New Delhi, India, October 31, 2007 —
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest in VenturEast Proactive Fund in India, which will support early-stage businesses that are building globally competitive technologies as well as mature sector businesses that will use technology to build leadership. An important approach of the fund will be to back businesses that help address the digital divide, helping technology reach more people at the “bottom of the pyramid” as well as serving the needs of small and medium enterprises.
IFC will play a key role through active participation in the fund’s governance structure. The investment will support the development of local private equity by helping a successful local private equity team grow and expand according to international norms and practices. IFC will also be involved in setting reporting standards at the fund.
The VenturEast Proactive Fund will invest in early-stage businesses that require funding of less than $3 million, but will invest subsequently up to $5 million. It will also invest in selected growth-stage companies that require funding or $5-10 million. IFC will invest up to $15 million in this $150 million fund. It is managed by VenturEast Fund Advisors.
“We believe that this fund will address a relatively underserved segment of the Indian market. To cite an example, only 7 percent of the funds raised in India in 2006 were targeted toward early-stage financing. Our dedicated focus on this space over the last decade puts us in a unique position to make such investments,” said Sarath Naru, Managing Partner of VenturEast.
Paolo M Martelli, Regional Director, IFC South Asia, said, “It is heartening for IFC to be able to support a venture capital fund manager that thinks differently. We have great confidence in this management team, who champion businesses and technologies that are truly relevant to India.”
Prior to this launch, VenturEast Fund Advisors raised five funds - two venture capital funds; two incubation funds; and a listed fund:
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APIDC VCF, a $9 million generalist fund launched in 1995, with support from the World Bank
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APIDC Biotech Fund in 2004, a $40 million fund focused on investments in biotechnology companies in India
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VenturEast Tenet I ($5 million) and VenturEast Tenet II ($18 million), incubation funds focusing on seed investments in India’s technology sector.
VenturEast has also sponsored a listed fund focused on life sciences, Trans-India Limited ($92 million).
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through loan participations and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About VenturEast
VenturEast is a Hyderabad- and Chennai- based fund manager, earlier called APIDC (Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation Limited) Venture Capital. It started as a public-private partnership in 1995 (with APIDC holding 49 per cent) but is essentially private now (APIDC holds 1 per cent now). The core team of the VenturEast Fund Advisors consists of Mssrs. Sarath Naru, Raghu Mendu, and Siddharta Das. Mr. Naru has been one of the early venture capitalists in India, since 1995. Mr. Mendu has extensive experience in building cross-border companies from startups as well as working with traditional sector companies to build leadership. Dr. Das has significant experience in technology and technology venture capital in India as well as international markets including the United States and Europe.
