Impact investment
Elevar leads $32m round for India start-up credit provider
Indian impact investor Elevar Equity has led a INR 2.5bn (USD 32.2m) round for StrideOne, a start-up credit platform launched last year by the managing partners of local venture debt firm Stride Ventures.
Q&A: Sweef Capital’s Jennifer Buckley
Jennifer Buckley spun out the Southeast Asian gender-lens investment unit of impact private equity firm SEAF last year, forming Sweef Capital. Adding to the complexity, it happened mid-fundraise
Deal focus: Mekong unconfined to consumer thesis
Having long eschewed industrial business models, consumer-focused Mekong Capital has made an exception in the name of environmental impact with Vietnam agricultural supplier Entobel
LP interview: British International Investment
British International Investment, formerly CDC Group, is doubling down on an already massive Asia program as it heeds the call for climate action. Specialist funds are the priority
TPG Rise Climate closes on $7.3b
TPG has raised USD 7.3bn for a dedicated climate-focused strategy under its USD 14bn global impact investment platform.
Nuveen leads $50m round for India MSME lender Kinara
Kinara Capital, an Indian non-banking financing company (NBFC) that lends to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) has received USD 50m in funding led by Nuveen, the impact unit of Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America (TIAA).
Aavishkaar hits $130m first close on latest India impact fund
Aavishkaar Capital has reached a first close of INR 10bn (USD 130m) on its latest India impact fund. It is reportedly targeting a final close of USD 200m.
Fund focus: India’s HealthQuad bulks up for Fund II
Indian health-tech VC firm HealthQuad has achieved a quantum leap in capacity to invest with its second vintage as foreign capital discovers the local opportunity set and thinks globally about impact
Q&A: Amasia’s John Kim
John Kim, co-founder of Singapore and US-based Amasia, explains how a climate impact thesis “swallowed up” his generalist VC firm and shifted its focus from technology to behaviour
Nepal's Dolma hits second close on Fund II
Nepal’s Dolma Fund Management has reached a second close of USD 50m on its second impact fund with the addition of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as an LP.
Q&A: Sylvan Group’s Gerald Leong
Gerald Leong, a 25-year veteran of Asian private equity, believes returns-focused impact investment is the future of the industry. His new firm, Singapore-based Sylvan Group, will attempt to prove it
Singapore's Sylvan buys four local healthcare companies
Sylvan Group, a Singaporean private equity firm set up by Hyundai scion Kyungsun Chung, has acquired majority stakes in four local healthcare companies for USD 140.5m. These represent its first investments.
Australia impact GP hits $48m first close on debut fund
Australian impact investment firm For Purpose Investment Partners (FPIP) has reached a first close of AUD 67m (USD 48m) on its debut fund, which has an overall target of AUD 250m.
Korea's Envisioning Partners raises $64m climate tech fund
Envisioning Partners, a Korean impact venture capital firm set up last year, has raised KRW 76.8bn (USD 64m) for a climate-focused tech fund, beating a target of USD 60m.
EverSource closes India climate impact fund on $741m
EverSource Capital has reached a final close of USD 741m on what is being called India’s largest climate impact fund.
Impact investors commit $60m to India agtech platform
Quona Capital, Lightrock India, and Asia Impact SA have co-led a USD 60m Series C round for Indian agriculture technology platform Arya.
OTPP joins KKR as investor in Australia's GreenCollar
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has made an investment of undisclosed size in KKR-backed GreenCollar, an environmental services provider that helped establish Australia’s carbon credit market.
Circulate hits second close on climate tech fund
Circulate Capital, a Singapore-based GP dedicated to reducing plastics pollution, has reached a second close of $25 million on its second fund.
Goldman invests $96m in Australia disability housing player
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has committed A$137 million ($96 million) to Synergis, an Australian investment platform focused on providing housing for people with disabilities.
Q&A: EQT’s Andreas Aschenbrenner and Sophie Walker
In the past month, EQT has launched an impact fund with a difference and adopted science-based targets for emissions reduction. Andreas Aschenbrenner, deputy head of EQT Future, and Sophie Walker, head of sustainability for private capital, explain why
Deal focus: Vedantu highlights impact potential in Indian edtech
The latest round for livestreaming teaching app Vedantu reframes India’s swaggering, unicorn-populated edtech sector as the impact opportunity it always was
India edtech player Vedantu raises $100m Series E
ABC World Asia, an impact investor with ties to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, has led a $100 million Series E round for Indian education technology company Vedantu at a valuation of $1 billion.
CDC joins $75m round for India medical B2B marketplace
CDC Group has contributed $27.5 million to a $75 million Series C round for Medikabazaar, an Indian medical B2B marketplace and COVID-19 supply chain operator.
ESG best practice: From global to granular
The value creation-driven PE playbook on ESG in Asia converts marginal gains into big picture policy wins – provided investors focus on the right areas and the flow of information isn’t stymied