DST NIDHI Seed Support Program – ACIC VGU Foundation

About

A funding program offering financial support and incubation services for early-stage technology-driven startups, enabling them to develop prototypes, validate their market, and prepare for commercialization.

Benefits

• 💰Funding Support
  Up to ₹50 lakhs in funding support
• 🎓Mentorship Access
  Access to domain mentorship and expert advisory networks
• 🏢Incubation Environment
  Refinement of business models and market strategies
• 🌐Community Engagement
  Engagement with startup community and investor connections
• 📈Growth Guidance
  Strategic guidance focused on growth and commercialization.

Eligibility Criteria

• Startup must be legally registered in India
• Startup should preferably be DPIIT-recognized or willing to apply for DPIIT recognition
• Startup must be incubated with ACIC VGU Foundation for a minimum of 3 months (physical or virtual incubation)
• Startup must have a working prototype or MVP with a clearly defined innovative or technology-driven solution
• Minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7 is required

Participation Commitments

• Funding is disbursed in milestone-based tranches aligned with the startup’s development progress
• Limited portions of the funding may be used for operational needs such as branding, legal support, intellectual property protection, and mentorship services
• Startups must provide a declaration that they have not received any NIDHI-seed support from any other DST supported Incubator.

Target Sector

Technology

Target Location

India