ImpactAlpha, October 5 – September was a killer month for venture capital in India, with two record-setting weeks of over $500 million in commitments each. A handful of large funding rounds boosted the total, but early-stage impact startups comprised a significant share of the smaller deals. Companies supporting India’s digital transition, particularly in health, education and financial services, have attracted investors amid the pandemic. Investors also are committing to early-stage energy, cleantech and agriculture startups.
In clean tech, Etrio, an electric vehicle company focusing on two- and three-wheel vehicles, which comprise a majority of India’s road vehicles, secured $3 million from high-net-worth investors in Singapore. Bangalore-based biogas tech startup GPS Renewables closed $3 million in Series A financing from Hivos-Triodos Fund and Caspian. Sanitation startup ECOSTP raised $250,000 from Habitat for Humanity to install its low-cost, chemical free sewage treatment tech in low-income communities.
And in agriculture, ag-focused financial services company Samunnati secured $20 million in debt from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. to expand lending and technical assistance to low-income farmers. Gurgaon-based AgroWave raised $500,000 to deliver produce from small villages to customers.
An non-financed company of note: LokalPe in Bangalore is bootstrapping a job platform for blue collar workers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic.
