Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) has won the prestigious award for Best Fund Performance, Corporate Venture Capital by the apex Industry Body, IVCA. This recognition further strengthens BII’s position as the leading growth-stage venture capital fund in the country. In the last year, with new allocation of $500 mn by Bertelsmann, BII made investments in various sectors including Health-tech (Orange Health), Future of Work (Awign), new-age BPO (Squadstack), Agri-tech (Bijak), and Enterprise-Tech (Vymo).
The IVCA (Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association) is the apex body promoting the alternative investment industry in India. IVCA Conclave & Awards is India’s largest PE-VC event. The awards are given to companies that have demonstrated outstanding performance in various categories. Bertelsmann India Investments won for their strong Fund Performance in 2022-23.
Expressing his delight at winning the award, Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director, BII said, “At Bertelsmann India Investments, we continue to remain committed to nurturing innovation, fostering growth, and delivering value to our stakeholders. We are excited to get this award as we embark on our growth journey, and such recognition is a testament to the quality of the work we have done in the last decade, the deep relationships built in the startup ecosystem with our portfolio companies, startup founders and other VC-PE funds.”
Other winners at the IVCA Awards included Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) (Best Exits in PE), Accel (Best Fundraise, International VC), Chiratae Ventures (Best Exits in VC), Eversource Capital (Best fundraise, domestic PE), Fireside Ventures (Domestic VC), Trifecta Capital (Venture Debt Fund), and Northern Arc Capital (Social Impact).
“The IVCA PE-VC Awards, now in its sixth year, honours PE/ VC funds both global and Indian, who have demonstrated some outstanding fiduciary responsibility to their investors & ecosystem, in the past year. Their contribution is a testament to the rapidly growing investor ecosystem in India which is making headway in the global context. We at IVCA believe that to truly build a ‘new India’, the industry has the intent, talent and the vision to be a leading fund management hub for the world,” said Rajat Tandon, President, IVCA.
Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) is the strategic investment arm of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA in India. BII is part of Bertelsmann Investments, which has so far invested more than $1.06 billion in over 250 innovative companies and funds. Between 2021-23, three of BII’s Portfolio investments have turned into Unicorn (US$1b + Valuations), namely Licious, Eruditus and Shiprocket. BII has also kicked off its early-stage program – making selective Series A investments, to identify tech-enabled mission driven sustainable business from a very young age. In the past decade, BII has invested in 20+ companies (including exits) in lucrative sectors such as health tech, fintech, agri tech, edtech, among others, at a current committed AUM of $800 Mn.
About Bertelsmann India Investments
Established in 2012, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) is a sector agnostic venture capital fund that has proven to be a strong pillar for mentoring growth stage companies into unicorns. In the past decade, the India arm of the fund has invested in category-defining companies including Eruditus, Licious, Shiprocket, Pepperfry, AgroStar, Lets Transport, Lendingkart, Rupeek, among others. BII focuses on early growth stage investments (Series A to D) in tech driven start-ups. It is known for investments in disruptive sectors such as healthtech, fintech, agritech, enterprise tech and others. BII is part of Bertelsmann Investments, which has so far invested more than $1.06 billion.