vehicles: NABVENTURES Fund I (INR 598 Cr corpus, established 2019–20), which invests in Pre-Series A to Series A rounds, and AgriSURE Fund (INR 750 Cr corpus, registered 2023), a government-sponsored blended capital fund co-created with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. AgriSURE operates through two schemes: a Direct Scheme (INR 300 Cr) for direct equity investments up to INR 25 Cr per startup in DPIIT-recognized ventures, and a Fund of Funds Scheme (INR 450 Cr) that invests in seven SEBI-registered daughter AIFs. The portfolio spans 17 direct investments under Fund I plus 4 under AgriSURE Direct, with daughter funds extending the ecosystem's reach into aquaculture, agri-biotech, food processing, rural fintech, housing, logistics, and supply chain ventures.

NABVENTURES earns revenue through management fees on its AUM (currently approximately INR 1,348 Cr ~USD 160M combined) and carried interest on portfolio exits. Its go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging NABARD's extensive network of FPOs, SHGs, PACS, and Regional Rural Banks for deal sourcing and due diligence. The company markets primarily through its corporate website, press coverage of investments, and direct outreach via NABARD's institutional channels. There is no proprietary technology platform disclosed; the business model is fundamentally institutional asset management rather than technology product delivery.

Name

Nabventures

Legal name

NABVENTURES Ltd.

Website

https://nabventures.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NABVENTURES Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD that manages two SEBI-registered Category II AIFs (NABVENTURES Fund I and AgriSURE, combined corpus ~INR 1,348 Cr) investing in early and mid-stage agriculture, food, rural enterprise, and agri-fintech startups across India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Fund Management

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Account / SMA Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

National Development Banks & State Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) (BPADACAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital funds
• Agricultural investing
• Rural enterprise financing
• Agritech startup funding
• Alternative investment funds

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees and Carried Interest: As a SEBI-registered Category II Alternate Investment Fund manager, NABVENTURES generates revenue through fund management fees charged to investors and carried interest (performance fees) on returns generated for investors. The fund provides patient capital to transform Indian agriculture and rural landscape.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

NABVENTURES Ltd. manages SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) that provide equity capital to early and mid-stage startups in agriculture, food, rural businesses, and agri/rural financial services. It runs NABVENTURES Fund I (INR 598 Cr corpus) and the government-sponsored AgriSURE Fund (INR 750 Cr total corpus, split into Direct Scheme and FoF Scheme). Capital deployment combines direct equity investments in DPIIT-recognized startups with investments in other AIFs that, in turn, back rural and agri ventures.

Product overview

Nabventures operates as a venture capital fund management company offering two distinct fund products. NABVENTURES Fund I (corpus INR 598 Cr) is a venture growth equity fund targeting early to mid-stage investments in agriculture, food, rural businesses, and agri/rural financial services. AgriSURE (total corpus INR 750 Cr) is a government-sponsored fund co-created with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and NABARD, comprising the Direct Scheme (INR 300 Cr) for direct equity investments in early-stage agriculture/rural startups and the FoF Scheme (INR 450 Cr) for investing in other AIFs that support startups. Both funds are SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NABVENTURES Fund I: Venture growth equity fund investing in agriculture, food, rural businesses, and agri/rural financial services at early to mid-stage.
• AgriSURE

Products and services

• NABVENTURES Fund I Venture growth equity fund investing in early to mid-stage companies in agriculture, food, rural businesses, and agri/rural financial services. Provides strategic and operational insights, patient capital, and access to NABARD's extensive network. SEBI-registered close-ended Category II Alternate Investments Fund with corpus of INR 598 Cr.
• AgriSURE Direct Scheme SEBI-registered Category II AIF scheme making direct equity investments in DPIIT-recognized early-stage startups in agriculture and rural development sectors. Corpus of INR 300 Cr with maximum investment of INR 25 crore per startup in equity or equity-related instruments.
• AgriSURE FoF Scheme Fund of Funds scheme investing in SEBI-registered sector-agnostic and sector-specific Category I and Category II AIFs that in turn invest in DPIIT-recognized startups. Corpus of INR 450 Cr with maximum 5% of AIF corpus or INR 25 crore per AIF.

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CapAleph Fund: Food and agri-focused Indian fund; explicitly comparable given its food/agri thesis and is even a former employer of NABVENTURES' VP Gills John.
• Omnivore: India-focused venture fund dedicated to agriculture and food systems; the most direct competitor to NABVENTURES, operating a similar agri/rural thesis with comparable ticket sizes and stage focus, though purely private-sector in origin.
• Ankur Capital: Early-stage fund backing agritech, food, and rural innovation in India; directly comparable as a sector-focused VC operating in the same agri/rural theme and stage as NABVENTURES Fund I and AgriSURE.
• Aavishkaar Capital: Frontier-market impact investor with an India-focused fund targeting agriculture, rural enterprises and financial inclusion; a direct peer given shared patient-capital orientation, rural focus, and comparable ticket sizes.
• Asha Ventures: Sector-specific fund focused on agriculture and rural sectors; directly comparable as an agri/rural VC, and notably already a daughter fund receiving capital from AgriSURE FoF.
• Caspian Impact Investments: India-focused impact fund with deep agri/rural exposure and financial-inclusion mandate; comparable to NABVENTURES on patient-capital, rural focus, and development-orientation.
• Bharat Innovation Fund: India-focused deep-tech and sector fund including agri-adjacent themes; relevant peer for early-stage Indian VC operating in similar themes with public-sector affiliations.
• Unicorn India Ventures: Early-stage Indian VC with sector-agnostic mandate including agri-adjacent bets; comparable in stage and ticket size, and is itself an AgriSURE FoF daughter fund.

Broad incumbents

• Acumen Fund: Global impact investor with significant Indian agri/rural portfolio; broader in geographic scope but overlaps strongly on patient-capital and rural enterprise themes.

Regional players

• SIDBI Venture Capital: Government-backed VC arm of SIDBI focused on Indian SMEs/MSMEs including agri-adjacent sectors; comparable as a state-affiliated VC manager, and former employer of NABVENTURES' VP Gills John.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments32 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nabventures