Mumbai-headquartered asset management firm Varanium Capital Advisors announced the first close of its debut venture debt fund of Rs 250 crore, with a green-shoe option of Rs 50 crore.

According to a company statement, it will utilise the fund to back nearly 100 startups in India through a mix of revenue-based financing and traditional venture debt. 

Varanium Capital manages assets worth $1 billion across different classes, including structured debt and portfolio management services. It also operates a Category-I AIF venture capital fund, Varanium NexGen Fund, with a focus on early-stage fintech startups. It has already backed 12 startups from the equity fund, including Easebuzz, Riskcovry, Finvu, and Homeville. 

“Venture debt fund will provide financial backing to startups in sectors such as D2C, SaaS, B2B commerce, and fintech, who require to scale their operations. With a corpus size of Rs 250 crore, the fund is well-positioned to provide timely capital injections, enabling startups to seize growth opportunities and expand their market reach,” said TS Anantakrishnan, Founder of Varanium Capital. 

The venture debt fund will be managed by Nawal Bachhuka, previously the Risk Head for SME and SEG (West) at Aditya Birla Finance Limited. Key leadership in the venture debt fund will include the senior management team from IndusInd Bank, including former IndusInd Bank CEO Ramesh Sobti, former CRO KS Sridhar, former head of corporate lending Suhail Changer, and former COO Paul Abraham. 

The investment committee will include TS Anantakrishnan, Aparajit Bhandarkar, Suhail Chander, and KS Sridhar. 

The venture debt fund has thus far seen participation from domestic and global limited partners and has secured an anchor investor. The fund also has commitments from high net-worth individuals (HNIs), seasoned entrepreneurs, and former CEOs and CXOs of banks. 

Given the rise in venture debt investments in the current funding environment, multiple venture debt firms have announced new funds over the last year, including Stride Ventures and Alteria Capital. 

Earlier this year, Singapore-headquartered Lighthouse Canton also announced the first close of its maiden Indian venture debt fund of Rs 550 crore.