India's Women-Led Startups, Their Funding, Support: What Government Said

Amid reports of the women-led startups declining in India, a statement issued by the government has highlighted that the number of entities recognised as startups with at least one woman director has gone up from 5,675 in 2019 to 17,033 in 2023. Maharashtra has had the highest number of women-led startups during the past five years, according to the response given by the ministry of commerce and industry in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. 

Education, agriculture, green technology, IT services, and food and beverages are among the top sectors that the women-led startup has found place in in the last five years. The government was responding to a query raised by Thoothukkudi MP Kanimoshi regarding the details of the startups led by women in the country

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Regarding the support provided to the women-led startups, the ministry noted that the government is implementing three flagship schemes, namely, the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) to support startups across categories and sectors at various stages of their business cycle.

The response added that under the Startup India initiative, the government is implementing three flagship schemes, namely, the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) to support startups across categories and sectors at various stages of their business cycle. Pointing out the lack of categorized data, especially for the demanded SC- and ST-OBC-wise information, the ministry said the data was maintained and inclusive.

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Regarding the amount of investments made by selected AIFs under FFS to women-led startups, the ministry revealed that a total of Rs 3,107.11 crore investment was made., with the highest in Karnataka. The ministry then noted that the funding support provided to women-led startups by selected incubators under SISFS stands at Rs 227.12 crore, with the highest in Maharashtra. Moreover, a total of eight loans were guaranteed to the women-led startup’s borrowers with Rs 26 crore. The government further explained the steps it took to strengthen the ecosystem for women-led startups.

However, in the recent times, there have been several reports suggesting a decline in the women-led start-ups and the shortage of support and funds for those start-ups. More than 6,000 companies that have female founders remain unfunded to date, according to a report by the data from Tracxn. The report published earlier this year noted that the VC funding in female-owned startups declined by 75% in the past three years.