SBICAP Ventures launches SME, Affordable Housing Fund
MUMBAI: SBI CAP Ventures Ltd, an alternative asset manager and subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets, announced the launch of SME and Affordable Housing Funds. Anticipating a rapid growth in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector and to bridge the equity cap in the sector, SBICAP SME Fund aims to raise Rs 400 crore and the Affordable Housing Fund Rs 350 crore. Both these funds come on the back of the success of its Neev Fund, launched three years ago and focuses on small infrastructure projects in low-income states in India.
“While the gap in debt-funding to SMEs is increasingly being bridged by non-banking financial companies, there continues to be a significant gap in equity-funding for the sector despite the steep growth rate,” SBICAP Ventures said. It cited the International Finance Corporation report, which estimates that the SME sector would grow rapidly in the next few years to account for over 40 per cent of the GDP by 2020.
“...we are looking to strengthen our foothold in the economically and socially relevant sectors. These funds shall be an effective tool in addressing the equity gap in the SME sector and in improving the availability of affordable housing in India,” said Varsha Purandare, MD & CEO, SBI Capital Markets.