Venture capital firm Avaana Capital Wednesday said it has marked the final close of its climate-tech fund, mopping up $135 million (Rs 1,135 crore), exceeding the initial target of $120 million.
The firm made the first close on the fund last year at $70 million.
The fund’s limited partners include UN's Green Climate Fund and several large institutions and companies such as US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), UK- India Development Cooperation Fund, the Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund, and Azim Premji Trust for the Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund.
In June, US DFC had announced commitment of $10 million to the investment vehicle.
Avaana said the capital raised will be used to fund early-stage companies that use technology to create "scalable solutions for climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience accelerating India’s journey to net zero".
It will focus on three sectors of the country's economy which contribute to a large portion of carbon emissions: energy and resource management, mobility and supply chains, and sustainable agriculture and food systems.
"The Avaana Climate & Sustainability Fund will help build the next generation of climate-first companies to transform key sectors and make meaningful progress toward a sustainable future,” said Anjali Bansal, partner at Avaana.
Founded in 2018, the VC firm is led by three-women team comprising of Anjali Bansal, Swapna Gupta and Shruti Shrivastava. It has backed over 20 startups, including key portfolio companies such as FarMart, Ninety One Cycles, and Kazam.