HDFC Capital Advisors Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd, has announced a programme to mentor, partner and invest in real estate technology companies that drive innovation and efficiencies within the affordable housing ecosystem.
Christened as HDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Programme (HeART), the platform will provide real estate technology companies with innovative products aimed at creating efficiencies and lowering costs in each part of the development cycle of a real estate project. The platform aims to foster collaborations between technology companies and the real estate sector, thereby creating value for the entire affordable housing chain.
“HDFC’s endeavour is to act as an enabler to the growth of affordable housing in the country. HeART will support businesses which are innovating and building technology solutions to enhance the supply of affordable housing. India has a huge shortage of housing and these incremental steps will help lower the cost of housing for homebuyers,” said Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC Ltd.
HDFC Capital will also tie up with leading academic institutions, industry platforms and accelerators to create an ecosystem that supports various components in the development affordable housing, thus making the process more efficient.
HDFC Capital Advisors Limited, through its funds HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 1 (H-CARE 1) and HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 2 (H-CARE 2), has invested over $1 billion in the last 24 months with marquee developers across India in the affordable and mid-income housing space.
“HDFC Capital seeks to address the demand-supply gap in affordable housing in India through a combination of financing, partnerships and technology. New technologies will play a vital role in the creation of efficiencies within the real estate development cycle which are critical for the financial viability of affordable housing projects. We look forward to bringing together multiple stakeholders including developers, consultants, construction companies, global institutions, venture funds, incubators and accelerators,” said Vipul Roongta, managing director and chief executive officer, HDFC Capital Advisors Ltd.
HDFC Capital Advisors provides investment management services for real estate private equity financing and is one of the largest fund managers in the country. Both its real estate funds are SEBI-registered Category II alternative investment funds.
H-CARE 1 and H-CARE 2 combined have created a $1.1-billion platform targeting affordable and mid-income residential projects in India’s leading 20 cities. The primary objective of this platform is to provide long term, equity and mezzanine capital to marquee developers at the land and pre-approval stage for the development of affordable and mid-income housing in India.