Ashwin Damera, co-founder and CEO of edtech firm Eruditus, has invested Rs 240 crore in venture debt firm InnoVen Capital India Fund through his family office Damera ventures, he announced on April 20. The family office is co-managed by him and his wife Bhagyashree Damera.
Interestingly, the move comes a month after Eruditus had raised $350 million in debt from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a global investment management company, largely to fuel mergers and acquisitions.
Eruditus, which ties up with top universities such as Columbia, INSEAD and others to provide executive education and MBAs, had plans to make acquisitions worth a billion dollars in the next year or so, people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol last month.
CPPIB is also an existing equity investor in Eruditus, having participated in its $650 million funding round last year, valuing it at $3.2 billion. Eruditus' other investors include Sequoia India, Accel, Prosus (Naspers), SoftBank and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
"This investment is from my family office and will give us exposure to venture debt, which is a unique asset class. I have known Innoven for many years and have a strong appreciation for the strong franchise/portfolio they have built" said Damera.
"As an entrepreneur, this investment also aligns with my goal of investing back into the venture ecosystem as the capital will eventually support many promising startups, as they scale up" he said.
Innoven Capital India Fund had announced the first close of its new fund at Rs 740 crore from anchor investor Innoven Capital, a joint venture between Seviora, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek, and United Overseas Bank in September 2021. The fund has a target corpus of Rs 1,000 crore with a greenshoe option to raise an additional Rs 1,000 crore.
While the fund is stage and sector agnostic, the primary focus will be on sectors such as consumer internet, B2B commerce, enterprise software, fintech, health-tech, and logistics.
"We are excited to welcome Ashwin as a major investor in our fund. While we are raising capital from several classes of investors, it’s always special to have successful founders invest with us, as they bring value beyond capital. Over the last few years, the ecosystem has seen several founders generate some liquidity and many have allocated capital to venture debt, as part of their asset allocation" said Ashish Sharma, Managing Partner, InnoVen Capital India Fund.
Sharma said they have already built a portfolio of 25 companies through the India fund, including seven unicorns and they expect to close the fund in the next quarter of the ongoing financial year.
Started in 2008, InnoVen Capital offers multiple debt capital solutions, including venture debt, acquisition finance, growth loans, and working capital among others. It has offices in India, China, and Singapore.
To date, the venture debt firm says it has partnered with more than 200 startups, including Byjus, Swiggy, Myntra, DailyHunt, Elasticrun, Oyo Rooms, PharmEasy, boAt, Moglix, CureFit, Udaan, Mensa Brands, Rebel Foods and Blinkit.
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