Nabard arm launches Rs 750 cr agri fund to finance startups, rural cos

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Friday said its arm has launched a Rs 750-crore agri fund for startups and rural enterprises.

The fund called 'Agri-SURE' is announced by NABVENTURES, a subsidiary of NABARD, with an initial corpus of Rs 750 crore with Rs 250 crore each from NABARD and the Ministry of Agriculture, and Rs 250 crore from other institutions.

This fund aims to promote investment in innovative, technology-driven, high-risk, and high-impact activities in agriculture and allied areas, NABARD said in a statement.

Managed by NABVENTURES, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD, the fund is structured to support approximately 85 agri startups with investment sizes of up to Rs 25 crore each by the end of its term, it said.

The fund will provide support through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic, and debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), as well as direct equity support to startups, it said.

Agri-SURE's focus areas include promoting