Aavishkaar raises $62 Million in Series D Funding
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Aavishkaar raises $62 Million in Series D Funding
Mumbai: Mumbai-based venture capital firm Aavishkaar India, has raised $62 million for its new fund Aavishkaar II from CDC Group, KfW Group, Dutch development bank FMO, and the International Finance Corporation. The funding has also seen commitment from the telecom networking equipment major, Cisco Systems. The new fund will look to invest $500,000 in early-stage firms, and can go upto $10 to $15 million in later-stage transactions. The fund will focus on scaling up affordable models targeting the 'bottom of the pyramid' in sectors like healthcare, water and sanitation, education, agriculture, renewable energy and similar emerging sectors. Founded by Vineet Rai in early 2001, Aavishkaar aims to harness the entrepreneurial spirit at the lower levels of the pyramid to create inclusive economic development. Through various initiatives in micro equity and micro finance space, the company is pioneering the approach of building a financial ecosystem, which would nurture entrepreneurs by providing risk capital for scalable rural-focused enterprises. Rai is also the CEO of Aavishkaar, and the Managing Partner for their flagship SME fund AIMVCF, apart from two microfinance funds AGIMDC I & II. He is also the Co-founder and Director of the pioneering multiple bottom line investment advisory industry, Intellecap. ; the Co-founder and Director of Chennai-based non-profit company Villfro Innovations Foundation; apart from which he serves on the board of several portfolio companies and plays a number of advisory roles. CDC is the U.K. government's development finance institution, with a mission to invest in commercially sustainable manner in the poorer countries of the developing world and to attract other investors by demonstrating success, build value in companies through environmental, social and governance improvements, and drive economic growth. It has invested in over 930 companies in 70 countries through 71 different fund managers. KfW Bankengruppe, the promotional bank of the Federal Republic and the Federal states, supports change and encourages forward-looking ideas in Germany, Europe, and throughout the world. Its priority areas include poverty reduction and economic development, good governance, education and healthcare, and protection of the climate and the environment. FMO, the entrepreneurial development bank of the Netherlands, has investments of 4.6 billion pounds, which make it the largest bilateral bank worldwide. Its mission is to provide capital, share knowledge and create partnership, and partners with ambitious entrepreneurs and financial institutions--often in the low-income countries. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a member of the World Bank Group, and creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. It provides finance to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development.

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