S'pore fund Mercatus plans to invest here
Singapore-headquartered angel investment fund Mercatus Capital is now eyeing Indian shores.
By Chandra R Srikanth, TNN |
CHENNAI: Singapore-headquartered angel investment fund Mercatus Capital is now eyeing Indian shores. The fund, which has so far invested in companies in China, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, is now scouting the Indian terrain to invest in sectors such as biotech, energy and retail.
Industry experts say the dollar-rupee equation could result in more funds based out of Asia and Europe showing interest in India. So far, the Indian venture capital industry has been largely funded by the US. Last year, for example, Silicon Valley firms such as Norwest Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson set up their offices here.
However, Mercatus Capital is positioning itself as a pure-play angel investment firm. “We haven’t raised money from any endowment or pension fund. It is funds pooled in by a number of high net worth individuals,” said Rajesh Sukumaran, investment manager for Mercatus Capital’s India operations.
“We haven’t set up an India-specific fund yet or decided the number of investments. We are still evaluating the start-up ecosystem and the companies here,” added Mr Sukumaran. Mercatus Capital invests $250,000 to $2 million in each venture. The prominent and structured angel funds currently operating in India include Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels and TiE Chennai Fund.
“An important ingredient in the Silicon Valley ecosystem is the presence of angels which helps in creating deal flow for venture capital investors. The angel ecosystem is lacking in India and entrepreneurs directly approach VCs with their idea,” said Arun Natarajan, founder and CEO, Venture Intelligence. Mr Natarajan added the presence of more angels will actually help VCs, who can channel investments in ventures that already have a sound proof of concept.
For example, the local Indian search engine Guruji.com was angel-funded by Suvir Sujan before it went on to get VC-backing from Sequoia Capital. Suvir Sujan is currently a partner in Nexus India Capital. Serial entrepreneur Ravindran Govindan heads two-year-old Mercatus Capital and the firm has closed investments in 16 companies so far.
Industry experts say the dollar-rupee equation could result in more funds based out of Asia and Europe showing interest in India. So far, the Indian venture capital industry has been largely funded by the US. Last year, for example, Silicon Valley firms such as Norwest Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson set up their offices here.
However, Mercatus Capital is positioning itself as a pure-play angel investment firm. “We haven’t raised money from any endowment or pension fund. It is funds pooled in by a number of high net worth individuals,” said Rajesh Sukumaran, investment manager for Mercatus Capital’s India operations.
“We haven’t set up an India-specific fund yet or decided the number of investments. We are still evaluating the start-up ecosystem and the companies here,” added Mr Sukumaran. Mercatus Capital invests $250,000 to $2 million in each venture. The prominent and structured angel funds currently operating in India include Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels and TiE Chennai Fund.
“An important ingredient in the Silicon Valley ecosystem is the presence of angels which helps in creating deal flow for venture capital investors. The angel ecosystem is lacking in India and entrepreneurs directly approach VCs with their idea,” said Arun Natarajan, founder and CEO, Venture Intelligence. Mr Natarajan added the presence of more angels will actually help VCs, who can channel investments in ventures that already have a sound proof of concept.
For example, the local Indian search engine Guruji.com was angel-funded by Suvir Sujan before it went on to get VC-backing from Sequoia Capital. Suvir Sujan is currently a partner in Nexus India Capital. Serial entrepreneur Ravindran Govindan heads two-year-old Mercatus Capital and the firm has closed investments in 16 companies so far.
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