Back in May we reported on the public launch of Unitus Seed Fund in India which had started out with the aim to serve bottom of the pyramid startups across the country.
Unitus has recently announced that it raised an additional $7 million in commitments for its micro VC fund. This additional investment which comes from several large foundations as institutional investors as well as a large number of individual investors, brings the total size of the fund to $ 20 million and confirms an overall enthusiasm for so called impact investments on the subcontinent.
In the press release Dave Richards, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Unitus Seed Fund says
“We believe that there is a great opportunity to invest in a new generation of entrepreneurs who are building disruptive new businesses serving the one billion under-served low-income market in India.”
So far Unitus Seed Fund has investment in a total of 13 startups, mainly in Southern India. With the additional $ 7 million the fund now wants to invest in about 30 startups and spread across the country targeting sectors including skill development / livelihoods, agriculture, technology for development, healthcare, education, and access to basic necessities.
In the education space Unitus Seed Fund has made an investment in employability and placement service for college students iStar and Hippocampus Learning Centres.
Along with the announcement of the new investors comes a new program called Unitus Seed Fund India Acceleration Program to help improve and accelerate the early-stage impact startup ecosystem across India.
The program aims to increasing connections facilitated through “startup scouts” operating across India, working with leading incubators to help create more “venture capital-ready” startups that target low-income populations, and offering financial assistance to startups.
Further Reading
Unitus Seed Fund’s investors propel fund over USD $ 20 million | Unitus