Northern Arc India Impact Fund successfully raises Rs 65 crore

• ByStartupStory     |    December 23, 2022

Northern Arc Investment Managers (NAIM), a private debt fund manager, stated on Thursday that it has raised Rs 65 crore (about $7.9 million) for its eighth fund from the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO). The Northern Arc Impact India Fund (NAIIF) will be utilised to help and close financial shortages for impact businesses (IE), according to a press release from Northern Arc.

NAIIF, a category-II AIF (alternative investment fund) registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has a total corpus of Rs 700 crore and has raised capital from marquee investors such as domestic and international development financial institutions, global impact firms, domestic financial institutions, banks, corporate treasuries, and domestic and global family offices.

Blue Earth Capital, Anthos Fund & Asset Management from the Netherlands, and Calvert Impact Capital, an institutional impact investor based in the United States, are among the significant investors who took part in the first closing. The fund has a greenshoe option of Rs 350 crore.

Northern Arc Group has raised almost Rs 1 lakh billion in client financing since its start in 2009. NAIIF has already invested 100% of its pledges across 30 investments in impact-focused sectors such as financial inclusion, agritech, and climate technology. According to the corporation, the NAIIF issued around 5.2 million loans to support agricultural productivity through the purchase of fertilizer/manure/seeds/tractor or equipment/livestock and poultry.

“BIO’s investment in the fund brings together catalytic capital and capacity building, and spurs ecosystem development to bridge the financing gap for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and IEs in emerging markets,” said Ravi Vukkadala, chief executive Northern Arc Investments. 

“India has many young people who are working hard to improve their lives and start businesses. Strengthening the private sector through impact investing promotes fair work practices, gender equality, and combats poverty and climate change, which are the main obstacles to human progress. The Northern Arc Impact India Fund (NAIIF) is committed to supporting businesses and entrepreneurs that share this mission, and we are very optimistic about the work they are doing in this area,” said Carole Maman, chief investment officer at BIO. 

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