Aavishkaar Capital

How to approach Aavishkaar Capital

The site has no application form, intake window or deadline. It gives two role inboxes on the Contact Us page: funds@aavishkaar.in for equity and supplychainfund@aavishkaar.in for credit. Write a short, specific note to the right one.

Check the fit first

• Sector: financial inclusion, food and agriculture, or essential services. The portfolio page also shows manufacturing and deep tech.
• Stage: the equity offering page says Series A and beyond, although the About page mentions seed to growth. A very early idea is the weaker fit.
• Customers: businesses serving the emerging low and middle income population, as consumers or providers.
• Scale: the firm looks for a model that can grow significantly within 4 to 5 years and a strong management team.
• Geography: India, Emerging Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

What to put in your note

• The business, who it serves, and the traction so far
• How the model scales and what the team has done
• Whether you want equity or credit, so it reaches the right team
• The impact on customers or livelihoods, since the firm centres impact

The firm does not publish a diligence checklist or a reply time. Do not pay anyone who offers to arrange an investment; the site warns of fraud.

Aavishkaar Capital is an impact venture capital firm headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in New Delhi and Nairobi. Its own site says it pioneered the venture capital approach of investing in early-growth stage enterprises in India in 2001, and that it has since closed 8 funds. It backs entrepreneurs in India, Emerging Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

What it backs

The firm says it invests across 3 core sectors: financial inclusion, food and agriculture, and essential services. The portfolio page also filters by manufacturing and deep tech, and by geography (India, Emerging Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa) and type (equity or credit). It wants businesses whose operations focus on the emerging low and middle income population, whose model can scale significantly within 4 to 5 years, and which have a strong management team. Its stated thesis combines consumption, financial inclusion and technology.

Stage and how it invests

The About page describes a multi-stage strategy that supports businesses from seed to growth stages. The Our Offerings page is narrower for its equity funds: it says it invests in growth companies, Series A and beyond. Read the second statement as the practical entry point for a new pitch. The firm says it takes an active role, including board representation, and advises on strategy, governance, operational processes, human resources and fundraising. Its portfolio includes names such as Arohan, ERGOS, FREED, Gnani, LEO1, Vecmocon Technologies and WorkIndia.

Credit

Besides equity through its seven funds, the firm runs its eighth fund, the Global Supply Chain Support Fund, a structured credit fund set up in partnership with KFW. It says this credit offering is for businesses with no access to traditional sources of financing across the Global South. Credit enquiries go to a separate inbox and a separate fund website.

Impact and exclusions

The impact page says 88% of its portfolio companies were started by first time entrepreneurs, about 30% have women founders, and it has made 52 full and partial responsible exits. It publishes an ESG policy and says it will not invest in companies that fall under its Fund Exclusion List.

How to reach them

The Contact Us page lists one inbox for entrepreneurs raising equity and another for entrepreneurs raising credit. There is no application form or deadline on the site. The Mumbai office is in Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai 400051, and the Delhi office is in Saket. The site carries a warning that people are fraudulently asking for money in the group's name and says it does not authorise anyone to collect money on its behalf, so do not pay anyone who offers to arrange an investment.