Venture debt and alternative credit platform, BlackSoil Capital has invested over $8 million in Tonbo Imaging, Paras ARC and Dar Credit, as part of its investment strategy with focus on deeptech and financial services sectors.
Bangalore-based Tonbo Imaging is an indigenous manufacturer of advanced electro-optics solutions for military and commercial applications. Tonbo develops EOIR systems for tactical, land, naval and aerial applications. The company has signed military modernization programs with the home and defence ministries and also supplies EOIR systems to countries like Spain, France, Morocco, Jordan, Philippines and Vietnam among others.
Paras ARC, a part a of the Prasaditya & Wacem Group, has over $175 million in assets under management (AUM). The ARC, founded in 2008 by M Siva Rama Vara Prasa, is focused on acquiring corporate debt and recently ventured into its first retail debt acquisition. To date, the company has acquired over $935 million in assets worth over $240 million of which it has resolved assets of $65 million.
Dar Credit is an RBI-registered NBFC (non-banking financial companies) that provides unsecured personal loans to the employees of municipalities and MSME loans primarily to women entrepreneurs. The company has 23 branches across 6 states. Founded in 1994 by Ramesh Kumar Vijay, it currently has an AUM of over $15 million and over 20,000 active borrowers.
"These companies have shown growth in their segments and are backed by marquee investors. Their business positioning and ability to survive through adversities like Covid is what made these companies an attractive proposition for BlackSoil. We are optimistic that our debt capital will help these companies take their businesses to the next level,” Ankur Bansal, co-founder and director of BlackSoil.
Early this year, the Mumbai-based debt investor backed SME fintech firm LivFin, investing $2 million (Rs 14.8 crore).
In January, BlackSoil announced an investment of $80 million in 20 transactions during 2021, registering a 2.5 times growth in terms of value and 1.8 times growth in terms of volume of investments over 2020.
Some of its major investments in startups include business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce startup Udaan; marketplace for construction materials Infra.Market and beauty marketplace Purplle.
In March, BlackSoil Capital invested growth capital of over $4.5 million (around Rs 34.2 crore) in three startups, BluSmart Mobility, BigHaat and LoanTap.