Endiya Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in IP led Indian product startups, announced that it has received a commitment of Rs 75 crore (about $10 mn) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
IFC has also committed an additional $10 million for direct co-investments alongside Endiya Fund-II, which invests in intellectual property led Indian product startups that are globally relevant.
The partnership with IFC will provide Endiya portfolio companies with financial and strategic support resulting in increased access to growth opportunities and sustainable scalability, said Endiya in a statement.
“Early Stage VC investment volumes in India are markedly lower than VC volumes in countries like the US and China. Our investment in VC funds like Endiya helps mobilise capital from other LPs and brings that capital to path-breaking early-stage businesses,” said Jun Zhang, IFC Country Head, India. “Endiya Partners has demonstrated differentiation in access to high-quality Pre-Series A opportunities in Enterprise Technology and Healthtech sectors.”
Founded by Sateesh Andra, Ramesh Byrapaneni, and Abhishek Srivastava, Endiya’s current portfolio includes Darwinbox, Steradian Semiconductors, Kissht, SigTuple, and Myelin Foundry.
According to an ETtech report, Endiya Fund II, which has a corpus target of Rs 500 crore ($ 65 million), has already completed its first close at Rs 280 crore ($40 million) in May 2019. Limited Partners in the Fund include financial institutions, corporates, and family offices across India, Europe, and the US.
The Endiya Fund-II will seek to invest in 16-20 startups with an initial cheque size of $500,000 to $1 million in seed/pre-series A rounds and a planned investment of up to $5 million per company.
“We are excited to have won IFC’s support and backing. We value IFC’s vast global presence across geographies that could offer future expansion markets for our portfolio companies,” said Sateesh Andra, Partner at Endiya Partners. “We are also delighted to have a co-investment envelope from IFC that could be used to support our investees as they scale.”
Endiya said its investment strategy addresses a funding gap in the venture capital spectrum in India between Angel and Series A investments, enabling entrepreneurs to find a value accretive partner to further the development of their vision to build a sustainable business model. Endiya claims to be effectively adding value through concept and market validation, product launch, team building, business model refinement, customer and partner acquisition, and follow-on funding.
“While industry averages state that 30% of seed deals go on to raise follow on capital, 75% of Endiya’s Portfolio has raised follow on rounds. This showcases the team’s ability to source, screen, select and nurture quality early-stage startups”, claims Sateesh.
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