Chiratae Ventures Fund IV

Our investment

Our investment in the fund will support the growth of highly scalable, tech-enabled companies in India, with the aim of creating large-scale employment for underserved groups and increasing the availability, affordability and accessibility of goods and services.

What?
How?
Who?
Contribution
Risk

Impact
Provide and enhance economic opportunities (SDG 8.5). Enhance access to affordable, quality healthcare (SDG 3.C). Improve access to financial services, enhancing household well-being and resilience (SDG 1.4).

Primary	Secondary
Direct: Providing seed to later stage capital to approximately 40 early-stage companies, enabling their growth and generating direct employment. Direct: Through investments in telemedicine, new medical products (c. 15 per cent in Fund III). Direct: Through investments in technology to provide affordable access to goods and services, such as finance (c. 20 per cent in Fund III).	Economic enabler: Chiratae will invest in tech-enabled platforms that connect local workforce and suppliers to markets (c. 10 per cent of portfolio in Fund III) as well as to resources and inputs required to meet that demand.

Stakeholder	Geography	Characteristics
Employees, micro-entrepreneurs	Pan-India - mainly Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, some companies may also reach populations in smaller cities and rural areas.	Direct employees are likely to be relatively high income. Tech platforms are likely to reach lower income segments of the workforce and small-scale entrepreneurs e.g. drivers (BlowHorn), farmers (Agrostar, ULink). Employees and microentrepreneurs reached through providing affordable access to good and services like finance: middle and low-income e.g. Credit Mantri (Fund II) targets borrowers with negative or no credit history; EasySalary targets blue and grey collar workers.
Consumers	Pan-India - mainly Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, some companies may also reach populations in smaller cities and rural areas.	Likely middle income, although some companies may reach lower-income segments.

Grid Score	Contribution
2.0-2.2 Market context: In India, only 0.3 per cent of new businesses that are launched are financed by venture capital vs 0.6 per cent in the US. To help us direct our investments, we use a tool called the Development Impact Grid. The Grid scores every investment we plan out of a score of four, based on two factors: the difficulty of investing in the country and whether investment in that sector will lead to jobs.	Financial: Fourth close investor. Our capital will help the fund near its target size ($275 million) and complete additional investments, increasing the fund’s impact Value-add: Enhancement of environmental, social and business integrity practices. Enrolment in the 2X Challenge for women’s economic empowerment. Mobilisation: British International Investment’s commitment unlocks an additional $5 million from other investors, namely the IFC, AEROW SMA I L.P, and SA-EL Asia I S.C.S.

Grid Score

Contribution

2.0-2.2 Market context: In India, only 0.3 per cent of new businesses that are launched are financed by venture capital vs 0.6 per cent in the US.

Financial: Fourth close investor. Our capital will help the fund near its target size ($275 million) and complete additional investments, increasing the fund’s impact
Value-add: Enhancement of environmental, social and business integrity practices. Enrolment in the 2X Challenge for women’s economic empowerment.
Mobilisation: British International Investment’s commitment unlocks an additional $5 million from other investors, namely the IFC, AEROW SMA I L.P, and SA-EL Asia I S.C.S.

Risk
Alignment: Relates to the risk that follow-on capital is allocated to companies that are not aligned to our impact ambition. This is not a risk that we can mitigate as decisions will purely be driven by commercial performance, however, we will use our Venture Capital Scale-up programme to allocate additional capital to the most impactful businesses and support their growth in instances where the fund manager may have more limited appetite or dry powder. Execution: Relates to the risk that businesses will fail to scale and deliver on the expected impact. This is an inherent risk to the venture capital model which is mitigated by selecting an experienced fund manager. Unexpected: By cutting out intermediaries and / or corporate functions, some investees will reduce existing jobs, which is likely to negatively impact more vulnerable and less skilled segments of the population. This risk cannot be mitigated.

Risk

Alignment: Relates to the risk that follow-on capital is allocated to companies that are not aligned to our impact ambition. This is not a risk that we can mitigate as decisions will purely be driven by commercial performance, however, we will use our Venture Capital Scale-up programme to allocate additional capital to the most impactful businesses and support their growth in instances where the fund manager may have more limited appetite or dry powder.
Execution: Relates to the risk that businesses will fail to scale and deliver on the expected impact. This is an inherent risk to the venture capital model which is mitigated by selecting an experienced fund manager.
Unexpected: By cutting out intermediaries and / or corporate functions, some investees will reduce existing jobs, which is likely to negatively impact more vulnerable and less skilled segments of the population. This risk cannot be mitigated.

Understanding each ‘Impact Dashboard’ (PDF)

Environmental and social aspects

We will work closely with the fund manager to develop and implement an environmental and social management system (ESMS) appropriate for the asset class.

Key facts

Status:: Active
Region Since 2012, we’ve only invested in Africa and South Asia. Investments outside these regions are from our pre-2012 portfolio. :: South Asia
Investment type We provide capital in three broad ways: direct equity, debt, and intermediated equity (principally through investment funds). :: Intermediated investment
Fund manager:: Chiratae India Investment Manager
Amount For direct investments, this is the total amount that British International Investment has committed to the business or project (it may be a combination of equity and debt). For funds, this is the total amount that British International Investment has committed to the fund. :: $10m
Domicile This is the investee company’s place of incorporation; or a fund’s jurisdiction. :: Mauritius

Investments made by this fund

Active
Exited

Investment name	Country	Region	Sector	Start date	Status
Uniphore Software Systems Private Limited Uniphore sells software for conversational analytics, conversational assistant and conversational security. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	November 2019	Active
Curefit Healthcare Private Limited CureFit is a health and fitness company in India. View investment details	India	South Asia	Other consumer services	November 2019	Active
Targetone Innovations Private Limited (Gomechanic) GoMechanic is India's largest network of over 500 car service centers across states including Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	December 2019	Active
Blitzscale Technology Solutions Private Limited (Wmall) WMall is an online shopping app serving the next billion customers in India. The company focuses on helping under-represented online users such as women in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities buy products online. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	December 2019	Active
Pandocorp Pvt Ltd Pandocorp Private Limited provides a data driven transport management system that helps enterprises of all sizes to monitor and optimise their supply chain operations. It serves customers in India. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	January 2020	Active
Locofast Online Services Pvt Ltd Locofast is a textile supply chain platform in India. It partners with leading mills and processing units from across the country to help them digitise their supply chains. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	January 2020	Active
Rodeo Travel Technologies Pvt Ltd The company offers online ticket booking services through its Railofy app. It's a startup solving one of the biggest transportation problems India faces. Most passengers in India travel long distance, and at the time of booking often end up with a waitlisted ticket, with seats only being confirmed until just before departure. Railofy provides a travel guarantee and alternative travel options at price points close to railway ticket fares. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	January 2020	Active
Squadrun Inc SquadRun is a software company in India, which uses artificial intelligence to manage data-intensive operations for businesses. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	January 2020	Active
Khati Solutions Pvt Ltd (Oye Rickshaw) Oye Rickshaw is an electric vehicle energy solutions company that connects people with public transportation using a booking app. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	February 2020	Active
Absentia Virtual Reality Private Limited (Pyxis) Absentia is an AI startup company in India. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	March 2020	Active
Aether Biomedial Sp, Z.o.o Aether Biomedical is a medical robotics company with the goal of making bionics accessible to all. It aims to develop cutting edge prosthetic and rehabilitation devices through innovation in biosignal processing. View investment details	India	South Asia	Communications and IT Services	April 2020	Active
KBCols Sciences Pvt Ltd (KB Col) Based in India, KBCols Sciences is a biotech company that aims to increase the use of natural colours in dye used in the apparel industry. View investment details	India	South Asia	Health	July 2020	Active
Weinnovate Biosolutions Private Limited Weinnovate Biosolutions is a business that develops antimicrobial solutions to reducing contageous infections among humans View investment details	India	South Asia	Health	August 2020	Active
PB Fintech Private Limited (Policybazaar) PB Fintech is a technology company based in India. It aggregates insurance products so people in India can have access to transparent information. View investment details	India	South Asia	Financial services	September 2020	Active
Ergos Business Solutions Private Limited Ergos Business Solutions is an integrated supply chain business operating through a network of micro warehouses in rural Bihar in India. It aims to enable market linkages to small farmers in a scalable and cost-effective manner. View investment details	India	South Asia	Food and agriculture	October 2020	Active
Getvantage Tech Pvt Ltd Getvantage is a fintech platform that provides funding for start ups in India. View investment details	India	South Asia	Financial services	October 2020	Active
Abita Innovations Private Limited (Doc32) Doc32 Is a technology platform for India's dental industry. View investment details	India	South Asia	Health	November 2020	Active
Alpha Digital Health Pvt Ltd Alpha Digital Health operates a digital platform where users can access a range of healthcare services. View investment details	India	South Asia	Health	November 2020	Active
CropIn Technology Solutions Private Limited CropIn is an Indian-based specialist in software for agribusiness. The company is using technology such as satellite images, artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor crop health remotely, make yield predictions, and then pass on these insights to farmers. This in turn improves farmers’ access to finance and climate resilience. View investment details	India	South Asia	Food and agriculture	December 2020	Active
Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry) View investment details		South Asia	Other consumer services		Active

Back to investments

Our investment

Environmental and social aspects

Key facts

Investments made by this fund

How we invest

Portfolio data

Chiratae Ventures Fund IV

Our investment

Environmental and social aspects

Key facts

Investments made by this fund

How we invest

Portfolio data

We are now British International Investment