Yatra Angel Network or YAN, a homegrown angel fund that has backed fintech startups like fintech infrastructure provider M2P Fintech and credit card unicorn OneCard, On November 24 marked the first close of its maiden angel fund of Rs 90 crore.
The fintech-focused fund did not disclose the amount it raised in its first close, it said, but will be investing in about 8-10 fintech startups annually across pre-seed, seed, and pre-series A rounds, it said in a statement. YAN said that it has received the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)'s approval for an early-stage fintech-focused Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).
YAN has been backed by Limited Partners (LPs) including M2P Fintech's Madhusudanan R, and Paisabazaar's Naveen Kukreja among others. It had previously invested in invested Tartan, DataSutram,
PayGlocal, ShopSe, and Riskcovry, along with M2P Fintech and OneCard among others, via Fintech Yatra, its earlier avatar, it said.
"We are grateful to all our LPs, and institutional partners who have placed trust in us. We work along the entire fintech value chain, and India holds great potential in fintech as the country remains underpenetrated in the distribution and inclusion of financial services," said Pankaj Singh, Partner, YAN Angel Fund.
YAN's new fintech-focused fund comes at a difficult time when fintech companies in India as many were hit by the RBI’s new norms on digital lending over the past few months, as the banking regulator took multiple steps to crack down on lending through PPI instruments like prepaid cards and wallets.
Many fintech companies have been looking to raise funds in 2022, but were not able to do so amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment and RBI’s crackdown. Fintech valuations, too, have taken a hit consequently. Earlier this month, Prosus-backed PayU walked away from its $4.7 billion BillDesk acquisition deal, in what was one of the biggest instances of valuations taking a hit.
However, YAN's new fund further adds to the billions of dollars of dry powder that India-dedicated funds have raised over the last nine months despite global macroeconomic headwinds. YAN has joined the likes of some of the world’s biggest players, including Sequoia Capital, Accel, Elevation Capital, and Matrix Partners.
Data compiled by Moneycontrol shows that 13 India-dedicated PE/VC firms have raised close to $7 billion from limited partners in 2022. However, investors still expect the much-talked-about funding winter to last for another 12-18 months.
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