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Global investment agency Lighthouse Canton has announced the debut of its venture debt fund (AIF II) at INR 1,554 crore. The fund, which has a capacity of INR 5.5 billion and an additional green shoe option of INR 5.5 billion, is part of Lighthouse Canton’s regional venture debt strategy. The fund has participation from onshore and offshore institutions as well as family offices. The fund should provide debt capital to technology-enabled companies that are part of the Indian startup ecosystem.
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“As the pace of VC activity continues to accelerate, it is logical that we would see demand for venture debt rise. In more mature venture ecosystems such as the US and Europe, venture debt has risen to 15-20% of total VC funding funds, which is less than 2% in India. Given the growth of the venture ecosystem in India, we see a huge opportunity in venture debt, a market we expect to grow 3-4x in size over the next five years” Lighthouse Canton said Sanket Sinha, head of global asset management.
Headquartered in Singapore, Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution with wealth and asset management capabilities.With over 100 experienced professionals in Singapore, Dubai and India, the firm manages over US$3 billion worth of management and advisory assets as of 30 yearsday September 2022. LC Venture Debt Fund expects to deploy capital to 35-40 companies over the next two years, the company said in a statement.
“Given that our venture debt strategy is regional, we can also support startups aspiring to expand into domestic markets. Our presence in other markets allows us to work with companies with international expansion plans and help them meet their financing needs. “Our investors and partners appreciate the value we bring to the ecosystem and we are witnessing healthy demand for this asset class,” said Ankit Agrawal, Head of Venture Debt at Lighthouse Canton.
