NABVENTURES Announces First Close of Fund II at INR 450 Crore; Target Corpus Set at INR 1,500 Crore – Indian PSU

NABVENTURES, the venture capital arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), has raised ₹450 crore at the first close of its second fund. NABVENTURES Fund II is targeting a total corpus of ₹1,500 crore, including a green-shoe option.

NABARD is the fund’s anchor investor. Fund II will invest in early- and growth-stage companies using technology and scalable business models to address challenges in agriculture and rural markets.

The fund will focus on sectors including agri-tech, food and agribusiness, rural fintech, climate-smart solutions, and supply chain and logistics. It will also consider other innovations supporting rural transformation.

Announcing the first close, NABARD Chairman Dr. Shaji Krishnan V said the fund aims to back businesses that can improve productivity, strengthen value chains, raise farmers’ incomes and build resilient rural enterprises. He said the fund will seek both commercial returns and social impact, with an emphasis on sustainability, climate resilience, financial inclusion and livelihood creation.

NABVENTURES said it will draw on NABARD’s nationwide presence and sectoral expertise to help portfolio companies scale. Its earlier funds have collectively backed 23 enterprises.