Fund of Funds
A programme by Kerala Startup Mission
KSUM invests as a Limited Partner in SEBI-registered AIFs that back Kerala startups — a scheme for fund managers, not founders.
At a glance
| Best for | SEBI-registered AIF managers investing in Kerala |
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About Fund of Funds
The Fund of Funds is how KSUM puts capital into the market indirectly. It launched in 2018 and has partnered with 16 venture capital funds. Founders do not apply here; fund managers do, and the startups benefit when those funds invest.
What you get
- KSUM participates as a Limited Partner in the fund
- Professional capital deployment through experienced fund managers, with risk spread across a portfolio
Who can apply
- SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds, Category I and II
- Fund managers with an active or proposed strategy aligned with startups based in or operating from Kerala
- Institutional and professional fund management entities
How selection works: Periodic calls for proposals. Fund managers submit their strategy, investment focus, governance structure and Kerala alignment; proposals go through structured evaluation and due diligence before selected funds are onboarded.
How to apply: Express an interest from the scheme page during a call. A Creative Economy Fund, aimed at media, design, content, gaming and cultural ventures, is proposed under the same framework and was not yet live when we last checked.
Where to apply
Other Kerala Startup Mission programmes
- Idea GrantA state grant for Kerala innovators at ideation, design or proof-of-concept stage who need to build and test a prototype.
- Productisation GrantA state grant that takes a validated prototype to a market-ready product.
- Women / Transgender Productisation GrantAdditional state grant support, on top of the Productisation Grant, for women-led and transgender-led startups.
- Market Acceleration GrantA state grant for early-revenue startups spending on marketing, customer acquisition and market expansion.
- Scaleup GrantThe top rung of the state grant ladder, for technology startups with proven traction entering a high-growth phase.
- BCDD GrantA state grant for OBC graduate founders, run with Kerala's Backward Classes Development Department.
- Seed FundA state seed loan against purchase orders — the scheme page showed it as not yet open when we last checked.
- Scaleup Seed FundCollateral-free debt for revenue-stage startups, on soft-loan terms with a moratorium.
- Soft Loan Scheme for Women EntrepreneursWorking capital for women entrepreneurs delivering purchase orders from Kerala government departments and PSUs.
- Startup India Seed Fund SchemeThe central Government of India seed scheme, which KSUM runs as one of the selected incubators.
- NIDHI PRAYASA Department of Science and Technology prototype grant that KSUM runs as a designated PRAYAS Centre; between calls when we last checked.
- NIDHI Seed Support ProgrammeA central Department of Science and Technology seed programme for startups already incubated at KSUM.
- Pre-Incubation (SparkX)A short pre-incubation track for first-time founders taking an early technology idea to a validated pitch.
- Incubation (GrowthX, KERA, Bio-AI)A three to six month incubation engagement for MVP-stage startups moving from prototype to early traction.
- Acceleration (LeapX)A three-month intensive for revenue-generating startups, with separate tracks for B2B SaaS and for AVGC and XR.
- WE StartA three-month hybrid pre-incubation programme for women founders moving from an idea to a working MVP.
- WE GrowA five-month hybrid incubation programme taking women-led startups from MVP to sustainable revenue, ending in a Demo Day.
- Women startup ecosystem (NSRCEL co-incubation, She Builds Tech, LeadHER Talk, Women Startup Summit)The rest of KSUM's women-founder pipeline: a co-incubation with IIM Bangalore, a student AI track, a talk series and an annual summit.
- IEDC — Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development CentresKSUM's student entrepreneurship platform inside colleges, polytechnics, medical institutions and universities across Kerala.
- RINK — Research Innovation Network KeralaKSUM's route for turning research into companies, with an R&D grant, instrument access and technology transfer.
- Investor readiness (VC 101, Pitch Day, Investor Cafe, Ignite, Seeding Kerala)KSUM's fundraising side: bootcamps and pitch formats for founders, and investor education for HNIs in Kerala.
- Market Expansion and corporate connectFormats that put startup products in front of corporates, MSMEs and government buyers.
- FabLab Kerala programmesDigital fabrication training, residencies and fabrication services at KSUM's fablab network.