Scheme for Assistance for Start Ups/ Innovation: Pre-Series A Funding

What is Pre-Series A Funding under Gujarat's startup scheme?

The Scheme for Assistance for Start Ups/ Innovation is an umbrella scheme of the Industries and Mines Department, Government of Gujarat, notified under the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 and operative for five years from 7 August 2020. Within it, the Pre-Series A Funding component is designed for the gap that opens after a startup has built its product and earned early revenue but before institutional venture capital is willing to lead a Series A round. The stage founders call the valley of death.

According to the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 documents published by the Industries and Mines Department, a separate fund is created under Gujarat Venture Finance Limited (GVFL) for mid-level Pre-Series A funding of startups, addressing investments in the range of roughly Rs 50 lakh to Rs 3 crore.

This is the crucial distinction founders miss: Pre-Series A Funding is an investment made by a fund, not a subsidy paid by a department. The sustenance allowance and seed support components of the same scheme are grants routed through the Industries Commissionerate; Pre-Series A money is deployed by a professional fund manager on commercial terms after its own diligence.

GVFL is one of India's oldest venture capital institutions, established in Ahmedabad, and the state has used it as the vehicle for equity-style support to Gujarat startups rather than building a new institution.

Who is eligible for Pre-Series A Funding?

A startup can be considered if:

• It is recognised as a startup under the scheme. Any individual or group of individuals with an innovative idea or concept, recommended by an approved Nodal Institution, is eligible to be recognised as a startup under this scheme.
• It has moved past the idea stage. The component targets startups that have already commercialised and need growth capital, and in practice startups that have received seed support under a government scheme are the natural candidates.
• Its proposal is recommended by the Nodal Institution and cleared by the scheme's approval committee.
• It can withstand investment due diligence on financials, cap table, intellectual property and market.

Who cannot apply or is not eligible:

• A founder applying directly to the government is not eligible. There is no direct citizen application; every proposal must come through an approved Nodal Institution.
• Entities formed by splitting up or reconstructing an existing business are not treated as startups.
• A startup already availing incentives as a startup under any other startup scheme of the Government of Gujarat cannot draw benefits under this scheme at the same time.
• Idea-stage applicants with no product, no entity and no traction will not clear an investment committee even if technically recognised as a startup; they should target the sustenance allowance and seed support components first.
• Businesses seeking a loan subsidy or a straightforward grant are looking at the wrong component. The interest subsidy component of the same scheme serves that need.

How to apply for Pre-Series A Funding in Gujarat

1. Get recognised as a startup first. Approach one of the Nodal Institutions approved by the Industries Commissionerate; universities, incubators and R&D institutions across Gujarat, and submit your innovation proposal for screening by its institutional committee. The list of approved Nodal Institutions is published on ic.gujarat.gov.in.
2. Register and file online at startup.gujarat.gov.in, selecting your Nodal Institution, and upload the business plan, incorporation documents, founder KYC, audited financials and details of any seed support already received.
3. Clear the Nodal Institution's screening. The institution's committee evaluates the idea, the team and the traction, and forwards a recommendation to the state-level committee of the Industries Commissionerate.
4. Go through investment due diligence with the fund at GVFL, covering financial statements, capitalisation table, intellectual property and market evidence. The fund decides the amount and terms within the Rs 50 lakh to Rs 3 crore band.
5. Execute the investment documents and receive the funds in tranches tied to agreed milestones, then report progress to the Nodal Institution and the fund as required.

Applications under the startup scheme are accepted through the year — there is no single annual date, but the scheme itself has an operative period, described below.

What else does the same scheme provide?

Pre-Series A Funding is one of several components a Gujarat startup can move through in sequence:

Seed support can be used for raw materials, consumables, hardware, software, professional services, equipment and tools needed to build a prototype, and for market research, testing, trials and marketing.

Is the scheme still running?

The Scheme for Assistance for Start Ups/ Innovation came into force on 7 August 2020 and remained in operation for five years, up to 6 August 2025. Gujarat has since announced a new industrial policy, reported to have taken effect on 1 June 2026 with a revised startup package, so the exact terms available to a new applicant today may differ from the 2020 figures set out above.

Before preparing an application, confirm the operative scheme and its current figures on ifp.gujarat.gov.in under Government Policies, or with the Industries Commissionerate. This page records the 2020 scheme's published parameters; it does not assume they continue unchanged.

How to check application status

Applications filed on startup.gujarat.gov.in can be tracked from the applicant dashboard, which shows whether the proposal is with the Nodal Institution, with the state committee, or under fund diligence. Because the Nodal Institution is the gatekeeper, the fastest route to a real answer is usually the institution's incubation office rather than the portal, it knows whether your file has moved to the committee.

Why Pre-Series A proposals get turned down

• No Nodal Institution recommendation. The commonest and most fatal problem.
• Too early. The component is not for idea-stage teams; without revenue, users or a working product, an investment committee will decline.
• Already drawing another Gujarat startup incentive, which bars parallel benefits.
• Restructured business. An entity carved out of a running company is not a startup for scheme purposes.
• Weak documentation: no audited accounts, unclear cap table, or IP that does not sit with the applicant entity.
• Use of funds not specific. Fund managers want tranche-linked milestones, not a lump-sum ask.

Help and contacts

• Startup Gujarat portal: startup.gujarat.gov.in
• Industries Commissionerate startup cell: 1800-233-0616 and 079-23252588, email icstup@gujarat.gov.in, as listed on the Startup India state policy page for Gujarat
• Office of the Industries Commissionerate: Block No. 1, 2nd Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382 010, phone 079-23252683 / 23252617, email iccord@gujarat.gov.in
• Investor Facilitation Portal helpline: 1800 233 1847

There is no fee to be recognised as a startup or to file under the scheme, and no agent can secure an investment decision from the fund on your behalf.