Grant (non-repayable)

A grant is a transfer, not a trade. The government funds an activity it wants to exist — a prototype, a trial, a first production run — and asks for evidence rather than equity or interest. Nothing appears on the balance sheet as a liability and nothing appears on the cap table, which is why a grant taken before an equity round is worth more than its face value: it buys the same progress without pricing the company at its riskiest moment.

What it costs instead is time and proof. Grants are approved against a project, disbursed against milestones, and audited against utilisation. The application usually wants a costed project report, financials, and registrations that take weeks of their own. Money often lands in tranches, months apart, with the first tranche following approval rather than preceding work.

The honest test is whether the ceiling justifies the calendar. A grant that pays a few lakh against six months of preparation and two years of reporting can cost more attention than it releases for a small team. The same grant is straightforwardly worth it for a business already doing the work and already keeping clean books.