NABVENTURES, the venture capital arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), has raised Rs 450 crore ($47 million) at the first close of its second fund.
NABVENTURES Fund II is targeting a corpus of Rs 1,500 crore, including a green-shoe option. The firm’s earlier funds have invested in 23 enterprises.
NABARD is the anchor investor in Fund II, which will invest in early- and growth-stage companies operating in agriculture and rural markets. The fund will focus on businesses using technology and scalable models to address challenges across the agricultural value chain and rural economy.
“Through Fund II, we aim to partner with visionary entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions to address critical challenges across the agricultural ecosystem,” said Shaji Krishnan V, Chairman of NABARD, in a media statement.
“As India’s agriculture and rural economy evolves, there is a growing need for scalable, technology-driven solutions that enhance productivity, strengthen value chains, improve farmers’ incomes and build resilient rural enterprises,” he added.
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.
