A field guide to grants for women founders in India

Several schemes have dedicated windows for women founders — usually defined as at least one woman co-founder holding 51%+ equity and active in operations.

Worth knowing about

• WEP Women Startup Grant (NITI Aayog) — up to ₹25 Lakh equity-free, plus mentoring and business reviews.
• Startup India — Women Entrepreneurship Grant — up to ₹20 Lakh with priority mentorship and market access.
• BIRAC SITARE — Women in Life Sciences — translational research funding for women-led biotech ventures.

Tips

1. Get your cap table in order — you'll need to prove the shareholding.
2. Many of these pair the grant with an accelerator; budget the time.
3. State programmes (Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana) often stack on top of central ones.

Filter the Grant Finder to the Women Founder Grants category to see what's open right now.