Featured in: The Hindu
Dutch firm Capital 4 Development Partners (C4D Partners) said it had filed an application with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to register an India-focused venture capital fund that plans to raise about $70 million. “We have plans to raise $70 million through our first India focused fund. As per the prevailing rules, we have filed application with the SEBI for the same,” said Arvind Agarwal, co-founder and CEO, C4D Partners.
The firm is planning to reach out to potential investors by mid-2022, and post mobilisation of the fund, to make about 18-20 individual investments with an initial ticket size of $1-2 million up to $5 million, he said.
“Through the India-focused fund, our plan is to make investments into early and growth-stage companies that are operating across various sectors including agriculture and allied activities, food processing, retail and consumer goods, clean energy, healthcare, skilling and education, water and sanitation, financial inclusion, and others in India,” Mr. Agarwal said.
“We operate as a sector agnostic fund with a key focus on businesses that have a clear positive social/environmental impact,” he added.
In 2018, the firm had raised $30 million through an Asia Fund and had invested in 13 start-ups from India.
“We are convinced that building inclusive economies, where the well-being of people and taking care of the environment go hand in hand with economic principles, is a responsible strategy,” Mr. Agarwal said.
“This way, we can contribute to achieving sustainable development goals and manage investors’ expectations of a market-adjusted return,” he added.
“The fund would invest about 30% of total capital commitments in portfolio companies that are women-owned and/or women-led and stimulate portfolio entities to include women in their supply chains and staffing,” he said.