Lodha Group Launches $7 Mn Fund For Real Estate Startups

Real estate developer Lodha Developers Pvt. Ltd launched its maiden investment fund for startups focussed on smart city solutions and the overall real estate sector.

With an initial investment corpus of about $7.3 Mn (INR 50 Cr), the company will provide angel funding or venture capital, business opportunities, industry contacts and mentorship.

Abhishek Lodha, Managing Director, Lodha Developers said, “Our fund’s philosophy is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three core campaigns—Startup India, Housing for All, and demonetisation. Our fund will address the prevailing inefficiencies in the sector with the use of technology and smart solutions.”

Established in 1980, privately held Lodha Group is a leading real estate developer with presence in India and the United Kingdom.

The fund will invest in startups at all stages of the development cycle, including early-stage startups, which are focussed on creating value in the real estate and smart city space in India. The company will look at all aspects of the value chain,including digital marketing, analytics,customer relationship management.(CRM), to smart city services.

“We have been working in a focussed manner to establish this platform over the last few months. 2-3 business ideas have been already vetted and the first round of investments will be completed by March 2017,” added Abhishek.

Earlier in December 2016, Igate co-founder Ashok Trivedi floated the Trivedi Family Office. This development came after French IT major Capgemini acquired Igate for $4 Bn last year. The Trivedi Family Office will have a corpus of over $500 Mn that will be infused into a diversified portfolio where a large portion of the funds will be used in early-stage tech companies.