Mumbai-based early stage venture capital fund Unicorn India Ventures has roped in Federal Bank as the anchor investor (limited partner) for its maiden ₹600 crore debt fund.
The fund was announced in November last year and has received soft commitments of up to ₹200 crores so far. Unicorn India Ventures is expected to mark the first close of its debt fund in early November, a year after it was launched.
The quantum of investment made by Federal Bank has not yet been disclosed, but according to reports, Federal Bank’s investment is expected to be 10% of the fund or about ₹60 crores. The expected investment is in line with the anchor investor’s typical investment quantum in venture debt funds.
SEBI registered Unicorn India Ventures was founded by Anil Joshi and Bhashkar Majumdar in 2016. The venture capital fund enables high growth technology businesses across geographies by providing equity and debt products, according to their needs.
Talking about the maiden debt fund, Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, said, “The debt fund will be sector agnostic and largely focused on tech-enabled businesses. We would look at startups that are at a pre-series-A or series-A level; have raised capital from marquee venture capital investors while demonstrating a strong cash flow to serve the debt.”
Through its venture debt fund, Unicorn will look to target up to 12 startups every year, once it marks its first close this year. The venture capital fund has already shortlisted 2-3 startups for investments.
The investments are expected to range from ₹5-30 crores in startups across consumer internet domain with an interest rate pegged at 15% plus/minus 2%, offering competitive rates to NBFCs.
Unicorn India Ventures has invested in a number of startups from its first equity fund. Some of those investments include personal care brand VLCC, digital media startup Inc42, GrabOnRent, Genrobotic, Pharmarack, Perfit, and Boxx.ai, among others.