Russia's Sistema sets up $50M Asia fund for startups

Russian conglomerate Sistema JSFC said on Friday it has floated a proprietary $50 million (Rs 340 crore) Asia Fund to invest in Indian startups in the technology and niche consumer retail sectors.

The corpus of the Sistema Asia Fund will be increased in the future once its startup financing business grows in India, Vsevolod Rozanov, Group CFO, Sistema, said in a statement. He didn't disclose the future size of the fund.

The Singapore-registered fund is aimed at more mature startups looking to raise Series A to Series C rounds of funds. It will be advised by Insitel Services, a wholly owned Indian unit of Sistema.

Andrey Terebenin, a former Sistema executive board member, has relocated to India as senior managing partner of Insitel to oversee the advisory services function of Sistema Asia Fund.

The development was first reported by The Economic Times.

Sistema's decision to launch a fund to invest in startups comes after it sold its India wireless business under Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Ltd in November last year.