Ashwin Damera, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of edtech unicorn Eruditus, has invested Rs 240 crore ($32 million) in one of Asia’s leading venture debt and specialty finance platforms InnoVen Capital India Fund.
The investment was made through Damera Ventures, Damera's family office, which is co-managed by Damera and his wife Bhagyashree Damera, InnoVen Capital said in a statement on Wednesday.
Eruditus is currently valued at $3.2 billion and had joined the coveted unicorn club in August last year, after it raised $650 million as a part of its Series E funding round from Softbank, Vision Fund 2, Prosus, Accel, Sequoia, Bertelsmann, and the Chan Zuckerberg initiative.
“While we are raising capital from several classes of investors, it’s always special to have successful founders invest with us, as they bring value beyond capital,” said Ashish Sharma, Managing Partner, InnoVen Capital India Fund.
“Over the last few years, the ecosystem has seen several founders generate some liquidity and many have allocated capital to venture debt, as part of their asset allocation,” Sharma added.
Sharma also said that the company had launched India fund late last year and has already invested in 25 companies, including 7 unicorns.
He added that InnoVen expects to do its final close sometime next quarter.
The Temasek Holdings-backed venture debt company had marked its first close of its debut venture debt fund at Rs 740 crore in September last year.
The fund has a target corpus of Rs 1,000 crore with a green shoe option to raise an additional Rs 1,000 crore.
“I am delighted to invest in Innoven’s maiden venture debt fund. This investment is from my family office and will give us exposure to venture debt, which is a unique asset class,” said Damera, Damera Ventures.
“I have known Innoven for many years and have a strong appreciation for the strong franchise/portfolio they have built. As an entrepreneur, this investment also aligns with my goal of investing back into the venture ecosystem as the capital will eventually support many promising start-ups, as they scale up,” Damera added.
