Investor Profile: Startup Oasis — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Startup Oasis funding targets founders far from the usual metro accelerators: this Jaipur incubation centre was jointly set up by the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) and CIIE (IIM Ahmedabad), with support from the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board of the Government of India. Operating since 2013, it exists to scout, incubate, accelerate and seed-fund startups and social enterprises — including from tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

It is a genuinely state-scale programme: Startup Oasis runs incubation centres in Jaipur, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Jhalawar, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Bikaner, working with the Rajasthan government's Department of Technical Education, and its programmes have been supported by the UK Government's DFID alongside India's Technology Development Board.

Investment thesis & focus

Startup Oasis's thesis is ecosystem-building for Rajasthan: inspire and support students, aspiring entrepreneurs and startups solving persistent problems, with a stated bent towards agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, health, craft, water, sanitation and livelihood sectors. It runs the Social Accelerator Programme — designed to prepare startups for its INVENT programme — and has supported women-focused and craft-focused incubation with institutions such as Banasthali Vidyapeeth and the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design.

Cheque size & stage

Its flagship funding vehicle is the INVENT programme, offering up to ₹50 lakhs along with one-year incubation, mentoring, capacity building, networking and follow-on funding support (implemented with Villgro Innovations Foundation as lead incubator). Eligibility covers startups that have validated their business model or crossed the prototype stage, for-profit organisations and full-time entrepreneurs. PitchBook tracks 183 investments by Startup Oasis. The organisation's fund size is not publicly disclosed.

Notable portfolio

Publicly tracked investments include Tan90, Geekster and Braingroom (PitchBook), with YNOS also listing Braingroom, DESI Hangover and Krimanshi — a spread across edtech, agritech and consumer brands. YNOS notes co-invested angels alongside the accelerator, including Ajeet Singh, Balwant Singh Khurana, Akshay Jain and Anup Mehta, signalling that Oasis-backed startups have gone on to attract independent angel interest.

Partners & team

Startup Oasis is an institutional initiative rather than a personality-led fund: it was jointly established by RIICO and CIIE — one of India's leading incubators, founded at IIM Ahmedabad — and is supported by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Its INVENT programme is spearheaded by the Villgro Innovations Foundation, a veteran social-enterprise incubator.

How to apply for funding

Startups apply through the "Apply Now" option on startupoasis.in, choosing from routes including Innocity Booster (pitch to mentors for feedback), Innocity Pitch (pitch to angel investors, mentors and corporates for funding), Fundraising Support, Coworking Space and the INVENT Program. Founders should arrive with a validated business model or a prototype past the lab stage — full-time, for-profit teams are the programme's target.