Japan’s METI, Reliance Nippon Life, angel investor TV Mohandas Pai and others have facilitated the fund
METI’s Keiichi Onozowa said one of the objectives is to combine Japan and India’s strengths
The fund is targetting $150 Mn (80%) raised from Japan and $37 Mn from India
Japan and India have a decades-long history of friendly trade relations which has also shaped how the two countries startup and investor ecosystems are working together. As we found out in our look at new-age Japanese investors in India, there are many angel investors, VCs and funds that have followed the siren song of Softbank to back startups in India. On the government front too, both countries have courted each other to supplement the unique strengths of each ecosystem.“This Fund of Fund will stimulate the Japan-India partnership in digital area, and will expedite participation from Japan to Indian startup ecosystem.” – Keiichi Onozowa, Japan’s METI
In May 2018, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry set up a joint “Japan-India Startup Initiative”, and METI launched the “Japan-India Startup Hub” at the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Bengaluru, a Japanese public sector company to connect Indian startups and Japanese companies.