IFC To Invest $25 Mn In Trifecta Capital’s Fourth Venture Debt Fund

SUMMARY

IFC has committed to infuse $25 Mn in Trifecta Capital’s INR 2000 Cr venture debt fund IV

The venture debt firm plans on investing INR 25 Cr to INR 30 Cr in over 100 startups operating across sectors like EV, deeptech, climate tech, AI

This would mark the fourth investment for IFC in an India-focussed private capital firm this year

World Bank’s private lending arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) will be investing $25 Mn (about INR 220 Cr) in venture debt firm Trifecta Capital’s INR 2000 Cr venture debt fund IV.

The investment from IFC comes about eight months after the firm announced the first close of the debt firm. Back then, Trifecta said that it had received commitments to the tune of half of the fund size.

Via its fourth venture debt fund, the firm plans on backing over 100 startups operating in sectors like electric vehicles, deeptech, climate tech, AI infrastructure, manufacturing-tech, and agritech, financial services. The average ticket size of these investments is planned to be in a range of INR 25 Cr to INR 30 Cr.

Founded in 2014 by Rahul Khanna and Nilesh Kothari, Trifecta claims to have invested INR 8,700 Cr in more than 220 startups till date. Its portfolio includes unicorns like Cars24, Rebel Foods, Shadowfax, Urban Company, Zepto, among others.

On the other hand, IFC’s India investment strategy has sort of shifted to backing alternative financing vehicles rather than making direct equity investments in the country as of 2025. For instance, the World Bank entity became an anchor investor for venture debt firm Alteria Capital’s Shorter Duration Scheme, which offers short-term loans for fintechs, consumer brands, and EV players in May.

Its other venture investments in India this year include an equity investment of up to $30 Mn to L Catterton’s $600 Mn India Fund and an investment of $35 Mn in VC firm A91 Partners’ third fund.

Beyond its investments in firms, IFC also recently announced its plans to invest $37 Mn in electric mobility startup GreenCell Mobility in a mix of debt and equity. It also said that it is also “providing” $100 Mn (INR 882.7 Cr) in financing to another electric bus manufacturer, JBM Ecolife Mobility.

At the heart of IFC’s strategy is its plan to double annual investments in India to $10 Bn by 2030, with a strong focus on urbanisation, green energy and MSMEs. “An economy of this size, growing at this speed, requires us to increase both our ambition and commitment,” IFC’s managing director Makhtar Diop said in conversation with ET recently.