VCCircle SME Investment Camp 2011
The world’s worst economic slowdown has taught one important lesson. Real recovery is not about macroeconomic numbers such as factory output and GDP but about job creation, growth of smaller enterprises and rise in consumer sentiment. In fact, the world’s most developed economy, the US, is looking to the small and medium sector to hasten the process of recovery. That is because it is only this invisible part of the economy that has the capacity to create job numbers.
According to various statistics, India’s SME sector accounts for 40% of factory output, 40% of exports and 70% of employment. After agriculture, it is the SME sector that generates the maximum employment. Now, if the economy has to race past the 9% growth target in a sustainable fashion, the bottlenecks for SME progress need to be clearly addressed.
For the purpose of this Investment Camp, we will classify SMEs as those companies who are in the up to Rs 200 crore revenue range. Analysing the deal data, we witness a lot of capital-raising activity in SME sectors such as consumer, financial services, healthcare, education, infrastructure ancillaries, internet businesses, media and entertainment, logistics, MFI and bottom of pyramid sectors and so on. At the Camp, we will bring out specific sectoral highlights through case studies and insights from speakers who will be drawn from a cross-section of industry verticals.
Raising capital is perhaps the most dominant need for this sector. Access to capital is also one of the biggest hurdles for small enterprises, who typically seek funding from friends and family and, to a growing but limited extent, angel investors and the venture capital community.
Other critical inputs for running a successful enterprise are achieving scale, market and customer access, marketing strategy, technology update, exposure to global and domestic market trends, employee retention and hiring and so on. While the learning inputs may be different from sector to sector, these broad business requirements remain sector-agnostic.
At a very relevant time, when the economy’s pace of growth depends on the recovery momentum of the SMEs, VCCircle is bringing together its SME Investment Camp 2011 to provide a toolkit through live and experiential learning from professionals and classroom training by experts who have led business transformation. Some of the issues the Camp will broadly tackle:-
What do VCs or angels look for in your company’s business vision before investing? How do you scale from Rs 10-crore revenue to Rs 100 crore? How do you deal with investors on your board? How do you manage operational challenges? How do you make a game-changing hire? What should you look for in your immediate business environment and the global macro indicators? When should you be risk-averse and when should you be risk-taking? What part of the first generation entrepreneur DNA do you need to shed while growing scale?
With ample opportunities to network with the investor and banking community, you get a chance to grab game-changing insights into business models, case
studies and success stories. Be sure to get your Toolkit.
8:30am – 9:15am
Tea & Registration
9:15am – 9:30am
Introduction Note
9:30am – 10:30am
Session I: The Art And Science Of Attracting Private Equity Funding
- How do you access capital from private equity funds?
- What do PE funds look for in your business model?
- Valuation benchmarks in SME space.
- Apart from money, what other inputs do PE funds bring to the table?
- How should entrepreneurs change their mindsets to shed stake to create greater value for the company and themselves?
- What should entrepreneurs expect post a PE round such as having a PE member on the board and so on?
Gaurav Mathur - MD, India Equity Partners (Moderator)
Rajesh Shrivastava - MD, Rabo Equity Advisors
Muneesh Chawla - MD, Blue River Capital
Rahul Raisurana - MD, Standard Chartered Private Equity
10:30am – 11:00am
Tea & Networking
11:00am – 11:15am
VCCircle Redhot Sector: Technology, Media, Telecom: Surya Prakash Madrecha, Chairman & MD, Trimax IT Infrastructure & Services Ltd will make a 20-minute presentation on:
- Trimax IT Infra’s early days and business model
- Significant milestones
- Growth path and projections
- How it raised private equity funding from Zephyr Peacock and scaled.
- Its growth curve in the macro sectoral environment.
11:15am – 11:35am
Factoring: A Tool For Effective Cash Flow Management
Rakesh Kapoor - MD, IFCI Factors Ltd
11:35am – 11:50am
VCCircle Redhot Sector: Agri and Food Businesses: Pritam Shah, MD, Parag Milk Foods will talk on:
- Parag's early days and business model
- Significant milestones
- Growth path and projections
- How it raised private equity funding from Motilal Oswal PE and scaled.
- Its growth curve in the macro sectoral environment.
11:50am – 12:50pm
Session II: Small To Scale: How Private Equity Helps Make This Tough Transition?
- When and how do you scale businesses?
- What are the key scalability challenges
- What are the key value additions by a private equity fund
- To what extent does access to capital enable scalability
Imran Jaffer - Partner, Gaja Capital Partners (Moderator)
Sachin Bhartiya - Partner, Lighthouse Funds
Rajiv Aggarwal - CEO, Ambit Pragma
Sachin Maheshwari - Director, Zephyr Peacock
Shamsher Puri - MD, Dusters Total Solutions
12:50pm – 1:50pm
Lunch & Networking
1:50pm – 2:05pm
VCCircle Redhot Sector: Logistics: Saju Chacko, MD, Caravel Logistics will talk on:
- Caravel’s early days and business model
- Significant milestones
- Growth path and projections
- How it raised funding from BTS Advisors and scaled.
- Its growth curve in the macro sectoral environment.
2:05pm – 2:25pm
Credit Rating - A Stepping Stone For Accessing Debt Capital Market
Sankar Chakraborty - Head, CRISIL Ratings, CRISIL Ltd.
2:25pm – 3:25pm
Session III: How to deal with operational challenges & lead transformation?
- When you are an SME, operational issues take to the forefront. How do you handle day-to-day operations and yet be a strategic thinker and visionary?
- How do make a senior hire, access new markets and customers and ensure deliverables?
- What do you do when you realise the current business model is not working?
- Small can be an advantage here as enterprises can be nimble-footed. How do you lead business transformation?
- How to build in an inorganic growth strategy? At what point should you look at acquisitions to grow?
- The role of private equity in business transformation in a SME.
Rakesh Sony - Director, Motilal Oswal PE (Moderator)
S. Harikrishnan - Investment Director, Avigo Capital Partners
Rohit Bhayana - Managing Partner, Lumis Partners
Sandeep Daga - MD, Nine Rivers Capital
Manish Jain - Executive Director, Axis Holdings
3:25pm – 3:45pm
Tea & Networking
3:45pm – 4:05pm
The Various Debt Channels Available For SMEs
4:05pm – 4:30pm
Concluding Remarks
4:30pm – 6:00pm
VCCircle Lounge
A new initiative from VCCircle where companies and investors can meet and network in a structured manner in a separate enclosure. Here 10 select companies can make a 5-minute elevator pitch to 10 select private equity investors and venture capitalists.
We are the Investment Advisor for a USD 120 mln private equity fund. This is the first private equity Fund in Asia dedicated to food & agribusiness sector.
Besides the fund Sponsor - Rabobank, the Fund has commitments from premiere institutions such as IFC (part of the World Bank Group), DEG (part of KfW Group, owned 100% by the Government of Germany), FMO (Netherlands Development Finance Company), CDC (Commonwealth Development Corporation of the UK), Capvent AG, RWB Capital Germany and Rising Tide, Switzerland.
Rabo Equity Advisors is uniquely positioned to enable Indian agribusiness companies fully realize their potential, not only as a facilitator of capital, but also through its inputs on the business and governance.
Zephyr Peacock India provides growth capital to small and middle market companies which are positioned to benefit from India's growing domestic demand and are led by strong entrepreneurs and management teams.
Zephyr Peacock seeks influential minority positions in its investee companies. Post-investment, the Manager works actively with the management of its portfolio companies to enhance financial and organizational structures and business strategies and implement professional governance practices. Divestments are expected via either strategic sales or stock market listings on the Indian exchanges three to five years after the Fund's initial investment.
Zephyr Peacock India provides growth capital to small and middle market companies which are positioned to benefit from India's growing domestic demand and are led by strong entrepreneurs and management teams.
Zephyr Peacock seeks influential minority positions in its investee companies. Post-investment, the Manager works actively with the management of its portfolio companies to enhance financial and organizational structures and business strategies and implement professional governance practices. Divestments are expected via either strategic sales or stock market listings on the Indian exchanges three to five years after the Fund's initial investment.
o3 Capital is a mid-market investment bank, providing financial and strategic advice to clients. The company is built on two core businesses – Corporate Finance and Alternate Asset Management.
o3 Capital serves a wide range of clients including cutting-edge start-ups, established market leaders, private equity houses and large global corporate entities, across select verticals - Consumer, Healthcare, Industrials, Financial services, Technology and Digital. o3 Capital has successfully consummated 110+transactions in the last 9 years aggregating to over USD 4.5 bn in transaction value.
o3 Capital is a mid-market investment bank, providing financial and strategic advice to clients. The company is built on two core businesses – Corporate Finance and Alternate Asset Management.
o3 Capital serves a wide range of clients including cutting-edge start-ups, established market leaders, private equity houses and large global corporate entities, across select verticals - Consumer, Healthcare, Industrials, Financial services, Technology and Digital. o3 Capital has successfully consummated 110+transactions in the last 9 years aggregating to over USD 4.5 bn in transaction value.
IFCI Factors Ltd. (erstwhile Foremost Factors Limited) provides factoring and related services to clientele across industries in India. Since its takeover by IFCI Ltd (www.ifciltd.com) in 2008, a leading financial institution of India, IFCI Factors Ltd. (www.ifcifactors.com) has established its offices in 8 cities in India. IFCI Factors Ltd. (IFL) provides both domestic and export factoring services, advance against future receivables and short term corporate loans.
The SME sector doesn’t have easy access to funds due to lack of a successful track record of servicing debt capital, lack of collateral and lack of sound credit rating. Working as a supplier to or customer of larger firms locks an SME’s funds up in form of receivables and payables, creating a crunch in the cash flow. To add to that, when in an expansion mode, this cash shortage magnifies and manifests itself as a serious challenge in management of working capital.
Factoring helps entrepreneurs manage their cash-flow better and is superior to conventional bank facilities in terms of its flexibility, efficient delivery, reliance on transaction track record than on mere financials or collateral and added services. In factoring, an SME sells its accounts receivables to a factoring firm for immediate cash to finance its day to day operations.
Being the pioneers of international factoring services in India, IFL understands the challenges that SMEs in various industries encounter in effectively managing their working capital. IFL’s product offering includes sale bill factoring, export factoring, purchase bill factoring, advances against future receivables/deferred receivable financing, financing of L/C backed bills etc. and short term corporate loans.
IFCI Factors Ltd. (erstwhile Foremost Factors Limited) provides factoring and related services to clientele across industries in India. Since its takeover by IFCI Ltd (www.ifciltd.com) in 2008, a leading financial institution of India, IFCI Factors Ltd. (www.ifcifactors.com) has established its offices in 8 cities in India. IFCI Factors Ltd. (IFL) provides both domestic and export factoring services, advance against future receivables and short term corporate loans.
The SME sector doesn’t have easy access to funds due to lack of a successful track record of servicing debt capital, lack of collateral and lack of sound credit rating. Working as a supplier to or customer of larger firms locks an SME’s funds up in form of receivables and payables, creating a crunch in the cash flow. To add to that, when in an expansion mode, this cash shortage magnifies and manifests itself as a serious challenge in management of working capital.
Factoring helps entrepreneurs manage their cash-flow better and is superior to conventional bank facilities in terms of its flexibility, efficient delivery, reliance on transaction track record than on mere financials or collateral and added services. In factoring, an SME sells its accounts receivables to a factoring firm for immediate cash to finance its day to day operations.
Being the pioneers of international factoring services in India, IFL understands the challenges that SMEs in various industries encounter in effectively managing their working capital. IFL’s product offering includes sale bill factoring, export factoring, purchase bill factoring, advances against future receivables/deferred receivable financing, financing of L/C backed bills etc. and short term corporate loans.
CRISIL is India's leading Ratings, Research, Risk and Policy Advisory Company
CRISIL offers domestic and international customers a unique combination of local insights and global perspectives, delivering independent information, opinions and solutions that help them make better informed business and investment decisions, improve the efficiency of markets and market participants, and help shape infrastructure policy and projects. Its integrated range of capabilities includes credit ratings and risk assessment; research on India's economy, industries and companies; investment research outsourcing; fund services; risk management and infrastructure advisory services.
CRISIL is the largest credit rating agency in India. CRISIL pioneered ratings in India more than 20 years ago, and is today the undisputed business leader, with the largest number of rated entities and rating products: CRISIL's rating experience covers more than 24654 entities, including 14,500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As on September 30, 2010, we had more than 10,941 ratings (including 6030 SMEs) outstanding.
VCC Events opens up the avenues for participation. Join hands to be a part of India’s largest gathering of alternative investments leaders, industry stakeholders and Asia’s influential limited partners, general partners and marquee advisors. Your chance to actively participate and augment yourself as thought leaders.
JW Marriott, Mumbai
JW Marriott, Mumbai
Distance: Juhu Tara Road
Drop us a line and we will call you.
