NABVENTURES标志着₹ 1,500 Cr基金首次收盘价为₹ 450 Cr

NABVENTURES, the venture capital arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), has announced the first close of its second fund at ₹450 Cr.

The firm, which invests in early to growth stage agritech startups, is targeting a corpus of ₹1,500 Cr for the fund. This also includes a greenshoe option. 

India’s apex agriculture focused financial institution NABARD is the anchor investor in the fund

The investment arm intends to double down on early and growth stage startups using tech to address challenges across the agricultural value chain and rural markets. The fund will invest across sectors including agritech, food and agribusiness, rural fintech, climate smart solutions, supply chain and logistics, among other businesses focused on rural transformation.

The fund will also focus on businesses working on sustainability, climate resilience, financial inclusion and livelihood creation, NABARD chairman Dr Shaji Krishnan V said

NABVENTURES was incorporated on April 23, 2018, as a wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD, to invest in businesses working across agriculture and rural development. Besides Fund II, it backs startups via NABVENTURES Fund I and AgriSURE.

NABVENTURES’ portfolio includes startups like Unnati, Eggoz, Beyond Snack, Jai Kisan, among 23 startups.  The investor  backed companies such as aquaculture-focused agritech startup Aquapulse, which raised ₹25 Cr in an ongoing Series A round led by NABVENTURES and KisaanSay through its AgriSURE Fund earlier this year.

NABVENTURES’ claimed that its earlier funds have collectively backed 23 enterprises, providing it with an existing portfolio and track record in India’s agri and rural startup ecosystem

The firm’s focus on agritech comes at a time when the sector has lost some allure that it had for investors. Agritech startups raised $202 Mn across 36 deals in 2025, down nearly 25% from $269 Mn in 2024 and sharply below the $728 Mn and $840 Mn raised in 2021 and 2022, respectively. 

The funding pullback has continued as investors have become wary of capital-heavy models, high customer acquisition costs and weak monetisation, particularly among marketplace and logistics-led agritech businesses.

The shift also comes against a broader tepid funding environment in the Indian startup ecosystem. In Q3, overall startup funding rose 5% to $2.2 Bn, but deal count fell 13% and the active investor pool shrank 24%, signalling a sharper focus on high-conviction bets. 

Agritech, however, has seen some sizable bets in recent times. Balwaan Krishi raised $10.4 Mn in a Series B round in September, while Ninjacart raised $6 Mn in July. 

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