The global economy is projected to slow down in 2023-24 as the spectre of unprecedented high inflation coupled with tight monetary policy around the world continues to rile business sentiments. Even as the world managed to show some resilience after emerging from the pandemic, the cracks are showing now due to spike in commodity prices and the war in Europe affecting oil prices in particular.
But there has been a silver lining. India had been shining bright and remains the fastest growing major economy in the world. The country’s real GDP of over 6% is projected to rise 2-2.5 times that of the global average in the near term. That itself presents an opportunity to investors around the world. But what does this mean for the world of private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC)?
While the public market has seen some ups and downs after hitting an all-time peak, long term investors in the alternatives domain have been ‘building up’ their positions despite the deeper correction in the venture capital space over the last two years. Limited Partners (LPs) have made record fresh commitment of $10 billion to private equity, private credit, venture capital and public market alternative investment funds (AIFs) focused on India during January-March 2023. This catapulted the total historical money dedicated to locally registered PE, VC funds as well as public market AIFs to cross the milestone of $100 billion, as per data compiled by VCCircle.
This has also pushed the total ‘dry powder’ for India-dedicated funds alone to around $60 billion. In short, a whole lot of money is waiting in the wings to get deployed. The country’s private equity and venture capital industry is likely to remain vibrant in the future and move towards making an even greater impact on the economy.
To deliberate on how the Indian alternative investment ecosystem is evolving, VCCircle presents the 15th edition of its flagship annual thought leadership and networking event for LPs and GPs as also all intermediaries in the deals ecosystem.
India presents a compelling opportunity for investors, businesses, and entrepreneurs due to its large and diverse market, emerging middle class, and potential for sustainable long-term economic growth. However, it's essential to understand that the macroeconomic picture in India can have various slices at the micro level and translating these macro trends into micro-level success stories requires a strategic and nuanced approach.
Speakers:
LP-GP alignment on value creation models involves shared objectives, economic alignment, clear communication, and strategies focused on generating value for the fund's investors. Strong alignment fosters trust and collaboration, ultimately leading to more successful and mutually beneficial partnerships in the private equity and venture capital space. How are LP’s and GP’s blueprinting the new frontiers?
Investors face challenges in justifying past investment decisions, prompting a reevaluation of their future focus for success.
Competitive processes have sometimes led to off-track investment calls and aggressive bidding behavior. As more stable GPs complete their investment cycles, there is a growing understanding that high entry multiples do not guarantee further multiple expansion at exit. Anticipating slow exits ahead, a significant buildup of yet to be exited PE assets is likely to occur.
Will sectors that have recorded successful exits historically continue to be relevant going forward? Which new sectors seem to be more promising now? How will the consideration of potential headwinds and regulations influence the decision-making process for GPs in terms of their investments? What does the future hold? Is PE in India poised for a $40 billion decade on the horizon?
Speakers:
Private credit and special situations present unique opportunities for investors to maximize returns and diversify their portfolios beyond traditional asset classes. This session delves into the intricacies of private credit and special situations, exploring their potential to generate superior risk-adjusted returns and unlock hidden value in today's dynamic market landscape.
Debt can be an attractive financing option for startups via venture debt as well as more mature companies as private credit, especially during periods of dislocated valuations. Further it presents an alternative source of money without diluting equity base. Credit at large has become an important asset class for LPs due to distinct risk-return profile. But there are some marquee players like KKR who have singed their fingers. What are the learnings from the failures? How can credit assessments ensure the private credit space does not end up with a pile up of bad loans like the banking and NBFC leading to crisis?
Speakers:
Family offices have been on the rise for many years. It is estimated
that there are approximately 257 family offices in India that have invested in a total of 659 deals, with average assets under management (AUM) of USD $100 million. Yet, they have to juggle with multiple investment options be it the ebullient and liquid public market; the historical lure of real assets as also the importance of geographical diversification that an overseas bet can provide. How do family offices balance their asset allocation to alternatives space in India and what has been their experience in their past calls?
Understanding the journey of a founder, diving deep into their original pitches, the roadblocks and the peaks. How did they achieve it and kept moving.
Speakers:
Despite a challenging global climate for private equity, India defied the odds and experienced a robust influx of PE-VC investments, reaching an impressive $61.6 billion in 2022. But LPs appear to be consolidating their funds portfolio to fewer PEs albeit with larger cheques. This has seen some mid-tier PEs virtually going out of the market and even some top tier PE firms facing a challenge convincing LPs to make a commitment. On the flip side, we have seen the emergence of several VCs thanks to flood of local money. How are LPs rebalancing their alternatives act in India? Some LPs are increasingly focusing on building out their co-investment and direct portfolios in India as they see value in building local teams. How have their capabilities been demonstrated through specific strategies, and how have these strategies evolved through time?
Speakers:
In recent years, the healthcare and life sciences sectors have witnessed unprecedented transformations, driven by technological advancements, demographic shifts, and global health challenges. As investors seek promising opportunities, understanding the evolving landscape is crucial. This fireside chat explores key trends and considerations shaping the future of investments in healthcare and life sciences.
Both LPs and GPs have burnt their hands in the past due to less than appropriate due diligence over deals, assessment of fund managers and last but not the least the entrepreneur. The stakeholders need to design a diligence process that is faster, comprehensive and yet one that covers all the loopholes. What tools and processes can make LPs a better judge of GPs? What lessons can we draw from deals that went off track with respect to credibility of disclosures? How can investors minimize the risk of entrepreneurs taking them for a ride? How has the nature and focus of diligence changed over the years?
Speakers:
The more oft repeated term these days is funding winter and a pain point for startup founders. However, an equally bigger problem is for VCs as they have a deployment issue for funds raised with a particular valuation matrix in mind. Rerating in the startup space has changed the amount that can be invested in companies and virtually resulted in death of some niche segments. Further, finding startups with the right fit, growth potential, and valuation can be challenging, especially in competitive markets. How can VCs navigate the cesspool and how do LPs see VC as an asset class?
Speakers:
DFIs balance direct investments and LP roles, necessitating strategic planning. Ongoing assessment, portfolio management, and a commitment to growth and social progress are crucial. Rigorous due diligence and reporting combat 'greenwashing' and promote genuine sustainable development.
Speakers:
Many LPs including pension funds and SWFs besides PE firms have created/co-created companies or platforms from scratch. What has been the learnings and how successful have platforms been as a strategy either from scratch or via a key buyout followed by bolt-on deals? At the same time many funds are way past their lives and LP money is stuck. Can continuation funds be the savior to clean the shelves? Internationally, Search Funds have come about as another type of alternative player but despite the experienced talent base and the opportunity it is yet to play out in India. Can it become a reality to make buyouts more vibrant?
Speakers:
Akhil has over 23 years of private equity experience in India, and about 32 years of experience in financial services including investing in both, listed and unlisted asset class.
Akhil is the Managing Partner of Tata Capital Growth Fund, a US$ 400+ million private equity fund promoted by Tata Capital and focussed on investing in high growth companies. He is a member of EMPEA and former member of Executive Committee of IVCA (Indian Venture Capital Association).
Prior to Tata Capital, Akhil was one of the founding members of Baring Private Equity Partners, a leading Indian private equity fund and was involved in all stages of the PE lifecycle, from creating an investment proposition, fund raising, investment and divestment. Akhil has completed over 30 transactions and 15 exits delivering attractive returns to investors. He served on the Board of Directors of various portfolio companies and was also a Member/ Chairman of Compensation / Audit Committees.
He is on the Investment Committee of TCGF 1 and TCGF II.
Akhil has done his MBA from FMS, Delhi and AMP from Harvard Business School.
Amit Agarwal has 2 decades of experience in Private Credit & Special Situation financing, corporate financing, Investments, deal structuring, deal origination, restructuring, performance improvement & turnaround management, acquisition financing, investment banking and corporate finance.
Amit is one of the founding members of the Private Credit & Special Situation business at Edelweiss and has played key role in business development and growth. He has significant relationships across banks, promoters and market participants. He currently leads the flagship $1.3 billion distressed asset fund raised by Edelweiss.
He has led acquisition/investment in stressed assets across strategies and has been instrumental in resolution of large assets. Amit has originated and invested more than ~USD 1 billion across stressed assets transactions. He has been involved in managing the entire lifecycle of large investment and creating exit strategies in several assets.
Prior to Edelweiss, Amit was associated with ARCIL, the first ARC in India, and was a part of strategic business group where he played a key role in portfolio monitoring and analysis. He has also worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers earlier, where his focus was performance improvement and financial restructuring.
Amit is an All India Rank-holder Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the Lucknow University too.
Anjali Bansal is the Founding Partner of Avaana Capital, which manages Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund - investing in technology and innovation-led start-ups catalysing climate solutions and sustainability and delivering exponential returns. Previously, Anjali has been the Non-Executive Chairperson of Dena Bank, appointed by the Government of India to steer the resolution of the stressed bank, eventually leading to a merger with the Bank of Baroda. Prior to that, Anjali was a Global Partner and Managing Director with TPG Growth PE, responsible for India, SE Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She started her career as a strategy consultant with McKinsey and Co. in New York.
Anjali has invested in and mentored various successful start-ups including Delhivery, Urban Company, Darwinbox, Nykaa and Lenskart. She also serves as an independent non-executive director on several leading boards including Tata Power (Chair, Sustainability Committee), Nestle (Member, CSR and Sustainability Committee), and Piramal Enterprises, and chairs the “Climate Council” within Indian Venture Capital Association. She has previously chaired the India board of Women's World Banking, a leading global livelihood-promoting institution and been a board member at GSK Pharma, Siemens, Voltas and Bata.
Anjali is a Member of the Niti Aayog Evolution Review Committee, India’s premier policy think tank chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. She has been appointed on the Expert Advisory Committee for the Start Up India Seed Fund Scheme announced by the Honourable Prime Minister. She is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the world’s first open access infrastructure for digital commerce and serves on the CII National Committee on Corporate Governance. She has previously served as President of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, and has co-founded and chaired the FICCI Center for Corporate Governance program for Women on Corporate Boards. She is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization and a charter member of TiE. She has been listed as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Indian Business” by India’s leading publications, Business Today, Fortune India and Forbes India.
Anil is a Partner with the Deloitte Tax group. He has over twenty years of experience in the taxation department and has been seconded to the London office of Deloitte where he has obtained international work experience.
Anil has worked with the Deloitte M&A Tax and Global Oil and Gas Tax team whilst on secondment in London. He specialises in matters under the direct tax laws which have been in force in India, including international taxation. He has also been involved in conducting tax due diligence and tax structuring assignments of various clients including listed companies in India and has been providing tax structuring advise to several upstream companies in India with regard to their outbound investments.
Deepak Padaki President As President of Catamaran, Deepak is responsible for driving the overall performance of the firm’s portfolio by formulating and executing its investment strategy, asset allocation and risk management policies. Deepak has over 30 years of experience in the Global IT Services and Software Product industry. He was Executive Vice President, Group Head of Strategy & Chief Risk Officer at Infosys Limited (NYSE: INFY) until June 2022. He played various roles at Infosys – including Strategy, M&A, Venture Funding, Risk Management, Business Development, Software Engineering and Project Management. He was a member of the Board of Infosys’ Software subsidiaries in Israel, the Netherlands, USA, Japan, and India. He was the Vice President of the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce, a lead member of the start-up and Knowledge Management Councils of the Confederation of Indian Industry and a member of the Strategy and Risk Officers’ Councils of the World Economic Forum. In his spare time, he is active in community theatre and serves on the managing committee of Bangalore Little Theatre. Deepak holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science from the University of Mysore, India.
Hari Buggana is the Managing Director of InvAscent India - a private equity firm focused on the Indian life sciences sector. Prior to this, he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. During his stint at McKinsey, Hari primarily worked with life sciences businesses in the US, Europe, and India on a variety of issues ranging from corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, product-market strategy, R&D productivity, organizational effectiveness, and operations improvement.
Prior to joining McKinsey, Hari worked as a scientist in the Pharmaceutical Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, USA. He has a MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago.
Hari Buggana is the Chairman and Managing Director of InvAscent – a Private Equity firm focused on Indian healthcare, pharma and medtech industries with AUM of ~ $500Mn and 33 investments to date.
Prior to establishing InvAscent in 2005, Hari was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. During his stint at McKinsey, Hari primarily worked with life sciences businesses in US, Europe, and India on a variety of issues ranging from corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, product-market strategy, R&D productivity, organizational effectiveness, and operations improvement.
Prior to joining McKinsey, Hari worked as a scientist in the Pharmaceutical Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, USA.
Hari has an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, USA.
Hiren Shah is a prominent figure in the landscape of digital advertising, monetization, & cloud solutions, and the Founder of Vertoz, a key player in the Global MadTech and CloudTech Business Group. With a visionary approach to marketing and business development, Hiren boasts 25+ years of extensive experience during which he successfully established online ventures like Qualispace, ConnectReseller, Vokut, and, notably, Vertoz. A trailblazer in the Indian AdTech sector, Hiren played a pivotal role in introducing programmatic advertising. Under his guidance, Vertoz, founded in 2012 with just 8 employees, underwent exponential growth, going public in 2017 with a workforce exceeding 150+ employees. Recognized as one of the few MadTech companies in India, Vertoz, guided by Hiren's vision, earned prestigious awards such as Brands of India from YourStory, DIGIXX, and MOBEXX in 2023.
Hiren's impact extends beyond the business realm. As a dynamic decision-maker and serial entrepreneur, he served on the Board of Studies at NMIMS and is a member of JITO. His penchant for guiding the next generation is evident through active angel investments in numerous startups, including NewsReach, Dookan.com, Pencil, Quizy, Siply, Terrafood, TIAR, Nosh, SimpliClarify, and many more as an angel investor. Acknowledging his significant contributions, Hiren received the ICON Awards 2020-21 from The Economic Times.
Beyond his professional achievements, Hiren values family life and enjoys pursuing adventure sports, exploring new destinations, and staying abreast of the latest gadgets. His multifaceted endeavors characterize him as a leader, entrepreneur, and a great influencer in the digital landscape.
Imran is a Managing Partner at Gaja Capital (www.gajacapital.com)
Gaja Capital is India's leading mid-market growth capital investment firm with AUM of $750 million. Gaja Capital's aim is to help create India's next generation of market leaders in sectors such as Education, Software, Consumer, Financial Services and Healthcare.
Imran has 25 years of experience in Private Equity, Pharmaceuticals and Technology services. Prior to Gaja Capital, Imran worked in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility at Dr Reddy's and Wipro Technologies.
At Gaja Capital, Imran leads investments in the Education, Software and Consumer clusters. He has been closely involved with Gaja Capital's investments in Signzy (SaaS platform for BFSI), LeadSquared (Sales automation SaaS platform), Educational initiatives (B2B Ed-Tech). Kangaroo kids (Pre-K and K-12), KOOH Sports (Performance Sports), Sportzvillage (Youth Sports), Eurokids (Pre-K and K-12), John Distilleries (AlcoBev), CL Educate (Supplemental Education) and Indus World Schools (K12).
Imran has post graduate degrees in software engineering from BITS-Pilani and an MBA from llM-Bangalore.
Shri Jayesh Taori, Associate Vice President, Primary Market Relationship, National Stock Exchange is currently Heading the SME platform and supporting the SMEs of our country to list on NSE Emerge.
He is a Company Secretary and fellow member of ICSI, India and ICSA United Kingdom and has over 16 years of experience.
Jayesh, joined NSE in 2007, as a part of the Membership team handling member registration, compliances & other membership continuation processes. In the year 2011, he was pulled to be part of a project team for the launch of a platform for growing SMEs to list on the stock exchange. The platform was successfully launched in 2012 and was named NSE Emerge. Further, he also actively contributed to the launch of Emerge-ITP, an Institutional Trading Platform for start-ups and young companies to list without an IPO in the year 2013. Jayesh continues to play a pivotal role in engaging with stakeholders like SEBI, Merchant Bankers, State Governments, Industrial Associations, MSMEs and managing primary market relationships.
Navjot is an Associate Director at Epiq Capital that has backed companies such as Lenskart, Curefit, Parkplus, Dailyhunt. Navjot has invested across angel, early and growth stages in India. She recently raised a $225M fund to invest in the tech Nifty50 companies in the making.
Prior to Epiq, she was with Fireside Ventures where she invested in consumer startups and also built the operating ecosystem to support portfolio companies. Navjot served on the boards of Design Café, Vahdam, Kapiva, Pipa Bella, Yogabar, Gynoveda, Pilgrim, Traya, and Nat Habit.
Prior to Fireside, Navjot was an operator at BookMyShow, and earlier, she led a 100 member team to create a global SAAS based global database for the PE and VC ecosystem. Navjot holds an MBA from Indian School of Business and graduated St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. When Navjot is not talking to entrepreneurs, she is often found learning a new meditation practice.
Pallabi Ghosal is part of the Corporate practice group at Trilegal and a very well-regarded partner specialising in investment funds and asset management practice. She also regularly advises on financial regulatory matters. She also assists funds in their portfolio investments, joint ventures, and other corporate restructurings.
Pallabi has drafted many submissions (as a part of requests from various industry bodies) for changes in laws framed by Indian regulators including SEBI, RBI, IRDA and the Government of India.
Rakshat Kapoor has over 20 years of experience in private credit. He has worked on numerous private credit transactions ranging from turnaround situations and restructurings, distressed debt and private equity. Having led investments across industries – healthcare and pharmaceuticals, consumer, capital goods and industrials, he specializes in providing customised financial solutions to corporates across the capital structure.
Prior to joining Modulus Alternatives, Rakshat was with Nomura Securities working exclusively in the private credit and debt capital markets and in the investment banking divisions. He has also worked with Deutsche Bank, in the private credit investments team as well as in ICICI Bank's structured finance division.
A qualified Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Rakshat has done his graduation from Delhi University. He has keen interest in reading especially history and International Relations.
Mr. Sandeep Adukia has 29 years of experience across wholesale lending, retail lending and institutional brokerage with specialized knowledge of Indian capital markets. As Senior Managing Director, Mr. Adukia leads business development efforts developing valuable sourcing channels for the business and managing investee company relationships. Mr. Adukia also oversees fund raise efforts in India. Prior to joining BPEA Credit, Mr. Adukia was head of the Capital Markets business at Religare Finvest Limited, managing all aspects of wholesale and retail lending for capital markets. Before that, Mr. Adukia worked at Citigroup as Head of Capital Market Finance and with HDFC Bank in the Capital Markets business. Mr. Adukia started his career in Collections with India Securities Ltd in addition to his work in Capital Markets business. Mr. Adukia holds an MBA from Mumbai University.
Srini joined British International Investment in 2013 to lead the Asia team under the organisation’s new investment strategy. He has the distinction of having been our first overseas employee and recently moved to Singapore to lead BIIs expansion into the Indo-Pacific region. He has been instrumental in building a high-quality portfolio in the region, which focuses across products and sectors.
Under his leadership, BII has a strong presence on the ground and the team has made successful investments in the financial services, healthcare, logistics and renewable energy sectors – including the creation of BII subsidiary Ayana Renewable Power in India, a pioneer renewable energy developer. His role includes support in origination, execution, and management of the portfolio for delivering development goals and value. In addition, he is building BIIs presence in the Southeast Asian markets with a focus on Climate change.
Srini started his career with Standard Chartered Bank both in India and Southern Africa, before joining British International Investment in 1996. He has managed leasing companies in Africa; in India he managed legacy assets for value before moving into mainstream private equity investing for both British International Investment and Actis.
He has a Master’s degree in Economics and a post-graduate qualification in Business Administration from Warwick School of Business.
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