India
Dealflow | February 3, 2023
Deal spotlight: Protecting individuals and businesses from data and identity theft
ImpactAlpha, February 3 – Cell phones and digitization have helped billions of individuals, micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses improve their livelihoods. They’ve also introduced …
India | February 2, 2023
As India’s impact ventures grow, so does the need for growth-stage impact capital
ImpactAlpha, February 2 – India’s impact investing market has witnessed tremendous growth over the past few years, moving beyond financial inclusion into emerging …
Frontier and Growth Markets | January 26, 2023
Climate tech venture Ecozen raises $25 million, giving early investors a partial exit
ImpactAlpha, January 26 – Ecozen, in Pune, India, launched a decade ago to provide affordable, clean energy-fueled products for India’s smallholder farmers. The …
Photo by Breathe Well-being.
Investing in Health | January 25, 2023
Breathe Well-being raises 500 million rupees for diabetes care and prevention
ImpactAlpha, January 25 — Gurgaon-based health tech startup Breathe Well-being offers digital coaching in behavioral and lifestyle changes that are helping more than …
Image credit: VilCart
Frontier and Growth Markets | January 10, 2023
VilCart raises $13 million to digitalize India’s mom and pop shops
ImpactAlpha, January 10 – Bangalore-based VilCart helps India’s kiranas, or mom and pop shops, digitalize their business operations and source inventory. The company, …
Photo credit: SarvaGram
Frontier and Growth Markets | January 4, 2023
Elevar Equity re-ups investment in SarvaGram to speed financial inclusion in rural India
ImpactAlpha, January 4 – SarvaGram provides consumer and business loans to rural and peri-urban households in India that otherwise have difficulty accessing affordable …
AVLA's team | Photo by AVLA.
Financial Inclusion | December 5, 2022
Creation Investments closes $270 million fund for financial inclusion in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, December 5 — Creation Investments Capital Management has raised $270 million for its fifth fund to invest in eight to 10 companies …
Photo credit: Tamul Plates
Good Jobs | November 17, 2022
Upaya Social Ventures exits India-based maker of sustainable tableware
ImpactAlpha, November 17 – Upaya Social Ventures made a $27,000 equity investment in Tamul Plates in 2015, helping the all-natural disposable plate and …
Photo by Flickr.
Clean Energy | November 15, 2022
KKR bets $400 million on Serentica Renewable for clean energy in India
ImpactAlpha, November 15 — KKR, through its $3.9 billion Asia Pacific Infrastructure fund, is investing $400 million in New Delhi-based clean energy producer …
Photo by Eco Ltd.
Climate Finance | November 14, 2022
Philanthropic organizations commit $500 million for energy transition in developing countries
ImpactAlpha, November 14 — A three-year commitment by nine philanthropies will support energy transition projects by low- and middle-income countries and their partners …
Photo credit: Quona Capital
Dealflow | November 9, 2022
Quona Capital raises $332 million for its third financial inclusion fund
ImpactAlpha, November 9 — Washington, D.C.-based Quona Capital exceeded its $250 million target for its latest fund, raising $332 million to back ventures expanding access …
Photo by Envirofit.
Climate Finance | October 19, 2022
India’s EKI Energy Services commits $24.3 million to launch a climate impact fund
ImpactAlpha, October 19 — Indore-based EKI Energy is a global carbon credits supplier and project manager with its own trading platform. The company …
Photo by Evisort.
Dealflow | October 14, 2022
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Impact M&A
ImpactAlpha, October 14 — The year has seen an uptick in impact mergers and acquisitions, including Mirova’s purchase of SunFunder to expand clean …
Photo by Vistaar Finance
Financial Inclusion | October 13, 2022
Warburg Pincus takes control of Indian micro-enterprise lender Vistaar Finance
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — New York-based Warburg Pincus is acquiring a majority stake in Vistaar Finance, an India-based non-bank financial company that provides …
Photo credit: Hero Future Energies
Clean Energy | September 21, 2022
KKR leads India’s Hero Future Energies’ $450 million raise to expand into battery storage and green hydrogen
ImpactAlpha, September 21 — New Delhi-based independent power producer Hero Future Energies was launched a decade ago by industrial equipment giant Hero Group. …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Overheard at India’s ‘Impact 2022’: Climate investment tipping point
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – India is experiencing a surge of interest in climate investment and innovation, thanks to the country’s bold commitments at COP26 …
Photo by Sahyadri Farms.
Smallholder Agriculture | September 15, 2022
Sahyadri Farms raises nearly $40 million to digitalize India’s smallholder farmers
ImpactAlpha, September 15 — Sahyadri Farms is a farmer-led fruit and vegetable processing and export business that works with more than 18,000 farmers …
Climate Finance | September 15, 2022
Investors in India are betting on climate tech’s financial opportunity
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – Climate finance in India surged in 2021, reaching about $20 billion in equity, green bonds and other types of capital. …
EarlySalary's founders. Photo by Inc42.
Financial Inclusion | August 31, 2022
EarlySalary raises $110 million for instant-cash loans to India’s young earners
ImpactAlpha, August 31 — The Pune-based fintech company aims to provide access to credit for underserved consumers in India’s Tier 3 and 4 …
Photo by Coyuchi.
sustainability | August 31, 2022
Organic brand Coyuchi looks to raise capital from the crowd
ImpactAlpha, August 31 — Long before sustainability became a buzzword, San Francisco-based Coyuchi was selling high-end organic cotton sheets, bath towels and other …
Photo credit: Loopworm
Dealflow | August 25, 2022
Omnivore backs Loopworm’s network of insect farms with $3.4 million
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – Bangalore-based Loopworm works with a network of smallholder farmers to raise insects that can be converted to animal and pet …
Photo by Lal10.
Dealflow | August 22, 2022
Beyond Capital Ventures backs Lal10 to boost profits for India’s rural artisans
ImpactAlpha, August 22 — Global retailers like Amazon, Alibaba and Target rely on artisans in developing countries for handmade goods. But makers often …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 10, 2022
India’s Jodo raises $15 million to help schools and families cover the costs of education
ImpactAlpha, August 10 – Education accounts for 15% to 20% of most Indian households’ income, and costs are going up. Bangalore-based Jodo works with …
Image credit: Wheelocity
India | July 19, 2022
Wheelocity raises $12 million to cut waste from India’s food supply chain
ImpactAlpha, July 19 – Waste of fresh food is a common problem in emerging markets where many small farmers lack access to cooling technologies, …
Dealflow | July 12, 2022
Ankur Capital backs impact tech ventures Vegrow and String Bio
ImpactAlpha, July 12 — Mumbai-based impact fund Ankur Capital seeks out early and even unproven businesses that are using technology to drive down …
Photo by India Today.
Dealflow | July 5, 2022
LeapFrog backs Shubham to deliver housing loans for low-income buyers in India
ImpactAlpha, July 5 — LeapFrog Investments has invested in Gurgaon-based Shubham Housing Development Finance Company, a mortgage lender that launched in 2011 to …
Tamilnadu, India
India | May 31, 2022
Aavishkaar seeks to raise a $500 million carbon fund for India, South Asia and Southeast Asia
ImpactAlpha, May 31 – India-based Aavishkaar Capital says it’s raising carbon fund of up to $500 million for investments in India, South Asia …
Catalytic Capital | May 12, 2022
Small ‘non-banks’ get creative to bring financial services to India’s most vulnerable populations
ImpactAlpha, May 12 – Financial inclusion is the hottest sector for venture capital in emerging markets. Businesses in the sector are delivering credit …
Photo credit: Redcliffe.
Investing in Health | May 9, 2022
LeapFrog leads Redcliffe’s $61 million raise for health diagnostics in India
ImpactAlpha, May 9 — Noida-based Redcliffe has raised $61 million to provide diagnostics for non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, …
Photo credit: Dell Foundation.
Financial Inclusion | May 3, 2022
Open secures $50 million for small business services in India
ImpactAlpha, May 3 — Bengaluru-based Open provides digital banking, payments, invoicing and automated bookkeeping services to more than two million small and mid-sized …
Photo credit: Kinara Capital
Gender Smart | April 19, 2022
Kinara Capital secures $50 million from Nuveen and TripleJump for digital lending in India
ImpactAlpha, April 19 – Kinara Capital provides unsecured, no-collateral loans of up to three million rupees ($40,000) to micro and small businesses in …
Photo credit: Ackermans & van Haaren.
Investing in Health | April 5, 2022
HealthQuad raises $162 million for health tech startups in India
ImpactAlpha, April 5 — The Covid crisis spurred the digitalization of health services for India’s underserved rural population. New Delhi-based HealthQuad, which aims …
Photo credit: Accion.
Inclusive Economy | March 29, 2022
Vivriti Capital secures $55 million for lending to small businesses in India
ImpactAlpha, March 29 — Chennai-based Vivriti has deployed $700 million in loans for small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for most of the …
Image credit: Ninety One
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 21, 2022
Commercial capital floods into India’s impact startups
ImpactAlpha, March 21 – Venture capital investing in India, as elsewhere, surged last year, along with a wave of impact capital. Impact startups …
Frontier and Growth Markets | March 1, 2022
Ankur Capital backs Krishify’s farmer network and Offgrid Energy Labs’ green batteries
ImpactAlpha, March 1 – India’s tech-focused impact fund Ankur Capital invested in Krishify, which puts a business-to-business spin on social networks, connecting smallholder …
Photo credit: Eastern Eye.
Inclusive Economy | February 10, 2022
Softbank leads ElasticRun’s $300 million raise for small business digitalization in India
ImpactAlpha, February 10 — Pune-based ElasticRun manages an ecommerce platform that helps hundreds of thousands of rural neighborhood stores, known as ‘kirana,’ make …
Photo courtesy of Prashanth Vishwanathan, Flickr.
Green Infrastructure | January 25, 2022
Green infrastructure fund raises $741 million for renewable energy and efficiency in India
ImpactAlpha, January 25 — The Green Growth Equity Fund will be managed by Mumbai-based EverSource Capital, a joint venture between Indian private equity …
Photo credit: Krishi Jagran.
Smallholder Agriculture | January 19, 2022
Arya raises $60 million to expand agri-commerce for India’s smallholder farmers
ImpactAlpha, January 19 – Arya helps India’s smallholder farmers transport and store their crops and provides working capital until they sell their crops. …
Photo credit: Aroon Deep.
Dealflow | January 10, 2022
India’s Dunzo rakes in $240 million for quick local grocery delivery
ImpactAlpha, January 10 — Bangalore-based delivery platform Dunzo helps small and local businesses fill online orders for food, medicine and consumer goods in 300 …
Signals | December 16, 2021
India’s family offices are on the hunt for proof of impact
ImpactAlpha, December 16 – Impact investing in India has climbed to more than $10 billion in the last decade, owing to both a …
Photo credit: Agribusiness Matters.
Dealflow | December 14, 2021
AgroStar secures $70 million to add stores for Indian farmers
ImpactAlpha, December 14 — Pune-based AgroStar launched in 2013 to help small farmers secure seeds, fertilizer and other agricultural inputs at affordable prices. …
Photo credit: Yunus Social Business.
Dealflow | November 2, 2021
Virohan raises $1.3 million to build India’s allied health workforce
ImpactAlpha, November 2 — India needs at least 50 million health care professionals. Of the 10 million health workers today, around 90% are …
Photo credit: Dehaat.
Dealflow | October 28, 2021
Dehaat secures $115 million Series D funding for continued expansion in India
ImpactAlpha, October 28 — More than half of India’s population are farmers. Gurgaon-based online marketplace Dehaat, launched in 2012, connects 650,000 Indian smallholder …
Photo credit: Ayana
2030 Finance | October 25, 2021
CDC Group invests $70 million in BP-backed climate fund for India
ImpactAlpha, October 25 – Momentum behind green infrastructure is growing in India, even though the country has yet to update its ‘nationally determined …
Impact Investing | October 14, 2021
TPG’s billion-dollar bet on EVs in India
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 14 – Fresh off an initial $5.4 billion close for its first climate-focused fund, TPG is investing a chunk of those …