Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
Fund III is an early-stage venture fund investing in tech-enabled businesses in India. It's managed by Ankur Capital.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
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How?
| Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|
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Impact will be achieved by directly investing in Seed to Series A+ rounds for companies focused on a variety of sectors with large exposure to agri-tech. |
The fund aims to invest in technologies which is expected to have an economic enabling effect for local economies. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Variable depending on nature of businesses |
India |
Development impact is expected in businesses with substantial low-income reach, typically in rural and peri-urban areas. The fund manager has historically invested in companies targeting underserved customers, including companies led and owned by women. |
| Employees, consumers and suppliers |
India |
Businesses range from very small (2 - 10 employees) to medium size (2 - more than 500 employees). |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
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We expect the fund to invest in high growth potential companies, delivering innovative solutions with potential to scale. The fund expects to create more than 4,000 direct jobs through investments. |
Depth of impact will be the focus of our impact monitoring effort. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
|---|
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Financial additionality: Our capital will help the fund achieve a viable size & make investments in early-stage ventures, unlocking social and environmental impact. |
Risk
Evidence Risk;Execution RiskRelates to the likelihood that high quality impact data will be unavailable to assess depth of impact. However, Ankur’s commitment to begin tracking income data of stakeholders more systematically is an encouraging mitigation strategy. Execution RiskRisk that businesses will fail to scale & therefore deliver expected impact. These are inherent risks to the venture capital model. This is mitigated by the track record of previous funds, and by backing an experienced fund manager. Alignment RiskRelates to the risk that capital is allocated to companies that are not aligned to our impact objectives. This is mitigated by the fund manager's stated goal to service underserved populations, and will be monitored in our reviews. |
Impact score
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Impact score (at point of investment)
The Impact Score is a tool to help us manage our performance against our strategic impact objectives. It is designed to incentivise investments that support our productive, sustainable, and inclusive objectives. The Impact Score shown is based on the 2022-2026 Impact Score methodology. You can find out more here. The Impact Score is published for investments made from 2022 onwards. The Impact Scores are calculated at the point of investment. We publish the Impact Scores of new investments annually, once the information has been externally assured by an independent third party. |
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Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
We agreed an E&S action plan focused on updates to internal safeguarding and grievance mechanisms, the establishment of an ESG committee and the engagement of a dedicated internal ESG resource.
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- First published
:
When the investment was first published on the website database.
- December 2024
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2025
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D6031
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- South Asia
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- India
- Investment policy :
- Growth
- Investment type :
- Fund
- Start date :
- July 2024
- Amount :
- $5m
- Currency of investment :
- INR
- Fund manager:
- Ankur Fincon Management Private Limited
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- India
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- First published
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Gender and climate finance facts
- Climate finance
:
Indicates whether the investment is climate finance qualified or partially climate finance qualified and the type of climate finance (adaptation, mitigation or both). We define climate finance using the multilateral development bank (MDB) and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) Common Principles climate finance methodology. See Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking and Common Principles for Climate Change Adaptation Finance Tracking. We provide the climate finance qualification and type for commitments from 2020 onwards, which is when we launched our Climate Change Strategy.
- Partially qualified
- Climate finance type
:
Mitigation: Indicates investments which, by avoiding or reducing GHG emissions or increasing GHG sequestration, contributes substantially to the stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere – at a level which prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system consistent with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement
Adaptation: Indicates investments aimed at preventing or reducing the risks or vulnerabilities posed by climate change and increasing climate resilience. This includes both adapted activities and enabling activities to manage and reduce physical climate risks
Dual: Indicates investments directed towards activities contributing to both climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation and meeting the respective criteria for each category
The climate finance type of the investment is determined at time of commitment.
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- Adaptation
- Mitigation
- Climate finance
Investments made by this fund into companies:
For further information about these companies, visit https://www.ankurcapital.com/
| Investment name | Country | Region | Sector | Fossil Fuel or Renewable Exposure | Start date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saswat Finance Technologies Pvt Ltd | India | South Asia | Financial services | June 2025 | Active | |
| Turiya Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd. (Turiyam) | India | South Asia | Manufacturing | September 2025 | Active | |
| Vimano Inc. | India | South Asia | Manufacturing | June 2025 | Active |
