Pioneering Ventures, a Zurich and Mumbai-based accelerator and investor dedicated to Indian agriculture and food sector, has announced the launch of a ‘Rural India Impact’ fund of $70 million. The purpose of the private equity fund is to make growth capital available exclusively to companies it has backed so far.
The fund, a growth capital vehicle to be raised through family offices and other institutional investors (mainly Europe), has invested over Rs 1000 crore in India along with its co-investors. Its portfolio companies in the Agri and food space are – Desai Fruits and Vegetables (branded banana producer, Citrus Processing India (frozen juice processor), MilkLane (integrated healthy dairy company), FarmLink (Industrial scale platform for value-added fresh produce), and Samaaru (financial services provider to under-served communities in India).
Commenting on the launch, Martin Wittwer, Executive Partner, Operations at Pioneering Ventures said, “The fund has been set with a vision to back and rapidly grow our existing business, thereby investing in their activities over the next two years. We currently operate five portfolio companies in the agri space with an intent to create sustainable and verifiable social impact among the farming and rural community”.
Pioneering Ventures said in an official statement that it aims to build a comprehensive agri and food platform that controls end-to-end value chain. The firm works closely with more than 7000 farmers and facilitates them access to markets in India and abroad.
