By Lynda Kiernan
Early stage impact venture investor Ankur Capital announced the successful first close for its second fund Ankur Capital Fund II (ACF II) at Rs 240 cr (US$36 million).
Contributing to the fundraising were CDC Group Plc, the UK’s first impact and development finance institution, the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), and state-backed SIDBI from its Fund of Funds startup initiative.
“Ankur embodies DGGF’s role of spearheading new initiatives for the missing middle. The team has shown great tenacity and dedication in a challenging market and we have been fortunate to be able to support Ankur’s journey so far: initially with seed capital and business development and now with a cornerstone investment into their new fund,” said Clemens Gerteiser, head of investment for DGGF.
Founded in 2014 by Ritu Verma, an alum of Penn/INSEAD, and Rema Subramanian, the former COO of Zee e-learning, Ankur Capital historically makes pre-Series A and Series A investments across the agtech, food, logistics, healthcare, education, and retail verticals. Its maiden fund closed at Rs 50 cr (US$7.5 million) and invested in 14 startups, with one exit announced from Carmel Organics, an herb supplier in which it invested in March 2018.
“The spread of smartphones across markets that were previously in digital darkness is seeing a spurt of new businesses and also leading to convergence of technologies where disruptions in hardware coupled with software is giving rise to new opportunities,” Ritu Verma, co-founder and managing partner of Ankur Capital, told Inc42.
Launched in early 2019 when it brought on former CSLA India Research exec Krishnan Neelakantan as a partner, ACF II has a total funding target of Rs 350 cr (US$52.6 million) which it expects to hit later this year.
Through this second vehicle, Ankur Capital will continue focusing on its targeted categories with the inclusion of fintech and edtech, but is planning to step up its capital commitments to between R 3 cr (US$450K) and R 35 cr (US$5.3 million).
The firm anticipates it will make between 15 and 18 investments through this second fund, with six to eight deployments made this coming year.
Along these lines, CDC will not only commit capital, but will assume an active role at both the fund and portfolio levels, leveraging its 30 years of experience investing in India and partnering with funds and businesses to guide an effective approach to environmental and social practices for ACF II, while also enhancing the fund’s portfolio advisors and strengthening its portfolio companies.
“Supporting the first close of ACF-II goes to the heart of how we use our capital at CDC,” said Sara Taylor, director and head of catalyst funds, funds and capital partnerships at CDC. “This fund will address United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, 1,2,3 and 4, demonstrating our commitment to investing to support the SDGs.”
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.