Artha Venture's maiden fund raises Rs 100 Cr in second close

Micro venture capital fund focusing on early-stage startups - Artha Venture Fund - a Category I alternative investment fund that invests in startups from the seed stage to Series A, has announced its second close of the maiden fund at Rs 100 crore.

In July 2018, AVF had made its first close at Rs 40 crores and announced their maiden investment in LenDenClub, a P2P lending company.

According to the fund’s managing partner, Anirudh A Damani, the firm expects to make the final close of Rs 200 crores by April 2020.

The fund has set its pace at completing one investment per month with a target of completing 15 investments by March 2020. Further, it reveals its investment strategy to be the first investor into early-stage startups and put in Rs 1 – 2 crores, with Rs 10 – 15 crores held in reserve for follow-on rounds.

So far, AVF claims to have been maintaining up to a 1:10 ratio for follow-on investments.

The fund will primarily be investing in sectors including consumer internet and its enablers - logistics, payment gateways, payment apps, fintech, and the B2B.

AVF is sponsored by the family offices of Madhusudan Kela, former head of investments at Reliance Capital Ltd, Ashok Kumar Damani, and Ramesh Damani, former directors at Bombay Stock Exchange.

Prior to AVF, Anirudh A Damani has 7 years of experience investing in startups through his family office, Artha India Ventures.  He has invested in over 70 startups including BabyChakra, OYO, Exotel, Coutloot, Fynd, Tala, Interstellar, NowFloats, Karza, among others.