Venture Center

BIRAC LEAP Fund serves as a catalyst, offering capital assistance of up to Rs 100 lakh to startups with innovative ideas, facilitating pilot/commercialization of products/technologies and accelerating their journey to market.

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Eligibility criteria

The BIRAC LEAP fund is only for Indian start ups with minimum 51% ownership by Indian citizens (does not include OCI or PIO).

Additionally

  • There must be at-least one dedicated entrepreneur involved in the venture

  • There must be a formal business plan

  • The idea and team should be technically sound

  • The venture and the team must have high ethical & professional standards

  • The venture must have a strong technology/knowledge component

  • EHS requirements must be met

  • The team should show potential and credibility for raising money in future

  • The venture must be registered as a private limited company, or must be in the process of registration

  • The Venture should be a startup company as per DPIIT definition

  • The amount of funding requested must be less than Rs 100 lakh

  • The entrepreneur(s) must be willing to share equity in the venture

 

Typical terms for seed funding

  • Selected startup should be resident incubatee of Venture Center at the time of BIRAC LEAP fund investment

  • Investment mode: Equity ownership in a private limited company

  • Investment amount: Up to 100 lakh

  • BoD representation: 1 Board Nominee Director and/or observer of Venture Center

  • Reporting: Bi-annual presentation to LEAP Fund committee + Annual financials/MIS

 

To assess your eligibility for the Leap Fund application, consider the following key factors

  • Is amount of funding requested enough to reach critical milestone?

  • Does the venture have a clear, potentially significant/singular value proposition

  • How big/fast growing is the potential market?

  • Are target customers clearly identified?

  • How credible is the technology? (Is PoC credible in the opinion of subject-matter experts?)

  • Are there regulatory/certification/policy risks?

  • What are the sources of sustainable competitive advantage (eg. novelty, patentability, etc.)?

  • What is the quality of the business plan (revenue model, product roadmap, market segments, etc.)?