Davos 2026: AIF structure in India’s GIFT City has been a phenomenal regime for Kedaara, says chief Manish Kejriwal

Manish Kejriwal, Managing Partner and Founder, Kedaara Capital

Having an Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) structure based in Gujarat International Finance Tech (GIFT) City has yielded positive results for Kedaara Capital in India, Manish Kejriwal, Managing Partner and Founder of the private equity major told Moneycontrol in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 19.

“When I look at our own, and most of the firms in India, which are domiciled (in India), we've all got structures in GIFT City and the local AIF…that has been a phenomenal regime for all of us. So, in the majority of the cases, we look at the number of deals done, and frankly, all the deals that we've done in GIFT City or with the AIf structure are unaffected,” Kejriwal said.

His comments come days after India’s Supreme Court announced Tiger Global is liable to pay taxes on the gains it made by selling Flipkart shares. The PE major failed to prove substance in Mauritius which made it liable to pay taxes, and be ineligible to claim the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) benefits, the Indian regulators found.

While Kejriwal welcomed the SC’s verdict, he said the real answer lies in the details of the arrangement. While most funds have operations in Mauritius, and route money through that entity, “Tiger global has a massive headquarters elsewhere…if a certain promise was made and not kept…of course, it's negative for the country. I don't think a decision of this magnitude would be taken unless there was a specific reason,” Kejriwal told Moneycontrol.

Indian regulators have been encouraging foreign investors to route money into Indian firms via an AIF structure in GIFT City, instead of tax havens like Mauritius, so the operations are more transparent.

Buoyant public markets

Kedaara which raised around $1.8 billion in its latest fund a few months ago, said at least four of its portfolio companies are slated to go public over the next 12-18 months.

Speaking on public markets, Kejriwal said they are both “a boon and a bane.”

While some investors have argued a booming IPO market prompts founders to go public instead of raising money in the private markets, Kejriwal said, “For anyone who says their biggest competition is the stock market, they need to realise that all the money they've made, all the DPIs they've made, all the exits they've had, a majority of that has been because of the public markets.”

While Kedaara has bet big on companies like AI firm Impetus Technologies, this year is likely to witness lower deployment.

“Relative to previous years, we will probably not be deploying as much capital this year, but it's purely a function of opportunities and the right valuation,” Kejriwal said. Companies in the consumer and financial services industries are key areas of focus, he concluded.