Rahul Gupta, Axis Bank’s former head for financial sponsors coverage, and Stride Ventures’ chief financial officer Siba Panda have teamed up to set up a new venture debt firm called ValuAble.
ValuAble is looking to raise Rs 850 crore ($103 million) in its maiden outing to invest in tech-first and inclusive startups in India and globally.
Gupta and Panda said that ValuAble will be India’s first ESG-aligned (environmental, social and governance) venture debt fund. The fund will also not invest in so-called sin sectors like alcohol, gambling and tobacco, they said.
Gupta said ValuAble will back companies which are in their pre-Series A to Series A funding stages. The average ticket size will range between $2.5 million and $4 million. The fund is looking to invest in 40-50 companies.
ValuAble will invest in startups that are aligned with UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDG). It will also prioritize its investments to help break barriers for the diversity groups and/or led by the diversity groups, the company says.
“With ValuAble, we don’t want to be just lenders; we want to be partners in the entrepreneurial journey of different startups. Our core philosophy is to be enablers for businesses, providing them with the necessary resources, mentorship, and tools to not only secure capital but also to foster sustainable growth,” said Gupta, founder and managing partner at ValuAble. Prior to ValuAble, he had been associated with Axis Bank since 2006.
Panda has previously worked at Oxford University Press, Fujifilm India, American Tower, Telenor, and Deloitte, among others. He said ValuAble will help startups in expanding market access for businesses, providing growth capital through strategic partnerships with VC funds and development finance institutions.