The Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCFST) on February 10, 2024, with a corpus of Rs. 50 crore to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Tribes (STs) across the country, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana. The fund operates as an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Category II under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as debt oriented and is implemented through IFCI VCF Ltd. As of August 7, 2025, Rs. 8.41 crores have been sanctioned to two tribal companies, one in Telangana (Rs. 5.00 crores) and one in Chhattisgarh (Rs. 3.41 crores). On January 28, 2025, IFCI VCF Ltd. organized a symposium that included representatives from Indian Angel Network, Info Edge, IVCA, Aavishkaar Capital, GrowthCap Ventures, Villgro, SKI Capital, IFCI Venture, and former officials of SIDBI. Key recommendations from the symposium included building quality tribal enterprises, targeted capacity-building programs at the village level, identifying specific industries with high potential for tribal empowerment and innovation (such as agriculture, handicrafts, and sustainable development), and promoting Fund of Funds (FOF) models to channel investments into innovative and impactful sectors.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Tribal Affairs: The Indian government ministry responsible for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.
Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCFST): A scheme launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 10th February, 2024 with a corpus of Rs. 50 crore to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Tribes.
Rajasthan: One of the states in India where the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCFST) is applicable.
Madhya Pradesh: One of the states in India where the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCFST) is applicable.
Maharashtra: One of the states in India where the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCFST) is applicable.
Telangana: One of the states in India where the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCFST) is applicable, also one of the states where tribal companies were sanctioned an amount of Rs. 5.00 crores.
Chhattisgarh: One of the states in India where tribal companies were sanctioned an amount of Rs. 3.41 crores.
IFCI VCF Ltd.: The implementing agency for the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCFST) scheme.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
SYMPOSIUM ON START-UP ECOSYSTEM
Posted On: 07 AUG 2025 3:06PM by PIB Delhi
Replying to un-starred question of Shri Bhojraj Nag, Smt. Sandhya Ray, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara,
Smt. Himadri Singh, Shri Mahendra Singh Solanky, Shri Basavaraj Bommai, Shri Chhatrapal Singh
Gangwar, Shri Rodmal Nagar, Shri Godam Nagesh, Ms KangnaRanaut, Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi,
Shri Mukesh Rajput, Shri NabaCharan Majhi, the Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri
Durgadas Uikey informed Lok Sabha today that the Ministry had launched the scheme of ‘Venture Capital
Fund for Scheduled Tribes’ (VCF-ST) on 10th February, 2024 with a corpus of Rs. 50 crore to promote
entrepreneurship among STs across the country including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Telangana. The fund is floated as Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Category-II under Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as debt oriented. The scheme is implemented through IFCI VCF Ltd. So far,
an amount of Rs. 8.41 crores have been sanctioned to two tribal companies – one in Telangana (Rs. 5.00
crores) and one in Chhattisgarh (Rs. 3.41 crores).
Under the scheme, IFCI VCF Ltd. organized a Symposium on 28th January, 2025 wherein major Venture
Capitalists and Impact Investors were invited to deliberate on actionable strategies aimed at uplifting tribal
entrepreneurs, catalyzing investments in tribal-led startups and fostering inclusive growth. The participants
included representatives from Indian Angel Network, Info Edge, IVCA, Aavishkaar Capital, GrowthCap
Ventures, Villgro, SKI Capital, IFCI Venture and former officials of SIDBI. The key recommendations from
the symposium included building quality tribal enterprises, targeted capacity-building programs at village
level, identify specific industries with high potential for tribal empowerment and innovation, such as
agriculture, handicrafts, and sustainable development and promote Fund of Funds (FOF) models to channel
investments into innovative and impactful sectors.
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(Release ID: 2153508)