With this Damera is now the second-largest LP (limited partner) in the fund. LPs are sponsors in an investment fund. Damera and his wife Bhagyashree Damera co-manage his personal investments.
Innoven Capital’s current fund, where Damera is investing, has a base corpus of Rs 1,000 crore and Greenshoe option of another Rs 1,000 crore.
Besides Damera, the fund’s other anchor investors include Innoven Capital Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Temasek subsidiary Seviora and United Overseas Bank. They have made a commitment of $100 million. Innoven is looking to close the fund by the next quarter of this financial year.
“Venture debt is a great way for growing startups to extend their cash runway so that they can hit bigger milestones and then raise equity funding on the stronger growth momentum,” said Damera to ET.
It’s a much-needed component of the startup ecosystem.
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Interestingly,
Eruditus closed a $350 million debt financing from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to largely fund its aggressive acquisition plans in its overseas markets.
Damera cofounded Eruditus in 2010 as a global edtech platform currently valued at $3.2 billion, following its $650 million funding in 2021. It’s backed by marquee investors such as Softbank Vision Fund 2, Prosus, Accel, Sequoia, Bertelsmann, and the Chan Zuckerberg initiative.
Post the funding round, Damera and the Eruditus management liquidated shares worth nearly $100 million making it among the largest cash-outs for a founder.
ET reported the development first in August 2021.
In all, the Mumbai-based edtech firm has raised around $834 million since 2016- including primary and secondary share sales.
Innoven Capital is a venture lending firm with offices in India, China, and Singapore. It provides debt capital to high-growth venture capital-backed startups.
Founded in 2008, Innoven offers multiple debt capital solutions, including venture debt, acquisition finance, growth loans, and working capital. The fund has partnered with more than 200 start-ups, including market-leading companies such as Byjus; Swiggy; DailyHunt; Elasticrun, Oyo Rooms, Pharmeasy, Boat, Moglix, Curefit, and many more.
“While we are raising capital from several classes of investors, it’s always special to have successful founders invest with us, as they bring value beyond the capital,” said Ashish Sharma, Managing Partner, Innoven Capital India Fund.
