NABVENTURES, the venture capital arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), plans to invest Rs 30-70 crore in businesses operating across the agriculture and rural economy through its second fund, per an announcement.
The firm may also participate in subsequent funding rounds of its portfolio companies.
NABVENTURES plans to draw on NABARD’s network and sector expertise to support its portfolio companies as they grow.
The fund recently announced a first close of Rs 450 crore against a target corpus of Rs 1,500 crore.
“Agriculture and rural transformation remain at the core of our thesis, alongside opportunities in financial services, agri value chain, rural enablers and climate solutions,” said Vikas Bhatt, Managing Director at NABVENTURES.
The fund will focus on growth-stage and technology-driven businesses working to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen supply chains and increase farmers’ incomes, it said in a media statement.
It will also invest in areas such as climate solutions, financial services and businesses supporting rural livelihoods.
Set up in April 2018, NABVENTURES manages Fund I; and AgriSURE, a fund supported by NABARD and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to finance startups and businesses in the agriculture and rural sectors. They have collectively backed 23 enterprises across sectors including agritech, aquaculture, food processing, rural development, financial services, supply chain solutions, traceability and cold-chain infrastructure.
