Ankur achieves first close on second India VC fund
Ankur Capital, an Indian early-stage investor focused on healthcare and agriculture technology investments, has reached a first close of INR2.4 billion ($33 million) on its second fund.
LPs include UK government-backed development finance institution CDC Group, The Dutch Good Growth Fund, and the Small Industries Development Bank of India’s start-up-focused fund-of-funds program. Ankur Capital said some LPs from its previous fund have also participated. The full target is INR3.5 billion.
Founded in 2014, Ankur is led by Ritu Verma, a former Philips and Unilever executive, and Rema Subramaniam, formerly an executive in the education sector. The firm raised INR500 million for its debut fund in 2016 and has committed three-fifths of the capital across 14 investments.
Ankur concentrates on themes such as digital inclusion and deep technology that can address core challenges across agritech, food, healthcare, financial services, logistics, retail, and education. It deploys $500,000 to $5 million per investment.
"Supporting the first close of Ankur Capital Fund II goes to the heart of how we use our capital at CDC," said Sara Taylor, a director and head of catalyst funds with the group. "The companies that Ankur's fund will support are at the forefront of addressing development impact challenges using new technologies in India.”
There has been one exit from Fund I - a buyback by the promoter of medicinal herbs supplier Carmel Organics. Other portfolio companies include BigHaat, an online seed retailer, and CropIn Technology Solutions, a farm management software provider.
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