Press release: India’s Aavishkaar Bharat Fund Attracts $95m for Impact Investing from Investors Including CDC, SIDBI, Munjal Family Office (Hero Corporation), TIAA

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Indian fund advisor Aavishkaar recently completed the first close of the Aavishkaar Bharat Fund, with commitments of INR 6.2 billion (USD 95 million), of which it has INR 5.9 billion (USD 92 million) in hand. The fund will support businesses in India that further Aavishkaar’s mission to “enhance livelihoods and reduce vulnerabilities for the low-income population” in “a range of sectors, namely agriculture, dairy, education, energy, handicrafts, health, water and sanitation, technology for development, microfinance and financial inclusion.” Aavishkaar will seek to do this while generating a commercial rate of return.

The anchor investors of the Aavishkaar Bharat Fund are CDC Group, which is backed by the British government; India’s Munjal Family Office (Hero Corporation); the government-backed Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI); and the US-based NGO Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA). CDC invested USD 25 million in the fund; Hero invested INR 1 billion (USD 15 million); and SIDBI invested INR 750 million (USD 11.5 million). The amount placed by TIAA has not been disclosed.

Photo courtesy of Peter Haden.

Source: Press release (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Investing
Tags
financial inclusion, impact investing, social enterprise