In other news, India’s domestic venture funds, that collectively manage assets worth $800 million, plan to form a joint fund to take on Silicon-valley peers such as Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners
Mumbai: Mint brings you your dose of the top deals news, reported from newsrooms across the country.
Pioneering Ventures launches $70 million Rural India Impact Fund
Zurich and India-based agri-food investor, Pioneering Ventures launched a $70 million private equity fund to provide growth capital to the companies it has incubated in India, The Economic Times reported. These five companies, focused on agriculture, farm credit and food supply chain, are India’s largest exporter of bananas, Desai Fruits & Vegetables; one of the largest producer of citrus concentrate and its by-products in India, Middle East and South East Asia, Citrus International; fruits and vegetables supply chain company, FarmLink; dairy business, MilkLane and technology-enabled value chain and financial services company, Samaaru. The European venture fund plans to invest in capital expenditure of these firms over the next two years and expects their sales to triple to $300 million during the period. Across its five platforms, the fund employs 500 people in the country and aims to reach one million farmers through its ventures.
Indian investors plan a joint fund to take on foreign peers
India’s domestic venture funds, that collectively manage assets worth $800 million, plan to form a joint fund to take on Silicon-valley peers such as Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners, which have invested heavily into the country. The joint fund, called Funder’s Forum, will be registered as a trust and will see participation from mid- to early-stage venture capital firms such as Chiratae Ventures, Kae Capital, YourNest Venture Capital and Stellaris Ventures Partners, The Economic Times reported. A larger fund thus formed will enable investors to write bigger cheques and pool money from domestic institutions. The strategy would be similar to angel networks which pool funds from individual investors. The development comes after the country’s startup founders such as Sachin Bansal, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal and MakeMyTrip Group CEO Deep Kalra started IndiaTech, the advocacy platform to promote the interests of domestic consumer internet giants over their global peers.
Japan’s Akatsuki entertainment technology fund eyes India’s vernacular segment
Japanese venture capital fund, Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund (AET Fund), looks to invest across five early-stage vernacular platforms in India with an average ticket size of $500,000, Mint reported citing the fund’s top executive. The fund, which has a corpus of $50 million for investments in India and the US, has already invested in 10 early-stage Indian startups such as Doubtnut, Planet Superheroes, LBB and Mech Mocha, since its launch in March. Its principal partner Yuki Kawamura said in an emailed interview that consumer segments such as vernacular video, vertical media, mobile gaming and live streaming will be its key focus areas in India. The venture capital arm of Japan’s Akatsuki Inc. usually co-invests with other VCs such as Accel Partners, Blume Ventures, Sequoia, Inventus, Chiratae, DSG, 3one4, Infoedge and Shunwei. “We will invest across segments including in content, media, lifestyle and entertainment startups with near term focus on vernacular content," Kawamura added.
