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IPO advisory firm Makia Capital has launched its first venture capital fund to invest in pre-and-post IPO-stage opportunities within small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The fund will also consider select investments in public markets.

The investment vehicle is a Sebi-registered category-I alternative investment fund (AIF).

“The moat of the VC fund is to invest in three areas: pre-IPO opportunities, anchor opportunities in IPOs (especially in the SME ecosystem) and preferential issues for listed high-growth companies,” said Shivanshu Birla, founding partner Makia Capital, according to a press release.

“We will have one year from then to make the final close of the fund. There is a green shoe option, but we are not planning to utilise it because we want to be selective in the investments we make,” said Birla.

The fund plans to invest in approximately 20 companies, with an average ticket size of around Rs 10 crore per investment.

The firm has already secured soft commitments from family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) located in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, signaling strong initial interest in the venture, according to founding partner Sanchit Vijay.

“SME is the backbone of Indian ecosystem with 30% contribution to the GDP and employing 40% of the workforce – working with high growth companies in the space unlocks huge value for everyone- promoters, employees, investors and India as a whole,” he added.

On exits, Birla said that the firm is not just looking at a 2-3x multiples on these high-growth companies as soon as the lock-in ends but are committed to staying with its portfolio companies for a long time.

“In the case of SMEs, we draw roadmap for the IPOs, invest and connect them with right set of investors, list them and even help them migrate to the main board, do follow-on rounds as well,” he said.

Besides IPO advisory and the VC fund, Makia Capital also provides multi-family office services. It says it has over 5,000 clients and partnerships with over 1,200 corporate houses. It has a physical presence in six cities in India.