Marwari Catalysts (MCats) has raised USD 10M funding at a valuation of USD 90M, with active participation from existing and new shareholders, Sandeep Gulati (CEO – South Asia & MD – India at Egis), Yogesh Chaudhary (Founder – Jaipur Rugs), Nitin Sethi (CDO – Adani Group), Ankur Mishra (Director – Central Academy), Ashutosh Gehlot (Promotor, OS Ford), Manish Singhvi (CFO – Marlabs Inc.) and Anil Malhotra (CEO – H&M Indonesia), the company said in a statement.
The accelerator plans to use the raised funding to reinforce the current portfolio, accelerate the progress towards a digital and self-reliant India, enable global reach and engage more with growth stage startups while also offering mentorship and peripheral services, a statement said.
The strategic concept behind the fund raise is to strengthen the accelerator’s position as market leader as they plan to expand their offerings globally and as a startup advisory firm, they’ll continue to help young entrepreneurs with the right mix of capital, know-how and networks to build enduring businesses.
Accelerator’s main purpose is to make the startups investor ready and that’s why even the Angel Networks/VCs/Family Funds look forward to partnering with accelerated startups, a statement said.
As of today’s date, Marwari Catalysts has built a portfolio of over 40+ startup companies since 2019 and continues to seek companies that are capturing new markets, providing innovative solutions and creating new wealth for India and beyond. Therefore, after the fund raise, Marwari Catalysts plans to be a 100+ startup portfolio company, according to the statement.
“The idea behind launching Marwari Catalysts was always to provide a strong accelerator network and build India’s most founder and investor friendly ecosystem as we believe that the main game relies on the founders and the founding team. So, today as we enter the next stage of our evolution, we feel that the financing milestone will be a testimony to our journey of innovation and disruption,” says Sushil Sharma, Founder & CEO, Marwari Catalysts.
Sharing his rationale, Devesh Rakhecha, Founder & COO, Marwari Catalysts says, “We always knew that there is huge money and amazing skilled founders in Tier II-III cities, but investors don’t get access to the A-grade startups. We exposed them to this new asset class through masterclasses, physical events, and networking with experts. Our goal was to democratise access to startups to every investor. The successful closure of the previous round is a testament that our consistent hard work is bearing fruit.”
With a passion towards professional community building, Richa Sharma, a woman Entrepreneur and Co-founder at Marwari Catalysts, says, “MCats has always focused on having a dedicated platform to empower women who are trying to break the glass ceiling by being a part of this startup ecosystem. End result being, approx 35% of our portfolio startups today, are led by women Co-founders. Keeping the momentum going and promoting women leadership, MCats aims to provide a window of opportunity with this fund raise to activate more women startup founders and women investors and come up with changes for our industry for the better.”
Being highly optimistic about MCats’ action agenda for growth, Raunak Singhvi, Co-founder at Marwari Catalysts & Head at Accelerator program, Thrive, says, “Building on what we did over the past 2 years, we are committed to be a catalyst and a partner in unlocking the possibilities for a digital India and MCats sits at the right juncture to enable acceleration while fueling innovation and economy in India.”
Also with its accelerator cohort program, ‘Thrive’, MCats has got a well-seasoned and highly competent team with a full-fledged 100 Co-founders club from major cities like Jaipur, Surat, Nasik, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Indore, Mangalore & Chennai.
Summing up, Sushil Sharma, says, “Marwari Catalysts purely as an accelerator is now open for its backward integration with domestic & global incubators and forward alignment with Angel networks, HNIs, Family funds, VC and PE funds. Let’s connect and explore because the only growth strategy that matters is collaboration.”
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