![]() ![]() “BIRAC is pleased to partner with Ankur Capital under its Fund of Funds scheme – AcE – to support biotech innovations,” said Dr. ![]() Support such as this is all the more valuable as the rapid adoption of new technologies and higher levels of digitization in emerging markets like India will result in the engagement of more non-English speakers and first-time online users, noted Ankur in a release provided to GAI News.Īlready invested in four companies, Ankur intends for Fund II to enter at the Seed stage, targeting each of its investments between US$500,000 – US$5 million across 16-18 total companies. The firm has recently launched Ankur GRO – an initiative to formalize their Capital Plus approach of partnering with company founders, providing technical assistance as well as support in training, strategic planning, executive mentoring, finance, marketing, talent acquisition, and operations. Once capital is committed, Ankur Capital doesn’t stop there. As with Fund I, we are happy to accelerate this trend with Fund II.” “We are witnessing a distinct set of companies that are using India’s large and diverse markets to test products before launching abroad. “India is in a unique position to build companies for the next billion users (NBU) that are also globally relevant,” said Ritu Verma, co-founder and managing partner, Ankur Capital. Its maiden fund closed at Rs 50 cr (US$7.5 million) and invested in 14 startups that successfully reflect Ankur’s differentiated thesis including SaaS solution developer CropIn String Bio, a producer of alternative protein from methane and BigHaat, an e-commerce supply chain platform. “A powerful example of catalytic capital, Ankur’s focus on transformative technology has the potential to improve economic opportunity for low-income individuals across India.”įounded in 2014 by Ritu Verma, an alum of Penn/INSEAD, and Rema Subramanian, the former COO of Zee e-learning, Ankur Capital historically makes pre-Series A and Series A investments across the agtech, healthtech, fintech, edtech, local language tech, and deeptech solutions.Īligning and acknowledging the paradigm shift in how markets are being accessed, Ankur Capital’s core strategy is to invest in entrepreneurs solving real-word problems through innovative tech business models aiming to achieve large-scale impact, and targeting the next billion users. “We are excited to support Ankur Capital as one of a select group of major investments that advance the goals of the global Catalytic Capital Consortium initiative,” said Debra Schwartz, managing director, Impact Investments at the MacArthur Foundation. These new partners join Fund II’s existing investors CDC Group, Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). MacArthur Foundation, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), and National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD). Ankur announced a first close on Fund II in January 2020 at 240 crore (US$36 million).Īs a pioneer in India’s agtech investment space, Ankur Capital’s investment thesis of backing innovative technologies in emerging markets and capitalizing upon the transformative opportunities that arise through greater digital access has attracted new investors through this round, including the John D. Mumbai-based early stage impact investor Ankur Capital announced a close on an intermediate round of funding for their Fund II at 330 crore (US$49.6 million). She earned a Master's degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor's degree from Yale College summa cum laude.Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Debra Schwartz and other top speakers and celebrities.By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media A frequent speaker and guest lecturer Debra has also served on the United States Treasury Department Community Development Advisory Board and the founding board for the Mission Investors Exchange. She joined MacArthur in 1995 having worked at a Chicago-based child welfare agency. ![]() A former investment banker Debra also leads the creation of new impact investment products and platforms that foster easier more efficient and more productive connections among multiple impact investors and social sector organizations. Debra’s group serves as a Foundation-wide resource and engages deeply with selected teams to help develop strategy and devise impact investments that advance key goals. Debra serves on the Executive Leadership Team at MacArthur which has dedicated $500 million of its assets to impact investing. ![]()
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