Aavishkaar Capital Raises $130 Mn For AIF VI Fund; To Invest In 13-15 Tech Startups

Aavishkaar Capital, an investment arm of Aavishkaar Group, has raised $130 Mn (INR 1000 Cr) for the first close of the sixth impact fund Aavishkaar India Fund VI (AIF VI). The fund will be expanding the fund size in the coming months. 

The company informed that the fund will further raise capital aiming to close at $200 Mn by the end of 2022. 

The fund is currently backed by British International Investment, Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets and Fund of Funds for Startups.

A senior official told Inc42, “The fund will invest in 13-15 businesses, largely MSMEs where technology will be a key enabler and the ticket size will be $10-$20 Mn. It will primarily focus on sustainable agritech, financial inclusion and climate tech-focused essential services segment.”   

Founded in 2001 by Vineet Rai, Aavishkaar Capital is a venture capitalist that invests in early-stage startups in India. It focuses on various sectors including sustainable agriculture, financial inclusion and essential services across India, Emerging Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Aavishkaar Capital claims to have raised eight funds while generating commercial returns with more than $500 Mn in assets under management. It further claims to have made 63 investments in India and 38 full and partial exits to date. 

AIF VI is targeting double the corpus of the predecessor fund. The fund will be led by partners of  Aavishkaar Capital–Vineet Rai, Sushma Kaushik, Anurag Agrawal and Tarun Mehta.

“AIF VI will be making its first investment in the edtech business in the coming weeks. The investment in this deal will be between $5-$10 Mn,” the official quoted above said.  

The fund is a 2X certified flagship fund in Asia thus, committing 30% investment in women-led businesses that have implications on gender inclusion, women leadership, and product and services that cater to women. 

In 2021, Avaashikaar Capital made investments in edtech startup Nalanda Learning and tech logistics startup GoBOLT. It infused INR 40 Cr in Nalanda Learning while the investment made in a $20 Mn Series B round of GoBOLT was not disclosed.

In 2018, Aavishkaar Group planned to raise $300 Mn for its South Asia-focused fund to invest in Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos among others. Then, the funds planned to be raised from sovereign investors in Singapore, Japan, Australia and the UK, in addition to Asian development finance institutions.