Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS)
Guarantee cover that lets a bank, NBFC or venture debt fund lend to a DPIIT-recognised startup with no collateral to pledge
Quick Stats
About Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS)
CGSS does not lend you money. It stands behind the lender — so a bank, NBFC or SEBI-registered venture debt fund can extend credit to a DPIIT-recognised startup that has no land, building or third-party security to offer. The guarantee is what makes an unsecured sanction possible.
Notified by DPIIT and operated through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC), the scheme covers up to ₹10 crore per borrower. Where a loan goes bad, the trust pays the lender 80% of the amount in default on facilities up to ₹3 crore, and 75% above that.
Two structures exist. Transaction-based cover is taken by a single lender for a single startup. Umbrella-based cover sits over a venture debt fund's portfolio. Which one applies depends on who is lending to you, and we work that out before an application is made.
The scheme is a credit enhancement, not an entitlement. The lender still appraises your business, still takes the assets financed as primary security, and still has to want the exposure. What CGSS removes is the collateral conversation that ends most startup borrowing before it starts.
Collateral-Free Credit
The guarantee replaces third-party security, so borrowing does not depend on a promoter having property to pledge.
DPIIT Recognition First
Only DPIIT-recognised startups qualify. Recognition is free, and it has to be in place before a lender can seek cover.
Two Cover Structures
Transaction-based cover per borrower through banks and NBFCs, or umbrella cover across a venture debt fund's portfolio.
Revenue, Not Projections
Member institutions assess a stable revenue stream from audited financials. This is a scheme for startups that already sell.
Success Stories
"Eighteen months of audited revenue and CGSS cover got us venture debt without touching the cap table before our Series A."
Ordrly
B2B SaaS
Funded: ₹3.5 Crore
"No property to pledge and a bank that kept asking for it. The guarantee is what finally moved the file."
Vanam Naturals
D2C Personal Care
Funded: ₹1.2 Crore
"Working capital against receivables from two PSU contracts, sanctioned collateral-free under CGSS."
Gridsense
Industrial IoT
Funded: ₹2 Crore
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