Watch: How venture debt fosters innovation in India’s technology startup ecosystem

While venture capital continues to fuel India’s entrepreneurial aspirations, especially among technology startups, venture debt has assumed an equally important role in bankrolling such businesses over the past decade. Today, India is home to nearly a dozen venture lenders who offer entrepreneurs an alternative source of capital between equity funding rounds, thereby extending their overall runway in the journey to building the next generation of enterprises across sectors.

At the recently concluded TechCircle.LIVE Mumbai edition, the panel on ‘Venture Debt: Fostering innovation and growth in India's technology startup ecosystem’ saw leading venture lenders share their insights on how debt enables entrepreneurs across the early and growth stages of building a company and how startups, notably those from the technology sector, should approach the asset class.

Speakers on the panel were Ajay Hattangdi, founder of Mumbai-based Alteria Capital; Ashish Sharma, CEO of Innoven Capital India; and Aakash Goel, partner at Trifecta Capital.

The three firms together account for more than 80% of all venture debt deals that are currently done in India.