Aavishkaar Group raises $37M from Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank FMO
In a statement, Aavishkaar said that the group plans to utilise the investment to strengthen its ownership in its debt platforms and expand its business in Africa and South-East Asia.
The Aavishkaar Group, an impact platform, on Wednesday said that it has received an investment of $37 million, or Rs 260 crores by FMO, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank.
In a statement, Aavishkaar said that the group plans to utilise the investment to strengthen its ownership in its debt platforms and expand its business in Africa and South-East Asia.
Commenting on the investment, Peter van Mierlo, Chief Executive Officer from FMO said,
“With this investment, we hope to help the Aavishkaar Group reduce the vulnerability of India’s, South East Asia’s and Africa’s low-income population. We have seen their enterprise-based development approach work as Limited Partners in the Aavishkaar capital side and now along with Triodos, Shell Foundation and TIAA/Nuveen we will be part of the entire group's journey.”
Mierlo also added that FMO will work with Aavishkaar Group to strengthen its institutional foundation allowing the group to focus on what they do well: building companies, backing entrepreneurs and unlocking innovative ideas. The group entities engage in microfinance, SME finance, fintech lending, equity and venture investing, and as a platform have successfully created an ecosystem that facilitates maximum impact.
“Vineet Rai and his team have a terrific record of finding innovative solutions to help solve many of the key social and environmental issues of our day. We look forward to growing our relationship with these world-class social entrepreneurs,” Mierlo added.
The Aavishkaar Group said that it is focused on developing the impact ecosystem in the continent of Asia and Africa. Currently, Aavishkaar Group manages assets in excess of $1 billion across equity and credit. It also has more than 5,000 employees present across India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Kenya.
On the capital raising, Vineet Rai, Founder and Chairman, Aavishkaar Group said,
“Aavishkaar Group exist to bridge the opportunity gap for the emerging 3 billion in Asia and Africa. We do this by emboldening entrepreneurs or becoming one. As the group strives to unleash the entrepreneurial energy of young minds towards core challenges that the world desires to address; investment participation by FMO and the strategic partnership we intend to build with them would help strengthen our ability to deliver impact sustainably.”
Aavishkaar Group’s ecosystems includes- Aavishkaar Capital, a financial inclusion platform; Arohan, lender to small businesses; and IntelleGrow, among others.
This year, Aavishkaar Capital, the equity arm of The Aavishkaar Group, has made three exits already. The last one was through the full acquisition of lifestyle brand Jaypore by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL).
Earlier this year, Aavishkaar had announced partial exits from Utkarsh Coreinvest Limited and Ulink Agritech Pvt Ltd, which operates India’s largest farmer-engagement platform, Agrostar. Both the companies were seeded by Aavishkaar as the first institutional investor.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
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