Cedar Capital, the brainchild of global consulting and research group Cedar and IBS Intelligence, led by Founder and Managing Partner Sahil Anand, has successfully marked the First Close of its early-stage fund, amounting to Rs 240 crore ($30 million). The fund, structured around a classic LP-GP model, has garnered commitments ranging from Rs 50-75 crores ($6-9 million), with support from leading family offices and institutional investors in India and the Middle East, including a prominent Indian Financial Services institution.
Sahil Anand, Founder and Managing Partner of Cedar Capital, expressed his enthusiasm about the fund’s progress, highlighting its unique focus on BankTech and B2B FinTech business models aimed at enhancing the core technology stacks of Banks, Insurers, NBFCs, and other Financial Services players. Despite challenges in the venture capital landscape, Anand emphasized the fund’s success in attracting interest due to its specialized focus and esteemed reputation in global research and consulting spanning over 60 years.
The fund, with an initial investment range of 4-10 crores ($500k-1 million), plans to support approximately 15 early-stage BankTech-focused startups in their Seed-Series A rounds. Cedar Capital aims to back seasoned entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions and technologies within the BankTech sector, along with Enterprise FinTechs addressing challenges within financial institutions.
Anand highlighted Cedar Capital’s natural alignment with BankTech and FinTech, stemming from their extensive experience within the ecosystem through management consulting for global CTOs and Banks via Cedar, market intelligence and advisory services for leading BankTechs and FinTechs via IBS Intelligence, and ecosystem development through the Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab.
The fund leverages Cedar-IBSi’s global consulting teams, an in-house FinTech Lab, proprietary intelligence and research, deep understanding of CTO and technology buyer mindsets, and a robust ability to provide tangible value to Founders and portfolio companies in their growth journey across various domains.
“We aim to be more than just a capital provider, given the strength of our broader platform. As we initiate our first deal, our approach has resonated positively with Founders, positioning us as a unique early-stage investor with an operator mindset and the capability to drive significant growth,” stated Sahil.
In addition to Sahil Anand, Cedar Capital has strengthened its team with Subit Saurav from Aavishkar Capital, co-leading investments, and Sunny Desa from YES Bank’s Financial Investor Strategy team, overseeing Investor Relations and FinTech investments. The core fund investments team is further supported by four Operating Partners from Cedar and IBSi, each bringing over 20 years of experience in BankTech and CTO advisory.
