SBI Foundation & Villgro Launch 'Innovators for Bharat' to Provide Rs 6 cr Catalytic Capital for 14 AgriTech Startups

SBI Foundation and Villgro recently announced the launch of their ‘Innovators for Bharat’ portfolio featuring 14 innovative agri-tech startups. The launch event, held at Bangalore International Centre, was attended by senior representatives from SBI Foundation, Villgro and NABKISAN. It also witnessed enthusiastic participation from several distinguished industry stakeholders including investors, financing partners, channel partners, CSR executives, among others.

Delivering the keynote address at the event, Sanjay Prakash, MD and CEO, SBI Foundation said, “SBI foundation’s vision is to support early and growth-stage start-ups that tackle the challenges associated with agriculture and the impacts of climate change. We aim to foster the development of tech solutions from these start-ups, ultimately improving the income of smallholder farmers and making their businesses more profitable and sustainable. Together, we can drive meaningful change in the agricultural sector and contribute to a more resilient future”.

The 14 startups supported by Innovators for Bharat were felicitated at the event, including: Bharat Rohan, RAAV Techlabs, Navork Innovations, Marut Drones, GreyMatter (Upaz), Carbon Masters, Raheja Solar, Ekosight, Pasidi Panta, Agrosperity (Kivi), Krimanshi, RuKart, GreenSupply and E-Feed.

These startups focus on issues such as reducing post-harvest losses, creating value from agricultural waste, and mitigating CO2 emissions. Over the next two years, the program aims to positively impact the lives of 10,000 individuals, promote sustainable practices on 60,000 acres of land, and prevent 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Maithili Rege, Associate Lead, Agriculture & Climate Action, Villgro said, “Through this program, we aim to coach agri-tech startups, help embed their solutions in the market and provide access to innovative financing to supplement what they currently lack from the VC ecosystem. With the program's initial funding of ₹3.25 crore, an almost equal amount of catalytic capital is being unlocked through our NBFC partner, NABKISAN, benefiting startups with a total of ₹6 crore".

As part of the Innovators for Bharat launch event, two enlightening panel discussions were held on themes relevant to the program: “Boosting Farm Finances” and “Making Climate-Smart Agri-Businesses Succeed".

The collaborative design of the program involves funding support from SBIF, which will also provide a network of banking and financial institutions for mentorship, as well as partnerships with civil service organizations for field trials and pilots. Villgro will play a crucial role by offering mentorship, technical assistance, and market linkages. Together, this financial and technical support aims to help startups scale their solutions, making them more accessible to end users and creating lasting social and environmental impact.

Under Innovators for Bharat initiative, SBIF selects and supports high impact incubators providing incubation & acceleration support to start ups in key focus areas including Climate Change, Agriculture and allied sectors, Fintech, Deep Science, Health-tech, and Tech4Good. In partnership with Villgro, this program intends to empower social entrepreneurs to drive the transformation of Indian Agriculture towards profitability, nutrition, climate resilience and sustainability.