Blue Ashva Capital raises $60 mn in maiden fund to back startups, SMEs

Blue Ashva Capital has raised Rs 454 crore ($60 million approximately) to make the first close of its maiden startup and SME-focused fund.

The company planned to raise Rs 400 crore, with a green shoe option of Rs 200 crore, for the Blue Ashva Sampada Fund, which is registered as a category II alternative investment fund with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), according to a statement. 

Limited Partners in the fund include family offices and business families.

The Singapore and Mumbai headquartered firm said it will back Indian companies across financial services, technology, healthcare, consumer and manufacturing sectors. The fund will invest through equity, debt or a combination of the two, in partnership with global companies. Blue Ashva Capital will also set up a separate fund in Singapore to scout for global opportunities.

The firm looks to invest in startups between the seed and Series A stage, with a cheque size between Rs 25 crore and Rs 30 crore, Satya Bansal, founder of Blue Ashva Capital, told TechCircle. It will also invest in larger rounds with its global investor pool, apart from backing brick-and-mortar SMEs.

“SMEs and startups play a key role in fostering entrepreneurship and generating large scale livelihood opportunities,” Bansal said in the statement. “However, with so much gloom and doom around, most such businesses are currently going through challenging times. There is a need now, more than ever, to support passionate founders with optimistic capital that is willing to bet on the long term.”

Bansal, former CEO at Barclays in India, founded Blue Ashva Capital in May 2019, and runs an agriculture and climate focussed fund Vasudha. Former IKEA executive Navin Rao is the company’s director of operations.

Despite the Covid-19 induced economic slowdown, multiple new funds backing early stage ventures have raised capital. 

Last month, Singapore-based venture capital firm Beenext announced the close of its $110 million fund, which it looks to invest in India and Southeast Asia. 

In the same month, early stage venture capital firm Arkam Ventures, led by former Helion Ventures co-founder Rahul Chandra and former partner at Kalaari Capital Bala Srinivasa, announced the first close of their maiden fund with a target corpus of Rs 700 crore. 

Info Edge India too announced its plans to raise $50 million from outside investors for its $100 million Info Edge Venture Fund.