Aavishkaar Capital
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Aavishkaar is impact investing's OG in India - they've been doing 'business with purpose' since 2001 when most VCs were still chasing pure tech plays. While Aavishkaar Capital does focus on sustainable development goals, it stands at 3x Gross Multiple of Investment Capital (MOIC), in terms of returns. "We clock approximately 25 percent in terms of IRR as well. I don't think returns can be compromised just because we are called impact investors," Sushma says. That's solid performance for impact investing. But here's the thing - they're pivoting hard into climate and deeptech now, which means longer hold periods and more patient capital requirements. Track record is below average ... Less insightful than your average VC. Domain know-how limited to 1-2 sectors at best. Stingy culture - some Glassdoor reviews suggest internal culture issues and limited sector expertise beyond their core focus areas. They're great if you're building for underserved markets in financial inclusion or agtech, but expect a very thesis-driven, impact-first approach that may not suit pure growth plays.
- —Best for: Impact-driven startups in financial inclusion, agtech, and essential services serving underserved populations
- —Watch out for: Thesis-driven investing - they'll pass if you don't fit their impact mandate perfectly
- —Known for: Solid returns despite impact focus (25% IRR, 3x MOIC) and patient capital approach
Aavishkaar Capital's investment thesis is to leverage the confluence of consumption, financial inclusion and technology across emerging low and middle income populations to build sustainable, impactful and highly scalable businesses, which can create significant value for both the investors and the society. We invest across three core sectors; Financial Inclusion, Sustainable Agriculture and Essential Services.
It primarily invests in Series A round in India based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Retail to Consumer and EdTech. Aavishkaar Capital has made 24 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $6.71M, 23 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $1.08M, 9 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $14.4M
In October 2001, Vineet Rai registered a small entity in Gujarat called Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund. His working capital was barely more than a few thousand rupees in personal savings. His thesis was simple but radical for its time: poor people are not poor because they lack capability, but because they lack capital. Vineet has received numerous awards including the Indian Leader Championing Financial Inclusion at the prestigious 13th Inclusive Finance India Awards 2021, the Impact Investor of the Year by News Corp for 2016, Porter Prize for Strategic Leadership in Social Space
Senior investment management and finance professional with EM investing and operating… specialist in financial crime compliance, governance, and risk management Focused on credit and debt investments at the firm.
Sushma Kaushik, Partner at Aavishkaar Capital, comes with over 14 years of experience in the investment industry. An alumnus of Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, and Harvard Business School, Sushma was recognised by the Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds (IAAIF) as '40 Under 40' Alternate Investment Professional in India. At present, Sushma looks after fintech and microfinance at the venture capital firm.
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