Indian Angel Network closes VC fund at $53m
Indian Angel Network (IAN) has closed its first venture capital fund with INR3.7 billion ($53 million) in commitments. The target was INR3.5 billion.
LPs include the Small Industries Development Bank of India, local financial services firms IIFL and Yes Bank, holding company Max Group, US impact investor Gray Matters Capital, and Hyundai. Individual contributors include Kris Gopalakrishnan, former CEO of IT giant Infosys, Sunil Munjal, founder of motorcycle manufacturer Hero Group, and Rajan Anandan, a managing director of Sequoia Capital India.
The fund was launched in 2016 and reached a first close of INR1.7 billion in 2017. It will invest up to INR500 million per transaction in 160 start-ups over four years in a range of technology-enabled sectors. Focus industries will include agriculture, financial services, healthcare, and education. About 40 start-ups have been backed to date, with the broader portfolio including at least 74 companies. IAN has ambitions to deploy as much as INR50 billion in 500 start-ups during the next 10 years.
There will be an emphasis on support with market access and mentoring, including input on strategy as well as execution. "For a start-up, funding delayed is funding denied," Padmaja Ruparel, founding partner of the IAN Fund, told Livemint. We realized that one of the big gaps in angel funding was that a lot of startups faced problems in scaling up their businesses and raising further capital, after the first round of funding."
Founded in 2006, IAN claims to be Asia's largest network of angel investors and the first group of its kind to expand internationally, with a London office opened in 2014. The network brings together more than 400 investors across 10 countries, with over 80% of members actively investing. Collaborations with Yes Bank include partnering with the bank's in-house financial technology accelerator and Yes: Head-Startup, a financial services offering catered to early-stage entrepreneurs.
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