Sustainability-focused venture capital fund Avaana Capital on Wednesday said it has drawn the first tranche of the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) $24.5 million investment into the Avaana Sustainability Fund, marking GCF’s first VC investment in India.
GCF is one of the world’s largest dedicated funds focused on assisting developing countries in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts.
The drawdown was anchored by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) as the accredited entity under the guidance of the Department of Financial Services.
“We are honoured to partner with SIDBI and the GCF. As India moves toward its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, accelerating deep tech innovation is both an opportunity and a necessity. This partnership represents the large economic opportunity for India’s deeptech ecosystem—bringing together global capital to build solutions in energy, supply chains, advanced materials, and agriculture that are technology first and rooted in Indian innovation. Our sincere thanks to SIDBI, and the GCF team for their leadership, partnership and conviction in India’s deep tech innovation ecosystem,” said Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner at Avaana Capital.
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Avaana Capital had closed its $135 million climate and sustainability-focused fund in October last year with support from GCF and other key participants including U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), UK Government through UK- India Development Cooperation Fund (UKIDCF), the Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Azim Premji Trust and several large corporations.
The firm, whose portfolio companies include charging solution provider Kazam and software-as-a-service food supply platform FarMart, will look to invest in early-stage companies that use technology to create scalable solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation, as part of this fund.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti
