IFC set to back Endiya's second India fund
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to invest $10 million in the second fund raised by Endiya Partners, an early-stage venture capital investor based in India.
Last year, the VC firm reached a first close of $40 million against a target of $70 million. Endiya had said most of the LPs from its debut fund - a INR1.7 billion ($25 million) vehicle raised in 2017 - re-upped. They include the Small Industries Development Bank of India and the Life Insurance Corporation of India. IFC announced its proposed commitment to Fund II in a disclosure last week.
Founded in 2015, Endiya was established by former members of Ventureast, one of India’s oldest early-stage VC firms. Endiya seeks to fill the funding gap between angel and Series A rounds for market-defining companies as well as contribute to larger funding rounds of promising technology-enabled start-ups.
Portfolio companies that have received investment over the last year include HR services provider Darwinbox, financing platform Kissht, and artificial intelligence-enabled medical diagnostics player SigTuple. The firm claims to have achieved three exits so far across the two funds: Little Eye Labs, a provider of android performance analysis software, bot management software developer Shield Square, and Style Craze, a fashion and lifestyle platform for women.
Fund II is expected to invest in approximately 15 companies with individual deployments of up to $1.5 million. It may make total commitments of up to $5 million per company. Focus areas typically include consumer internet services, healthcare, financial technology, and software-as-a-service.
Among other India-focused GPs, IFC has also supported the fundraising efforts of Quadria Capital, Quona Capital, Sixth Sense Ventures, and A91 Partners in recent years. It also invests directly in Indian companies. The portfolio includes Future Lifestyle Fashions, L&T Finance, Shadowfax and 1mg, an Indian online healthcare services operator.
Separately, another IFC disclosure last week revealed a $10 million commitment to Onsitego, an Indian company that offers extended warranty services. Onsitego insures, and provides after-sales services for, consumer products like televisions and washing machines.
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