SIDBI Venture Capital Limited (SVCL) is the venture-capital arm of India's small-business development bank — a wholly owned subsidiary of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), incorporated in 1999 and based at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex. It is one of the oldest domestic institutional VC managers in the country — distinct from the ₹10,000 Cr Fund of Funds for Startups mandate it also manages, which has been profiled separately.
Its investment thesis centres on backing 'strong & ethical leadership teams capable of executing innovation based business models or robust scalable businesses' — with a throughline of supporting Indian MSMEs and early-stage technology businesses. Over its life, SVCL has managed funds spanning startups and early-stage tech, manufacturing SMEs, services, agri businesses and financial-inclusion companies.
Its clearest criteria come from the Ubharte Sitaare Fund: entrepreneurial drive and proven top management, scalability in non-cyclical businesses, sustainable competitive advantage or innovative business models, and a clear exit plan. Investments are made via privately negotiated equity, equity-linked, convertible or non-convertible debt in unlisted companies, typically with board representation and mentoring support. Sector coverage today spans IT/software, manufacturing SMEs, pharma/biotech, SaaS, edtech, speciality chemicals, consumer brands, agri, fintech, financial inclusion, climate, defence and drones, spacetech and clean energy — with export orientation as the core theme of the Ubharte Sitaare mandate.
SVCL publishes no current AUM figure — not publicly disclosed. Individual fund sizes are public: the National Venture Fund for Software & IT Industry at ₹100 Cr (fully exited), the SME Growth Fund at ₹500 Cr, India Opportunity Fund Series I at ₹600 Cr, and the Ubharte Sitaare Fund with a ₹500 Cr target and a ₹285 Cr first close announced in March 2022 (a SEBI Category II AIF registered in July 2021, co-sponsored by SIDBI and the India Exim Bank, and launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 21 August 2021). Newer mandates include a ₹1,000 Cr space-sector VC fund — SVCL was appointed fund manager in March 2025, received SEBI approval on 31 October 2025, and signed the IN-SPACe contribution agreement in November 2025 — and the ₹100 Cr Haryana Atmanirbhar Startup Venture Fund agreed in October 2025.
The site's showcase names BillDesk (IndiaIdeas.com), Manthan Software, KraftPowercon India, Centaur Pharmaceuticals, Stovekraft, Mosambee (Synergistic Financial Networks), the Western India Cashew Company, ESAF Microfinance & Investments and Rite Water Solutions. Under the Ubharte Sitaare Fund, disclosed investments include Covalense Digital Solutions (₹25 Cr, the fund's first), Serosoft Solutions (₹30 Cr), OmniBRx Biotechnologies (₹30 Cr), Vahdam India (₹25 Cr) and Nourish You (₹16 Cr) — plus Zerund Manufacturing, the first investment under the Assam Start-up Venture Capital Fund.
Leadership: Arup Kumar is the current Managing Director & CEO (per late-2025 press); S P Singh held the CEO role in 2022. SVCL publishes no partner roster and no founder credits or perks programme. What it does run is programmes: the Ubharte Sitaare Fund (with mentoring and advisory support), the space-sector fund mandate, state mandates in Haryana and Assam — and a public Knowledge Repository including a 'Guide for Raising Equity Investment by MSMEs.'
Why it matters for founders
For MSME founders and early-to-growth-stage teams in manufacturing, SaaS, agri, climate or spacetech, SIDBI Venture Capital is the government-backed door worth knocking on — patient capital, board-level mentoring, and mandates explicitly built for exporters and MSMEs. Expect institutional process and longer timelines than a private VC, and come with a clear exit plan: SVCL states one as a criterion.