Startup Grants & Funding for Minority-Owned Startups

Minority-owned startup grants and loans in India route primarily through the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), which provides concessional loans of up to ₹30 Lakhs for self-employment and microenterprise via state channelising agencies. Stand-Up India is open to SC/ST founders with greenfield project loans of ₹10 Lakhs to ₹1 Crore. NSIC, KVIC, and PMEGP schemes are widely used in manufacturing, handicrafts, and services — these are not minority-restricted but commonly accessed. Sector-specific support also flows through Hunar Haat (handicrafts) and TRIFED (tribal commerce).

Showing 1176+ programs for Indian startups

T-Hub

Varies

Orbit — AIC T-Hub SpaceTech Incubation Program

Grant

24-week paid SpaceTech incubation at AIC T-Hub with mentorship from ex-ISRO scientists and global market access.

AIC RAISE

₹3L – ₹7L

EDII-TN Innovation Voucher Program — AIC RAISE Hardware Cohort

Subsidy

Two-tier voucher grant of ₹3L or ₹7L for Tamil Nadu hardware MSMEs and startups via AIC RAISE.

Notion — workspace, docs and AI for startups

NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore

Up to ₹5L

NSRCEL Campus Founders Programme by IIM Bangalore

Grant

Incubation for student entrepreneurs and recent graduates with prototype or early traction.

ACIC-BMU Foundation

Varies

Women in Tech Accelerator by ACIC-BMU Foundation & Ideabaaz

Equity

12-week accelerator for women-led Indian tech startups , investor access, BMU infra, and government grant navigation. 3% equity.

Apollo — B2B sales intelligence and lead database

Thiel Foundation

Up to ₹2.3Cr

Thiel Fellowship — $250K Grant for Young Founders Under 22

Grant

₹2.25 crore equity-free grant for founders aged 22 or younger , drop out of college and build for two years.

Mercatus Center, George Mason University (USA)

Varies

Emergent Ventures India by Mercatus Center

Grant

Supports individuals and teams with scalable 'zero to one' ideas for social improvement.

Emergent — build full-stack apps with AI

EarthON Foundation

Up to ₹20L

Greenovation DRE for Livelihoods Challenge – EarthON & Startup India

Grant

Up to ₹20L non-dilutive grant for 10 Indian startups building decentralized renewable energy solutions for rural livelihoods.

Wadhwani Foundation

Varies

LiftOff Acceleration Program – Indian Angel Network × Wadhwani Foundation

Equity

14-week virtual accelerator for MVP-stage startups with traction , sprint execution, CXO mentorship, and a final pitch to Indian Angel Network.

AI chatbot — automated customer support for startups

DIV Fund

₹1.8Cr – ₹13.5Cr

DIV Fund Grant for Global Development Innovations

Grant

Up to ₹13.5 Cr non-dilutive grant for innovations improving lives in low/middle-income countries.

AIC-IIITH Foundation

Up to ₹2L

Akash Coherent ImpactTech Program by AIC-IIITH Foundation

Grant

Equity-free grant up to Rs.2.2L for TRL 3+ deeptech startups solving social or climate problems.

Razorpay — payments and banking for Indian startups

Andhra University

Up to ₹5L

Andhra University Centenary Innovation & Impact Grant (AUCIIG) — RUSA 2.0

Grant

Up to ₹5L grant for Andhra University students, faculty, and researchers building innovations and startups.

Department of Innovation, Incubation and Start-ups, Government of Assam

Up to ₹50L

Assam Scale-Up Grant — up to ₹50L for MASI Startups

Grant

₹50L state grant for MASI-recognised Assam startups — includes ₹5L Idea2POC component.

Unbounce — landing page builder and conversion optimization

National SC-ST Hub

Up to ₹1L

Bank Loan Processing Reimbursement Scheme

Subsidy

Reimbursement of 80% of bank loan processing charges, up to ₹1,00,000, for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs.

National SC-ST Hub

Up to ₹1L

Bank Guarantee Charges Reimbursement Scheme

Subsidy

Reimbursement of up to ₹1,00,000 (or 80%) on Performance Bank Guarantee charges for SC/ST-owned MSEs participating in government tenders.

National SC-ST Hub

Up to ₹20,000

Export Promotion Council Membership Reimbursement Scheme

Subsidy

Reimbursement of 80% or up to ₹20,000 of the annual membership fee for Export Promotion Councils (EPC) for SC/ST-owned MSEs.

National SC-ST Hub

Up to ₹1L

Testing Fee Reimbursement Scheme

Subsidy

Reimbursement of 80% of testing fees, up to ₹1,00,000, for SC/ST-owned MSEs to avail services from NABL/BIS accredited labs.

Make — visual automation and workflow builder

National SC-ST Hub

Up to ₹25,000

Reimbursement of membership in Government promoted E-Commerce Portals

Subsidy

Financial assistance for SC/ST-owned MSEs by reimbursing up to 80% (max ₹25,000) of the annual membership fees for government-promoted e-commerce portals like GeM, e-khadi, and MSME Mart.

Alliance

Up to ₹4.5Cr

Alliance Crypto & AI Accelerator

Equity

Leading crypto & AI accelerator providing ₹4.5 Crore funding for product-market fit.

Semrush — SEO and online marketing toolkit

Techstars

Varies

Techstars Space Accelerator

Equity

Accelerator for space technology startups, leveraging adjacent industries for aerospace market access.

Techstars

Varies

Techstars Anywhere Accelerator

Equity

Remote-first accelerator for early-stage companies requiring American timezone compatibility.

Techstars

Up to ₹2Cr

Techstars Healthcare Accelerator powered by Permanente Medicine Mid-Atlantic States

Equity

Accelerator for healthcare startups transforming care delivery, focusing on Mid-Atlantic states.

Runway Incubator, UPES

Up to ₹10L

UPES DST-iTBI Ignition Grant 2.0 – Runway Incubator

Grant

Up to ₹10L grant for early-stage innovators in DeepTech, AI/ML, AgriTech, and Sustainability , Runway Incubator, UPES DST-iTBI.

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