Aavishkaar Capital, the pioneering impact investing arm of the Aavishkaar Group, has closed in excess for INR 1,000 crores (c.US$ 130 Million) for its eighth impact fund overall and sixth fund dedicated to investing for impact in India. Looking at the investor interest in the Impact investing space, the fund will be looking to increase the size of this fund over the next few months.
Anchored by British International Investment (BII), Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM AG), Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) Managed by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Self Reliant India Fund (SRI Fund) the ‘Aavishkaar India Fund VI ’ will invest in businesses, largely MSMEs with a technology focus, in agriculture and climate technology.
In addition, Aavishkaar India Fund VI will be the first 2X certified flagship fund in Asia. The fund has committed to ensure that 30 per cent of its underlying portfolio investments meet the 2X criteria, which is a gender lens investing tool under the 2X Challenge – an initiative launched by the development finance institutions (DFIs) of the G7 to deploy and mobilise capital to support projects that empower women as entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees and consumers.
The AIF VI will be led by Aavishkaar Capital Partners Vineet Rai, Sushma Kaushik, Anurag Agrawal and Tarun Mehta and the team has a healthy deal pipeline with the first transaction expected to be in early 2023.
Talking about the new fund, Sushma Kaushik, Partner, Aavishkaar Capital says, “We at Aavishkaar Capital are incredibly grateful to both our investors and founders that have partnered with us in our journey so far, and who continue to push us, to play a role in building impactful and sustainable businesses. We are excited about partnering with the opportunities that tech led businesses are able to disrupt in traditional sectors like agriculture, financial services and essential services. We are confident of delivering attractive returns whilst bringing about a significant positive change in the lives of the people.”
Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia, British International Investment, said, “ Our strengthened partnership with Aavishkaar Capital is based on a joint objective to increase access to capital for early stage tech-driven businesses, enabling them to transition from proof of concept to growth in their operations. Aavishkaar’s proven track record in delivering impact, positions it as an important co-investing partner with proven ability to facilitate greater financial support to India’s innovative entrepreneurs in businesses across sustainable agriculture, financial inclusion and essential services. We are proud that our latest investment, which forms CDC’s fourth commitment to this fund manager, will help accelerate scalable impact for low-income and underserved communities, creating more jobs and expanding economic opportunities throughout India.”
The new Aavishkaar India Fund VI is the eighth fund from Aavishkaar Capital and will be its largest fund in India, targeting double the corpus of the predecessor fund. Funds advised by Aavishkaar Capital have till date made 62 investments in India and 38 full and partial exits.
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Media Contacts:
British International Investment: Toyosi Adebayo | press@bii.co.uk
