<article>UK’s development finance institution <a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/cdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC Group</a> has committed over $100 million to five investment funds focused on providing growth capital to businesses in South Asia.</article>

UK’s development finance institution <a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/cdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC Group</a> has committed over $100 million to five investment funds focused on providing growth capital to businesses in South Asia.
A majority of the investments were made in India, which was led by a commitment of up to $50 million in Kotak India Affordable Housing Fund (KIAH), which is a single-LP managed account and is the first affordable housing-focused fund raised by <a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/kotak-realty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kotak Realty Funds</a>.
According to a recent release by CDC, the investment will help KIAH to invest in affordable housing development projects primarily focused in India’s poorest and most capital-starved states.
It was reported last year that Kotak Realty Fund, part of Kotak Mahindra Bank-subsidiary Kotak Investment Advisors, was looking at raising $100 million to invest in affordable housing projects in India.
&#8220;Around 95% of the institutional capital in the Indian real estate sector has been invested in the top six cities in India, leaving other parts of the country starved of investment for real estate development. As the only outside investor in KIAHF, CDC is playing an important role in mobilising commercial investment into the sector and the states that need it,&#8221; said CDC’s Managing Director for Asia Funds, Muru Murugappan.
CDC also committed $25 million in another mid-market private investment firm <a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/lighthouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lighthouse Advisors</a>, that is targeting to raise $200 million for its third fund, with an additional greenshoe option of $40 million.
In March, the Mumbai-based investor had marked the first institutional close of its third fund at $150 million after a preliminary first close at $80 million in November last year. Lighthouse plans to complete its fundraising process by January. In a disclosure last year, International Finance Corporation (IFC) had proposed an investment of up to $20 million in Lighthouse’s third fund. IFC AMC was also considering a parallel investment of up to $25 million in the fund, it had said.
Apart from its private equity investments, the London-based investment firm has also backed two Indian tech-focused venture capital firms- <a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/stellaris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stellaris</a> and <a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/pi-ventures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pi Ventures</a>.
CDC committed $10 million to Stellaris Venture Partners India I, which was founded by former Helion Venture Partners executives Ritesh Banglani, Alok Goyal and Rahul Chowdhri in 2016. The firm had also received $10 million commitment from World Bank Group&#8217;s International Finance Corp, for its $100 million fund. The tech-focused VC fund had raised $50 million for its maiden fund in February 2017.
pi Ventures on the other hand secured $6 million commitments from CDC for its pi Ventures Fund I, which achieved its final close of its $30 million deep-tech focused fund. Founded in 2016, the firaising funds from Hero Enterprise chairman Sunil Kant Munjal, Electronic Development Fund (managed by Canbank Ventures) and the corporate financing arm of Hero Electronix, along with other high net-worth investors.
CDC Group typically focuses on sectors including financial services, infrastructure, health, manufacturing, food and agriculture, construction and real estate, and education. The 70-year-old CDC Group has been investing in India for over 30 years and, so far, has made around 300 investments across these sectors.
Apart from its investments in India, CDC Group also made a $10 million commitment to a Myanmar-based investment firm<a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/anthem-asia" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Anthem Asia</a>, that will focus on traditional SMEs and tech-enabled early stage businesses that are benefiting from rising domestic incomes and increasing internet access.
CDC is an anchor investor alongside the IFC and the Dutch Good Growth Fund, which helped the fund to reach a first close of $34.5 million earlier this year. The fund is said to be targeting to raise $50 million for its maiden fund.
CDC said it has  been closely tracking and supporting Myanmar’s private equity ecosystem for 4 years. In 2015, CDC committed to Insitor, a regional focused fund targeting companies providing products and services to poor and under-served communities. In 2017 CDC invested in its first Myanmar country focused fund, Delta Capital which is investing in larger, mid-market companies.
“SMEs can be a major driver of growth and employment, and in Myanmar the majority are in the informal sector, struggling with low productivity and poor access to growth capital and appropriate skills. Our investment in the Anthem fund will help to move more companies into the formal economy – giving firms the management skills and operational guidance they need to grow,&#8221; said CDC’s Investment Director, Sara Taylor said.
Also Read:
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/kotak-realty-fund-affordable-housing-74949/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India: Kotak Realty Fund plans to raise $100m for affordable housing investments</a>
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/pi-ventures-cdc-105092/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India: AI-focused Pi Ventures bags $6m from UK’s CDC Group</a>

UK’s development finance institution CDC Group has committed over $100 million to five investment funds focused on providing growth capital to businesses in South Asia.

UK's CDC Group commits over $100m to South Asian funds

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UK's CDC Group commits over $100m to South Asian funds

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