Colossa Ventures Marks First Close Of Women-Focused Fund At $12 Mn

SUMMARY

The fund, targeting a total corpus of INR 500 Cr, focuses on unlocking the potential of the Indian female economy

The fund will mainly invest at the pre-Series A stage and beyond, across sectors such as healthcare, healthtech, fintech, climate and cleantech, deeptech and consumer

The fund has secured investments from institutions like SIDBI and family offices such as Dr Ranjan Pai’s Family Office and the Shriram Ownership Trust in its first close

Mumbai-based venture capital firm Colossa Ventures has marked the first close of its maiden women-focused fund at INR 100 Cr ($12 Mn).

The fund, Colossa WomenFirst Fund, with a target corpus of INR 500 Cr, mainly invests at the pre-Series A stage and beyond, across sectors such as healthcare, healthtech, fintech, climate and cleantech, deeptech and consumer.

The fund has secured investments from institutions like SIDBI and family offices such as Dr Ranjan Pai’s Family Office and the Shriram Ownership Trust in its first close.

“Colossa’s mission is to unlock the great potential of India’s trillion-dollar women’s economy that is not just under penetrated, but underinvested in, and underestimated. It seeks to do so by identifying, backing and fast-tracking potential women entrepreneurs building disruptive businesses through powering them with capital, capability and confidence,” said Ashu Suyash, founder an chief executive of Colossa Ventures.

Vandana Rajadhyaksha, cofounder of Colossa Ventures, added, “The next decade is going to be owned by women entrepreneurs. We see this as an opportunity to build a unique portfolio catalyzing strong financial performance.”

Founded by Suyash and Rajadhyaksha, the VC firm seeks to back ‘womenfirst’ businesses. It aims to create a 10x difference by investing in fast-growing women-centric businesses while creating long-term value for investors, said a statement.

The development comes at a time when several institutional investors including venture capital and private equity firms, are establishing or concluding funds to support India’s struggling startup ecosystem.

For instance, last month, Mumbai-based Cactus Venture Partners announced the final close of its maiden early-stage fund at INR 630 Cr ($75.8 Mn).

In the same month, asset management firm Rockstud Capital marked the first close of its second alternative investment fund at INR 68 Cr ($8.2 Mn).

Similarly, investment banking services company Equirus also marked the first close of its maiden early-stage venture capital fund.