Connect with:
Wednesday / December 4. 2024

logo
mobile-logo
HomePosts Tagged "Anjali Bansal"
Agribusiness, Climate, Company News, Environment, Finance, Funding, India, Sustainability

The Avaana Climate & Sustainability Fund will help build the next generation of climate-first companies to transform key sectors and make meaningful progress toward a sustainable future.

Avaana Capital, India’s climate-focused venture capital firm, has managed to infuse Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund with USD 135 million, with the support from renowned institutional investors, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

“The support we’ve received from leading global and domestic institutional investors underscores the importance of innovation in driving climate action and delivering long-term impact. The Avaana Climate & Sustainability Fund will help build the next generation of climate-first companies to transform key sectors and make meaningful progress toward a sustainable future”, said Anjali Bansal, partner at Avaana Capital in a press statement.

The fund focuses on three core sectors that account for 90 per cent of India’s carbon emissions: Energy and Resource Management, Mobility and Supply Chains, and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, according to Bansal.

Bansal said India is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations and with the largest population and the sixth-largest economy, the country plays a crucial role in global climate solutions Incidentally, GCF, the world’s largest climate fund, is making its first investment in a climate venture fund in India through Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund.

 Bansal also added that estimates suggest that India will need investments exceeding USD10 trillion by 2070 to meet its net-zero targets and address the growing risks of climate change.

“Avaana’s focus on transformative technologies in critical sectors like food and agriculture, energy, mobility, aligns with GCF’s vision of catalysing meaningful climate solutions. This partnership will accelerate India’s net-zero journey and create scalable models for other emerging markets facing similar challenges,” said Kavita Sinha, Director, Division of Private Sector Facility, Green Climate Fund.

Apart from GCF, other key participants include the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), UK Government through UK- India Development Cooperation Fund (UKIDCF), the Self-Reliant India (SRI) Fund and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Azim Premji Trust.

The Avaana Climate & Sustainability Fund will

Agribusiness, Company News, Finance, India, Investments, Sustainability

With a total value of USD 120 million, including a substantial USD 24.5 million investment from GCF, this initiative marks a significant stride towards fostering climate innovation and sustainability in India.

Avaana Capital, known for its thematic strategy and focus on sustainable investments, announced the approval of investment in the “Avaana Climate and Sustainability” by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). With a total value of USD 120 million, including a substantial USD 24.5 million investment from GCF, this initiative marks a significant stride towards fostering climate innovation and sustainability in India. The approval was granted during the 38th Board Meeting of the GCF, held in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 5th, 2024.

“We are delighted to share the news of the Green Climate Fund Board’s approval of Avaana Capital’s Climate and Sustainability Fund,” expressed Anjali Bansal, Managing Founder of Avaana Capital. “This milestone represents the culmination of dedicated efforts, with gratitude extended to the Green Climate Fund team, including Rajeev Mahajan, Ayaka Fujiwara and Donggun Kim, for their unwavering support and guidance throughout this journey. We also acknowledge the leadership of Kavita Sinha and Soji Omisore in making this partnership a reality. This collaboration underscores GCF additionality and our shared commitment to advancing climate action”

Avaana’s collaboration with the GCF highlights the transformative impact of technology and innovation in shaping low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways. “The Green Climate Fund’s investment in India’s first tech-led climate VC underscores the transformative impact that technology and innovation have in carving low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways,” stated Bansal. “It also further highlights the potential that India presents in developing solutions for mitigation and adaptation that are affordable and inclusive, enabling a just transition.”

The GCF, recognized as the world’s largest climate fund, is dedicated to supporting developing countries in developing and implementing climate action projects. It commits financial resources for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change effects, targeting key areas such as Energy Transition, Mobility, Supply Chains, Sustainable Agriculture, and Food Systems.

Avaana extends its gratitude to mission-aligned institutions, including SIDBI’s Green Finance Vertical team, for their invaluable role as the GCF Accredited Entity. The approval of the Avaana Sustainability Fund marks a significant push towards advancing India’s commitment to driving climate innovation and taking action.

“We are grateful for all the support from our partners SIDBI as the Accredited Entity, FCDO, and others,” concluded Bansal.

Kavita Sinha, Director of GCF Private Sector Facility, remarked, “The Green Climate Fund is proud to partner with Avaana Capital, and SIDBI, a GCF Direct Access Entity, to support the Avaana Sustainability Fund that aims to support commercialization of local, early-stage climate technology ventures. These climate technology ventures will enable India’s transition to a low emission, climate resilient future. This partnership exemplifies our shared commitment to fostering climate resilience and sustainable development in India, especially for those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”

With a total value of USD 120

Agrotech, E-commerce, Start ups

FarMart and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) are jointly redefining the food supply chain landscape by seamlessly connecting food value chains across the country.

FarMart, India’s fastest-growing intelligent food supply network, announced its recent launch onto ONDC, making it the first Food and Agri Tech company to do so. FarMart is utilizing the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) network to serve food manufacturing businesses in India with easy access to quality ingredients. Through this collaboration, FarMart and ONDC are jointly redefining the food supply chain landscape by seamlessly connecting food value chains across the country. forging seamless connections between food producers and manufacturers across the country.

The Food and Agri Tech company recently fulfilled a B2B bulk order of 5,000kg of flour on the network. FarMart currently has over 25 SKUs of processed products ranging from varieties of food grains, oilseeds, spices and pulses for food businesses. This collaboration will allow food businesses from all over the country to tap into FarMart’s wide network of 2 lakh+ village-level aggregators and 2,000+ processors.

Alekh Sanghera, Co-Founder and CEO of FarMart, commented on the momentous launch by saying, “FarMart mission is to make food value chains more resilient, reliable & rewarding for humanity. Being live on ONDC is a pivotal element of our distribution strategy as it enables us to seamlessly connect farming communities with food processors and eventually end consumers while ensuring traceability.”

“Being a board member at both FarMart and ONDC, this news gives me immense joy and pride. This collaboration provides improved access for farmers, small businesses, and consumers in the food supply chain which is the shared mission of both organizations. This is a big step towards digitization, traceability and efficiency of global food supply chains.”, shared Anjali Bansal, Founder and Managing Partner at Avaana Capital.

ONDC’s vision is to democratise digital commerce. Agriculture is one of the key focus areas for us, and after enabling FPOs to sell their produce to consumers across India, we are now working on enabling B2B (Bulk) transactions for agricultural commodities. I am happy to see Farmart joining the network, looking forward to more Agritech companies/agriculture commodity buyers to join network to enable e-procurement of Agriculture Commodities” T Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC

FarMart and the Open Network for Digital