Agritech-focused VC Omnivore has made it to ImpactAssets’ ‘IA 50 Impact Fund’ that curates a global database of private debt and equity impact investing funds.
The list includes VCs, family offices, financial advisors, and institutional investors that deliver social and environmental impact as well as financial returns.
This year marks the 10th edition of the IA 50, with the funds listed having managed total assets worth a record $228 billion in 2020, up from $181 billion in 2019.
Mumbai-based Omnivore pioneered agritech investing in India, and was among the first sector-specific VCs to launch a decade ago.
The early-stage fund has backed over 25 startups and manages assets worth $132 million across two funds. Its portfolio consists of agritech successes such as DeHaat, Stellapps, Clover, Bijak, Aquaconnect, AgNext, Fasal, GramCover, YCook, etc.
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Mark Kahn, Managing Partner of Omnivore, said in a statement, “We are thrilled to be selected for the IA 50. It’s great to see ImpactAssets recognise the potential for agritech startups to transform the lives of smallholder farmers and rural communities across India.”
Jennifer Kenning, IA 50 Senior Investment Advisor, added,
“As impact investing continues its inexorable rise, it is critical to provide investors with a curated, objective evaluation of impact fund managers. The IA 50 is built to filter out the noise that is growing louder in impact investing and help investors focus on deep, meaningful impact.”
At present, about one crore farmers use the products and services built by Omnivore-funded startups.
The VC has doubled its farmer-network in the last three years. But it’s not done yet. “India has 130 million farmers. That’s a huge market still to tap into,” Mark told YourStory in an earlier interaction.
Omnivore has deployed 30 percent of the capital from Fund II (which it closed in 2019), and is looking to raise a third fund in late-2021. The corpus is still undecided.
So far, the VC has partially exited two companies (Skymet and Stellapps), and fully exited agro equipment-maker MITRA after its sale to the Mahindra Group in 2018.
