Skip to content
TrustList
Companies · category

Top Seed-Stage Startup Funding Programmes

56 startup funding programmes ranked by rating, review volume and listing quality.

Want your company here?

Between them, the 28 best-ranked of these 56 startup funding programmes cover pre seed (13), startup incubator (8), growth stage (6) and series a (3). They also list work in Delhi NCR and Bangalore. 28 of them have written a profile you can read before you get in touch.

Filter by fitbudget, engagement, size and more

Only businesses that have told TrustList match a filter. Filters never change the order or a score.

  1. AS

    America's Seed Fund powered by NSF (NSF SBIR/STTR)

    Also in United States of America

    The National Science Foundation's SBIR/STTR programme funds US startups and small businesses building deep technologies, with up to $305,000 at Phase I and up to $1,250,000 at…

    Write a review
  2. DF

    Dubai Future District Fund

    Growth Stage · Also in Dubai

    Dubai's evergreen venture capital fund of funds, anchored by DIFC and the Dubai Future Foundation with an initial AED 1 billion.

    Write a review
  3. EI

    Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

    Growth Stage · Also in United Kingdom

    HMRC tax relief scheme that helps UK trading companies raise equity from individual investors, who get 30% Income Tax relief on up to £1 million a year (£2 million where the amount…

    Write a review
  4. IU

    Innovate UK

    Growth Stage · Also in United Kingdom

    The UK's innovation agency, part of UKRI, which backs high-potential deep and hard tech businesses in Industrial Strategy priority sectors with grants, loans, expert support and…

    Write a review
  5. IU

    Innovate UK Investor Partnerships

    Also in United Kingdom

    Innovate UK programme that gives UK SMEs an R&D grant alongside equity investment from a pool of selected investor partners, which include venture capital funds, corporate…

    Write a review
  6. NI

    National Incubation Center Islamabad (NIC Islamabad)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in Islamabad

    Acceleration services include equity-free grants of up to PKR 5M in non-dilutive capital tied to milestone validation stages. No incubation-stage investment terms published.

    Write a review
  7. NI

    National Incubation Center Karachi (NIC Karachi)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in Karachi

    No equity taken. Startups selected for the acceleration programme receive a grant of up to PKR 5 million each from Ignite, disbursed against milestones.

    Write a review
  8. NI

    National Incubation Center Peshawar (NIC Peshawar)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in Pakistan

    National Incubation Center Peshawar (NIC Peshawar) is a government-backed startup incubator in Peshawar, Pakistan.

    Write a review
  9. NI

    National Incubation Center Quetta (NIC Quetta)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in Pakistan

    Incubation, training, mentorship and workspace are free of cost; seed grants are awarded at graduation (amount not stated). Equity terms not stated.

    Write a review
  10. NS

    National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF)

    Growth Stage · Series A · Also in United Kingdom

    The UK government's deep tech venture capital fund for national security and defence.

    Write a review
  11. PP

    Plan9 (PITB Tech Incubator)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in Lahore

    No equity taken. Free office space, legal advisory, marketing and a monthly stipend per team member, funded by the Government of the Punjab (stipend amount not stated).

    Write a review
  12. SV

    Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC)

    Pre Seed · Growth Stage · Also in Saudi Arabia

    State-owned investment company, part of the SME Bank under the National Development Fund, that backs startups and SMEs by investing in private capital funds and investing in…

    Write a review
  13. SE

    Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

    Pre Seed · Also in United Kingdom

    HMRC tax relief scheme that helps very young UK companies raise up to £250,000 of equity by giving individual investors 50% Income Tax relief on up to £200,000 a year of new…

    Write a review
  14. SB

    Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)

    Also in United States of America

    Sister programme to SBIR that funds US small businesses doing R&D in a formal partnership with a non-profit research institution, which must do at least 30% of the work while the…

    Write a review
  15. SS

    State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)

    Series A · Also in United States of America

    A nearly $10 billion Treasury programme that funds states, DC, territories and Tribal governments to run their own small-business capital programmes, including equity/venture…

    Write a review
  16. UB

    UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA)

    Series A · Also in London

    The national not-for-profit trade association for angel and early-stage investment in the UK, with over 590 members that together deploy more than £2bn a year.

    Write a review
  17. VC

    Venture Capital Trust (VCT) scheme

    Growth Stage · Also in United Kingdom

    HMRC-approved investment companies (VCTs) that raise money from individual investors and invest it in, or lend it to, unlisted qualifying trading companies.

    Write a review
  18. CC

    C-CAMP (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in Bangalore

    No single standard incubation investment is published. C-CAMP says it supports early-stage start-ups/ideas through seed funding as a DBT funded initiative, runs an Investment…

    Write a review
  19. II

    iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in India

    Programme-specific terms. iCreate Seed-stage Accelerator (iSA): programme fee INR 40000, ending in a pitch for incubation plus financial support (grants up to Rs 10 lakh and…

    Write a review
  20. KS

    Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM)

    Pre Seed · Startup Incubator · Also in India

    A public scheme menu rather than one deal. Non-dilutive grants: Idea Grant up to ₹3 lakhs (idea/PoC stage, Kerala-based innovators); Productisation Grant up to 7 Lakhs; Women /…

    Write a review
  21. BL

    BIRAC LEAP Fund (Launching Entrepreneurial Driven Affordable Products)

    Also in Delhi NCR

    BIRAC equity fund that helps biotech startups pilot and commercialise products: partner BioNEST incubators can invest up to Rs 1 crore per startup in equity or equity-linked…

    Write a review
  22. BS

    BIRAC SEED Fund (Sustainable Entrepreneurship And Enterprise Development Fund)

    Also in Delhi NCR

    BIRAC equity fund for biotech startups past proof of concept: a first equity investment of up to INR 30 lakh, made by BioNEST incubators that act as BIRAC's SEED Fund partners.

    Write a review
  23. EK

    ELEVATE Karnataka

    Pre Seed · Also in Bangalore

    Government of Karnataka grant-in-aid programme run by the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society: a one-time, non-dilutive grant of up to INR 50 lakh to take an idea to proof…

    Write a review
  24. NS

    NIDHI Seed Support Program (NIDHI-SSP)

    Also in Delhi NCR

    DST seed funding for startups at DST-backed incubators: an incubator can receive up to INR 1000 lakh and give a startup up to INR 100 lakh.

    Write a review

For vendors

Want to see your company here?

The order is earned: ratings, verified reviews and listing quality decide it, and nobody can pay to move up. There are two ways to stand out, and each one says what it is.

Not on TrustList yet? Add your company or claim its listing, free.

Get vetted

Free

  • We check your registration, your website and your clients
  • Approved listings show the Verified badge here and on their profile
  • It earns a rank number and counts towards the TrustList Score; renewed yearly
Apply for vettingHow vetting works

Sponsor this ranking

Paid · always labelled

  • A Sponsored card above the ranked list, up to three per ranking
  • Marked Sponsored, and it never changes the order
  • Booked by the month; cancel any time
Sponsor this rankingSee prices
Build the team

The talent, and the money behind it

Once a startup is funded, it has to hire. TrustList ranks the offshore firms that add developers and dedicated teams to a startup's own, by country and city.

Staff augmentation in:IndiaPakistanUkraine
Same subject

More startup funding programmes rankings

Every other way we rank startup funding programmes — by what they do and where they are.

All 13 rankings
Articles

Related reading

Articles on this subject first, then the newest.

All articles
Browse

More categories

Jump to another ranked category.

All categories
Keep exploring

More on TrustList

Everything here links back to the same verified catalogue. Pick your next stop.