Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes 2026: Concessional Funding up to ₹15 Crore

At a glance

About the scheme

Launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) aims to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Caste population by providing access to growth capital and concessional finance. The scheme focuses on supporting manufacturing, service, allied, and technology-oriented innovative ventures, ensuring asset creation from the disbursed funds. Managed with the support of IFCI Venture Capital Funds Limited, the initiative finances companies through debt instruments, convertible debentures, or equity participation, offering lower interest rates for SC women and entrepreneurs with disabilities.

Benefits

• Financial assistance ranging from a minimum of ₹10,00,000 to a maximum of ₹15,00,00,000, not exceeding twice the current net worth of the company.
• Concessional interest rate of 4% per annum on debt and convertible instruments (reduced to 3.75% per annum for SC women and disabled entrepreneurs).
• Equity investment available with an exit return of 8% per annum or valuation, whichever is higher.
• Long repayment tenure of up to 10 years, including a principal redemption moratorium of up to 36 months for debentures.
• Working capital gap funding of up to 20% of the sanctioned assistance for a period of up to 10 years.
• Funding for innovative ideas incubated in Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) up to an average of ₹10,00,000 per year for three years.
• Valuer and lawyer fees for the first property valuation and title search report are borne by the fund.
• Financial assistance covers up to 75% of the project cost for projects up to ₹5 crore, and up to 50% for projects above ₹5 crore.

Who can apply (eligibility)

• Projects or units must be set up in manufacturing, services, or allied sectors, including start-ups and TBI-incubated units that create assets.
• The applicant enterprise must be incorporated as a Private Limited Company or a Public Limited Company.
• For financial assistance up to ₹50,00,000, Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs must hold at least 51% shareholding with management control for the past 6 months (or be a successor company operating for over 6 months with 51% SC control).
• For financial assistance exceeding ₹50,00,00,000, Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs must hold at least 51% shareholding with management control for the past 12 months (or be a successor company operating for over 12 months with 51% SC control).
• For technology-oriented innovative projects, the idea must be incubated at recognized incubation centres (IITs, NITs, premier business schools, universities) or hold registered patents or copyrights.
• For SC women entrepreneur benefits, the woman promoter must hold at least 51% shareholding and serve as the Managing Director of the company.
• Disabled entrepreneurs must satisfy the qualification guidelines issued by the Department of Divyang Welfare.

Who cannot apply

• Entrepreneurs belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), or the General category.
• Proprietary firms, Partnership firms, One Person Companies (OPC), and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) are not eligible for direct financing.

Documents required

• Caste Certificate of the entrepreneur (e-documents accepted)
• Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared and submitted by the company or promoters
• Proof or certificate from the incubation centre or corporate body (for technology-oriented projects)
• Patent or copyright registration documents in the name of the SC entrepreneur (where applicable)
• Sanction letter from the relevant Government of India department (for government-sanctioned projects or subsidy cases)

How to apply

1. 1Visit the official portal at https://foa.vcfsc.in/#/signin and select Create an Account to register.
2. 2Complete the registration form, verify your mobile number and email ID with OTP, and generate your login details.
3. 3Log in to the dashboard using your credentials and select the VCF-SC scheme application form.
4. 4Enter all mandatory company, promoter, and project details, and upload the required documents in the prescribed format.
5. 5Review the submitted details, accept the declaration and terms, and submit the online application.
6. 6Undergo proposal evaluation by the Screening Committee and facilitate the project site inspection by officials from IFCI Venture Capital Funds Limited.
7. 7Following sanction by the Investment Committee, accept the Letter of Intent (LOI), complete title verification, and execute the legal agreements in Delhi for tranche disbursement.

Frequently asked questions