Ex-World Bank Executive Floats INR 300 Cr VC Fund

Former World Bank executive Sayan Ghosh has floated a new INR 300 Cr (about $36 Mn) venture capital (VC) fund, Ortella Global Capital (OG Capital), which will co-build startups alongside founders.

The fund plans to invest in more than 20 early and growth stage startups across consumer and “enterprise solutions” sectors, and will dish out cheques of up to INR 15 Cr ($2 Mn) each. 

In a statement, OG Capital said it has already backed three startups. However, it didn’t provide specific details about these startups. 

Besides offering capital, OG Capital also plans to handhold startups in portfolio and help scale up their operations.

OG Capital claims to have assembled the largest early-stage investment team in India, comprising experienced founders and operators. The team’s expertise spans various areas including scaling startups, identifying product-market fit, driving profitability, building go-to-market strategies, and facilitating high-value exits.

“Our vision at OG Capital is to redefine early-stage investing by going beyond just writing cheques. We believe in rolling up our sleeves and co-building alongside founders to tackle the big challenges head-on, helping them build high growth, profitable and impactful businesses,” Ghosh said in the statement. 

The VC firm said that it will look to deliver 10X returns while focusing on ventures that prioritise grassroots-level impact, sustainability, and gender diversity. However, there was no clarity on the timeline for closing the fund and its deployment. 

Ghosh claims to have over a decade of experience spanning entrepreneurship, investment banking, and investing. During his tenure at the World Bank, he claims to have driven notable investments and exits in Indian startups, including Lenskart, upGrad, 1mg, and BigBasket. 

The fund’s launch timing coincides with a period of cautious optimism in India’s startup ecosystem as funding winter continues to wane and investment firms deploy the dry powder accumulated over the past two years. 

Recent months have seen several fund closures, including Titan Capital’s INR 333 Cr opportunities fund and Avaana Capital’s $135 Mn climate fund.

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