Venture debt and alternative credit platform, BlackSoil Capital on Thursday said that it has invested $30 million (nearly Rs 250 crore) in the first quarter of the financial year 2024, despite a broader slowdown in the overall startup ecosystem in India.
BlackSoil, which has backed companies like IdeaForge, Upstox, Zetwerk, Spinny, Yatra, Purplle and Curefoods, among others, claimed that it had made 17 investments in the 90 days period ending 30 June. This is nearly 2x the number of deals it made in the first quarter of the last fiscal.
However, the overall value of deals came down slightly to $30 million in Q1 FY24 from $40 million in the corresponding quarter last year. This also means that the average ticket size of deals would have come down significantly in the first quarter of FY24.
In Q1FY24, the investor primarily focused on a diverse set of sectors, including consumer internet, deeptech, healthcare, electric vehicle and fintech. A few notable deals in the period include Battery Smart, Toothsi, Bounce Salons, Kaleidofin, Mozark, WeGot and Seeds Fincap.
"As a strategy, we focus on providing alternative financing solutions to enterprises that proactively tweak their business models to enhance sustainability and continue to receive unwavering support from their existing and new equity investors," said Ankur Bansal, co-founder and director of BlackSoil.
Healthcare, consumer internet and financial institutions emerged as the top sectors, with each sector securing ~23% of the total funding, respectively, BlackSoil said in a release.
Founded in 2016, BlackSoil operates an alternative credit platform which includes an RBI-registered non-banking financial company (NBFC) and a SEBI-registered alternative investment fund (AIF). To date, it has backed more than 100 startups and growth companies.
In Q1 FY24, BlackSoil also made investments in its portfolio companies. It claimed that in total, its portfolio companies collectively raised more than $60 million in equity, despite the challenges of the ongoing funding winter in the startup ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Blacksoil claimed that its asset under management (AUM) grew 50% year on year. It also made five exits in the first quarter of FY24. Notable exits in Q1 FY24 include Oliva, WebEngage and LoanTap.
In the coming quarters, the company will remain focused on discovering potential investment prospects while ensuring its existing portfolio companies' growth and safeguarding its investor's capital, said Blacksoil.
