CDC backs Asia PE, VC funds

According to a release, CDC’s investment includes $10 million and $6 million, respectively, for the debut funds of India’s Stellaris Venture Partners – a spin-out from Helion Venture Partners – and Pi Ventures, which focuses on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Pi closed its fund earlier this year at INR2.25 billion ($30.9 million), while Stellaris reached a first close of $50 million in January 2017 and is targeting $100 million for the overall corpus.

Anthem Asia, which is seeking $50 million for investments in small and medium-sized enterprises in Myanmar, also received $10 million from CDC, which anchored the fund’s first close in August with the International Finance Corporation and the Dutch Good Growth Fund. India’s Lighthouse Funds said in a separate release that the DFI invested $25 million in its third growth capital fund, which has a target of $200 million. CDC also invested in real estate funds focused on Africa and India.

CDC is an active investor in Asia, particularly in India, where its strategy includes both fund commitments and direct investments. The group partnered with India’s Manipal Education and Medical Group last year for an $80 million fund targeting healthcare investments in emerging markets – primarily in South Asia and Africa.

In addition, CDC has backed a number of Indian companies, primarily in the healthcare and financial services sectors. Investees include home healthcare business Portea Medical and non-banking finance companies Veritas Finance and Ujjivan Financial Services, the latter of which CDC fully exited earlier this year.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• LPs
• Venture
• Growth
• India
• Myanmar
• Stellaris Venture Partners
• Anthem Asia
• Lighthouse Funds
• CDC Group