6, Dec 2023
The Sleep Company Secures INR 184 Crore In Series C Funding As It Unveils 60th Store In India
Mumbai, December 06, 2023: The Sleep Company, Asia’s first and only provider of SmartGRID technology for unparalleled sleep and sitting solutions, continues to dominate the comfort tech industry as the fastest-growing omnichannel brand. A laser-focused commitment to meeting customer needs has led to the company’s remarkable 2.6x revenue growth in the last 12 months. In a resounding show of support, existing investors Premji Invest and Fireside Ventures have confirmed a fresh infusion of capital totalling INR 184 crore in Series C, this comes merely 12 months after their previous investments. As this funding is put into action, The Sleep Company is also proud to launch its 60th store in India, solidifying its offline presence to a total of 20 cities across the country.
Mastering the omnichannel strategy, The Sleep Company has consistently achieved a series of milestones. In just 12 months of venturing into retail and omnichannel, it secured a balanced revenue distribution—50% from offline and 50% from online channels. In a landscape where many companies are scaling down, The Sleep Company continues to distinguish itself with a proud 3x increase in hiring compared to last year, signalling robust growth and an ambitious expansion trajectory.
The Series C funding round will further turbocharge this ongoing growth as the company aims to use this capital infusion to diversify product offerings, including an expansion of SmartGRID-based products in additional product categories. It will also energize marketing efforts to enhance brand visibility and ensure a seamless omnichannel experience for customers. Notably, The Sleep Company has ambitious plans to open a total of 100 stores in the next six months, reinforcing its Pan-India presence across Tier I and Tier II markets.
Priyanka Salot, Co-Founder, The Sleep Company said, “Our journey is defined by remarkable growth and expansion. We have witnessed an impressive 6x growth in two years, reaching an ARR of over INR 350 crores as of September 2023, a significant leap from 60 crores in November 2021. It’s a testament to the power of innovation, dedication, and our exceptional team. We are grateful for the unwavering support of our loyal customers who love our products and the trust of our steadfast investors who share our vision of reshaping the comfort tech industry.”
Harshil Salot, Co-Founder, of The Sleep Company commented, “I am happy to say that The Sleep Company today is the fastest-growing omnichannel brand in India. Our vision of making India sleep and sit better translates into everything we do. Thus we have designed our retail stores in a way wherein we try to educate the customers not just about SmartGRID but also about the importance of maintaining body posture, pressure points, etc. We have designed a ‘Sleep Lab’ through which we help customers to understand and in turn, take the right decision while purchasing a mattress. So far, we have had over 2 lakh happy customers who have shown trust in our products and we are grateful for their continued support. Together, The Sleep Company and its customers are redefining the landscape of peaceful sleep and comfortable sitting, embracing innovation one step at a time.
Varun Khandelwal, Principal of Investments at Premji Invest, said, “The Sleep Company has positioned itself as the fastest-growing omnichannel player in the sleep solutions industry, showcasing distinctive grid-based products and delivering an exceptional consumer experience through a highly capable management team. The company’s remarkable journey since 2019, marked by aggressive omnichannel growth and strong unit economics, has solidified our confidence in their capabilities. In line with our investment thesis of omnichannel across consumer brands, we are reaffirming our support to The Sleep Company by doubling down on our initial investment.”
Dipanjan Basu, Co-Founder & Partner at Fireside Ventures also commented on this latest round of funding, “At Fireside Ventures, we recognised the immense potential of The Sleep Company and in a year’s time, we are thrilled to see their exceptional growth trajectory, their drive towards a powerful omnichannel strategy and their consistent profitability. This all-round performance reinforced our confidence in them. It has therefore been an easy decision for us to support them in this financial round. We have full confidence in Priyanka and Harshil’s vision for the company and wish them continued success as they persist in disrupting and innovating the sleep and related industry.”
Beyond business objectives, The Sleep Company is dedicated to fostering employee ownership through ESOPs and thus nurturing a committed team, ensuring comprehensive growth. This commitment extends to the creative expansion of its innovative SmartGRID technology, now including accessories like seat cushions, back cushions, neck massager pillows, and the newly launched luxe motorized recliner sofas.
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- By Rabindra
6, Dec 2023
Abbott Launches FreeStyle LibreLink Mobile App for People Who Use FreeStyle Libre ® System in India
• App enables people with diabetes who use Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system to monitor their glucose levels to view their data directly on their smartphone.
• People can use FreeStyle LibreLink to seamlessly share their information with healthcare professionals through LibreView and with caregivers through a separate LibreLinkUp app
• FreeStyle LibreLink app is available across India for compatible iPhone and Android smartphones
Bangalore, India, 6 December 2023 — Abbott, the global healthcare leader, announced the launch of its digital health tool, the FreeStyle LibreLink app in India. The mobile application will allow people who use the FreeStyle Libre system to measure their glucose to now get their readings on their mobile phones anytime, anywhere without the pain of pricking. 1 By launching an integrated FreeStyle Libre digital platform, Abbott aims to empower people to better manage their diabetes through easy monitoring, easy insights, and easy connection. The mobile app is available to work on compatible iPhone and Android smartphones.
The FreeStyle LibreLink app enables people with diabetes to see their glucose data in real-time on their smartphones, and easily share the information with their doctors and caregivers. The mobile app uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to transfer glucose data from the sensor to the mobile app, allowing people to help track eight-hour glucose history, and real-time trend patterns to manage food, insulin use, medication, and exercise on their smartphone. This eliminates the need to use a separate reader for glucose monitoring.
Speaking on the launch, Kalyan Sattaru, general manager of Abbott’s Diabetes Care Business in South Asia said, “People living with diabetes experience significant burden as they face a multitude of tasks to effectively manage their diabetes. FreeStyle LibreLink app seamlessly integrates with the FreeStyle Libre sensor, the world’s No.1 continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) used by more than 5 million people with diabetes globally. 2 At Abbott, we are committed to ensuring our FreeStyle Libre technology not only simplifies the daily routines for people living with diabetes but also empowers them to manage their diabetes more effectively.”
Adding, Dr. Manoj Chawla, Senior Diabetologist said, “The ability to automatically receive glucose information on real-time basis can facilitate easier diabetes management for people with diabetes and their caregivers. New diabetes technology will pave the way for precise and informed decision-making.”
People using FreeStyle LibreLink can share information with their healthcare professionals and caregivers through LibreView and LibreLinkUp, digital health tools that are also part of the FreeStyle Libre platform:
- LibreView is a secure, cloud-based diabetes management system that enables patient to share their glucose insights with their healthcare provider helping them take timely intervention.
- LibreLinkUp is a mobile app for parents and caregivers, allowing them to easily check glucose history and trends for a child, elderly parent or loved ones managing diabetes.
People using the FreeStyle LibreLink app have access to the latest updates and new features in comparison to the FreeStyle Libre reader. This includes a larger, high-resolution display, text-to-speech capabilities for glucose readings (when enabled), and data shared automatically through the app without the need to upload it manually. While the app can replace the reader, the two can also be used in combination with each other.
6, Dec 2023
GoTo and Intel Expand Collaboration with First-to-Market Native Integration of Intel vPro® with Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant for GoTo’s LogMeIn Rescue
India, December 6, 2023 – GoTo, the company making IT management, support, and business communications easy, today announced a new native integration for its LogMeIn Rescue product with Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (EMA) for Intel vPro®-based devices. GoTo is the first to offer native integration with Intel, allowing customers to leverage the Intel® EMA capabilities directly within Rescue. Now, IT teams have centralized remote support, management, and reporting for Intel vPro®-based devices in Rescue, providing a uniquely fast, easy, and streamlined experience without needing to toggle between multiple applications.
The new integration further enhances Rescue’s support for Intel vPro®, which allows IT teams to access and support remote out-of-band devices that are not running on the company’s operating system. Managing out-of-band devices typically requires IT to navigate multiple solutions, workflows, and varying levels of end-user involvement. Now however, agents can take advanced actions like connecting to the BIOS, troubleshooting OS and device driver corruption, updating system settings or firmware, and more – even if devices are powered off – all natively from the Rescue Technician Console. Moreover, all support actions automatically funnel into Rescue’s reporting system, giving IT leaders a simple, centralized view of activities and results.
“Intel’s collaboration with GoTo continues to deliver industry-leading manageability technologies to our joint customers to support an ever-expanding remote workforce and an array of endpoint devices. Using the newest Intel vPro® Platform technology native integration with LogMeIn Rescue, IT teams will experience heightened productivity through a streamlined, single-pane-of-glass operation that includes robust out-of-band support capabilities, beyond the firewall, regardless of their physical location,” said Carla Rodriguez, Intel Vice President, and General Manager of Client Software Ecosystem, Client Computing Group.
“We worked closely with Intel to develop the new Intel vPro® API following our initial Rescue integration earlier this year, and today we’re taking the next step in our collaboration,” said Olga Lagunova, Chief Technology Officer at GoTo. “With Intel vPro® natively paired with the enterprise remote support toolset of Rescue, which includes powerful remote control, system diagnostics, scripting, and more, we’ve made it fast and seamless to solve any problem from a single solution. Customers around the world already know and trust Rescue and Intel – and this is just the beginning. We’re excited to continue expanding our collaboration in the months and years ahead.”
“Wipro is thrilled with this collaboration between GoTo and Intel. We have a longstanding relationship with GoTo and have been using Rescue over the years to deliver differentiated value to our customers. Similarly, Intel vPro® and Intel® EMA capabilities have helped us address a number of cumbersome support situations and elevate the support experience,” said Satish Yadavalli, Vice President and global Practices Head – FullStride Cloud at Wipro. “This integration will further simplify employee support services as IT will no longer be needing to swap systems and reorient to new screens for different issues. Now we can solve all of our support problems within Rescue in a unified, hassle-free manner.”
6, Dec 2023
Where are the Women Leaders in Healthcare?
Despite women accounting for half of the healthcare workforce, they remain significantly underrepresented in leadership positions, particularly at the executive and board levels. A flagship study, An Unbalanced Scale – Exploring the Female Leadership Gap in India’s Healthcare Sector conducted by Dasra, provides valuable insights into the representation and leadership opportunities for women in India’s healthcare sector.
The Indian healthcare sector, one of India’s largest employers, has seen substantial growth. However, statistics reveal that women in healthcare are largely concentrated on the frontline in low-paying jobs. In India, 29% of medical doctors, 80% of nursing staff (including midwives), and nearly 100% of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are women. And yet, women occupy only 18% of
healthcare leadership positions and continue to earn 34% less than their male counterparts.
India’s healthcare sector is affected by the lack of standardized and publicly available data on women’s representation across entry, mid-level, and senior roles in small, medium, and large companies. With an objective to tap into the full potential of women in leadership, and to map the status of leadership and representation in the Indian healthcare ecosystem, Dasra conducted a landscape study to collect primary qualitative data and conduct an analysis of macro-trends across healthcare sub-sectors.
The results from the study stark gender disparities within the Indian healthcare sector’s leadership
landscape.
Key Findings from the Report Include:
Currently, within private hospitals—which employ 54% of the total healthcare workforce—women hold about 25-30% of leadership positions. We see a similarly stark picture in the Pharmaceutical and Biotech sectors, with women occupying only 5-10% of leadership positions.
- Upon closer inspection of career pathways in the healthcare sector, a wide gap between the proportion of women participating in healthcare employment and those who occupy leadership positions is evident. When we looked at roles with the highest potential for influence, for every 5 such roles, 4 are from sales, marketing or operations backgrounds, where women’s representation is found to be very low. At entry levels, women’s representation in sales, marketing, and operations is between 40-50%, yet this significantly drops to 15-20% in senior roles
- In contrast, women are amply represented in R&D, nursing, HR, administrative, quality assurance, legal, and regulatory affairs—functions that have a low potential for influence. Preferential hiring of women for entry-level HR roles results in a significant 70-80% representation, but this drops to 20-30% in leadership positions. A similar pattern is observed in patient service teams, F&B, etc., with preferential recruitment of women at entry levels (40-60%), but with few women advancing to senior administrative levels at 15- 20%.
- The key barriers to women’s advancement to leadership roles, are the lack of role models, undervaluing of women’s work, internalized biases, and the absence of a convincing cultural narrative around gender equity and diversity.
“Gender equity in healthcare leadership isn’t just a matter of addressing gender imbalance, it’s a paradigm shift towards cultural, structural, and normative change. This report serves as our commitment to informed action, advancing our mission to create inclusive spaces and challenging deeply ingrained patriarchal structures”, said Neera Nundy from Dasra. “We are also grateful for the support from some courageous industry leaders, which demonstrates a collective commitment to address these core cultural and historical challenges.”
The findings in this report are based on extensive research, including expert interviews, analysis of research reports, scrutiny of company reports, and the assessment of the career profiles of leaders, with special consideration given to their educational qualifications and professional journeys.
Enabling Women’s Leadership Advancement: A Roadmap for Progress
The study also recommends holistic interventions and has identified enablers to address deeply ingrained beliefs and challenges faced by women in healthcare leadership, which can be implemented at both organizational and policy levels. Some of the solutions include facilitating women’s retention through measures like re-entry options after career breaks, providing flexible work policies, and prioritizing women’s representation in historically male-dominated roles.
“The onus is on organizations, particularly within these sub-sectors, to harness this momentum and champion gender-equitable workforces. It is an opportunity for them to be the pioneers in building a diverse and inclusive workforce”, said Manisha Dhawan, Advisor, The Udaiti Foundation.
As a supplement to this landscape, The Udaiti Foundation has devised a ‘menu’ of practices called the ‘Pathways to Progress: Organizational Practices to Bridge the Leadership Gender gap in the Health Sector’ to advance women’s leadership in healthcare.
Dasra, in collaboration with partners, will use these insights to design and test interventions that support women’s leadership with the goal of driving transformative change. By fostering meaningful conversations, advocating for organizational change, and influencing policy reforms, the initiative seeks to create an environment that empowers women leaders, driving interconnected progress in healthcare and beyond.
6, Dec 2023
MQDC Showcases Luxury Bangkok Residences in Delhi as India’s Elite Seek Prestigious “Third Home” Properties
– Leading Thai developer is showcasing prestige Bangkok properties for Indian buyers
– MQDC is pioneering for Thai developers in India with its Whizdom Clubs in Delhi and Gurugram
– MQDC offers outstanding “third home” opportunities with high yields amid a surge in Indian travel to Thailand
6th December 2023, New Delhi – MQDC, one of Thailand’s top property developers, is showcasing its prestigious Bangkok properties at an exclusive invitation-only event in New Delhi’s at The Imperial Janpath, New Delhi – 110001, India 30 November 2023
MQDC is known for Bangkok landmarks including ICONSIAM, a global retail and lifestyle destination. The company has had a presence in India since 2019 with its Whizdom Club, an inspiration hub and co-working space in Delhi’s fashionable Greater Kailash II district.
The company is now completing its flagship The Forestias forest district, ranked among Thailand’s largest-ever developments with an investment value of $3.8 billion. The green neighborhood spans 64 hectares, integrating homes with lifestyle, healthcare, and transport amenities.
MQDC in Delhi will present luxury properties to suit high net-worth investors amid the “third home” trend, said Ms. Wilawan Brenig, Vice President of International Market Development.
“MQDC has a unique offering within Bangkok’s property market that we’re thrilled to be presenting to India’s high- end home buyers at an exclusive showcase on 1-3 December 2023,” she said.
“Bangkok has a special appeal for high-net-worth investors. Working to exact standards for a discerning global market, MQDC can offer the style and impact that Indian buyers seek in a prestige ‘third home’ reflecting their status and achievement.
“As a sophisticated mixed-use developer, having led Thailand’s property sector for 30 years, MQDC can also exceed the market in annual yields. MQDC properties average about 5-7% in annual yield, with an annual capital gain of around 3% and rental return of about 5%.”
MQDC is leading the Thai property sector’s engagement with India with its youthful Whizdom brand. The company is now opening its second Whizdom Club in India at Gurugram, connecting with India’s dynamic startup community. Thailand in 2023 targets 2 million Indian tourists, increasingly central to the country’s tourism industry. The country also has tremendous untapped potential for Indian expats, said Ms. Brenig.
“MQDC sees India as offering unmatched potential amid Bangkok’s cosmopolitan expat mix, drawn by the city’s amazing amenities, fabulous service culture, and world-class education and healthcare,” she said.
“MQDC is eager to connect deeper with a country where youthful demographics and a dynamic business culture offer such potential. We can also offer Indian buyers expert support to meet their lifestyle and investment goals, helping ensure secure ownership and the ideal locations and amenities.”
6, Dec 2023
Chalkboard Entertainments announces a strategic partnership with media veteran Sandeep Bhargava
Chalkboard Entertainment, a content company dedicated to producing compelling narratives, today announces a strategic partnership with media veteran Sandeep Bhargava to strengthen their business and content strategy. As a part of his role as a partner, Sandeep will be responsible for taking the organization to its next phase of growth.
An industry veteran, with an exemplary career spanning over 33 years, Sandeep has an extensive track record of transforming companies into highly successful businesses. From collaborating with internationally acclaimed directors and producers to playing a pivotal role in establishing India’s largest film studios – UTV, Sahara One, Viacom18 (Studio18), and The Indian Film Company (One of the first media companies to be listed on the AIM Exchange in London), Sandeep has been a valuable partner to some of the industry’s biggest names for over three decades.
On this collaboration, Sandeep Bhargava said, “I am thrilled to be working with Chalkboard Entertainment at such a dynamic time in the Indian content landscape. Chalkboard has perfectly captured the pulse of evolving narratives and is creating stories in line with that. Our shared vision is to develop an innovative and successful ecosystem that amplifies the impact and extends the reach of their exceptional content. I look forward to building and innovating with the talented team at Chalkboard Entertainment.”
Speaking about the new addition to the team, Vikesh Bhutani, Co-Founder, Chalkboard Entertainment said, “We are thrilled to welcome Sandeep to the leadership team at Chalkboard as we now gear up for our next phase of growth collectively. The rapidly evolving content industry demands a forward-thinking approach centered on innovation and creation and we are confident that his commitment and experience will add immense value to our future endeavors”
6, Dec 2023
Unravel Data Partners with Databricks for Lakehouse Observability and FinOps
Bangalore, December 6, 2023 — Unravel Data, the first AI-enabled data observability and FinOps platform built to address the speed and scale of modern data platforms, today announced that it has joined the Databricks Partner Program to deliver AI-powered data observability into Databricks for granular visibility, performance optimizations, and cost governance of data pipelines and applications. With this new partnership, Unravel and Databricks will collaborate on Go-To-Market (GTM) efforts to enable Databricks customers to leverage Unravel’s purpose-built AI for the Lakehouse for real-time, continuous insights and recommendations to speed time to value of data and AI products and ensure optimal ROI.
With organizations increasingly under pressure to deliver data and AI innovation at lightning speed, data teams are on the front line of delivering production-ready data pipelines at an exponential rate while optimizing performance and efficiency to deliver faster time to value. Unravel’s purpose-built AI for Databricks integrates with Lakehouse Monitoring and Lakehouse Observability to deliver the performance and efficiency needed to achieve speed and scale for data analytics and AI products. Unravel’s integration with Unity Catalog enables Databricks users to speed up lakehouse transformation by providing real-time, AI-powered cost insights, code-level optimizations, accurate spending predictions, and performance recommendations to accelerate data pipelines and applications for greater returns on cloud data platform investments. Auto Actions and alerts help automate governance with proactive guardrails.
“Most organizations today are receiving unprecedented amounts of data from a staggering number of sources, and they’re struggling to manage it all, which can quickly lead to unpredictable cloud data spend. This combination of rapid lakehouse adoption and the hyperfocus companies have on leveraging AI/ML models for additional revenue and competitive advantage, brings the importance of data observability to the forefront,” said Kunal Agarwal, CEO and co-founder, Unravel Data. “Lakehouse customers who use Unravel can now achieve the agility required for AI/ML innovation while having the predictability and cost governance guardrails needed to ensure a strong ROI.”
Unravel’s purpose-built AI for Databricks delivers insights based on Unravel’s deep observability at the job, user, and code level to supply AI-driven cost efficiency recommendations, including compute provisioning, query performance, autoscaling efficiencies, and more.
Unravel for Databricks enables organizations to:
● Speed cloud transformation initiatives by having real-time cost visibility, predictive spend forecasting, and performance insights for their workloads
● Enhance time to market of new AI initiatives by mitigating potential pipeline bottlenecks and associated costs before they occur
● Better manage and optimize the ROI of data projects with customized dashboards and alerts that offer insights on spend, performance, and unit economics
Unravel’s integration with popular DevOps tools like GitHub and Azure DevOps provides actionability in CI/CD workflows by enabling early issue detection during the code-merge phase and providing developers with real-time insights into the potential financial impacts of their code changes. This results in fewer production issues and improved cost efficiency.
Learn how Unravel and Databricks can help enterprises optimize their cloud data spend and increase ROI here.
6, Dec 2023
Empowering Bharat: TiE Bangalore and Algorand Foundation Unite for Web 3.0 Advancements
The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Bangalore and the Algorand Foundation have announced a joint initiative aimed at decentralizing the web and advancing the Semantic Web of Things. This partnership leverages the strengths of both organizations to further the reach and impact of blockchain initiatives in India.
The partnership aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and networking platforms among startups, investors, and industry experts across Blockchain, Web 3.0, and verticals through webinars and in-person events. It also seeks to create opportunities for startups & enterprises focusing on Web 3.0 & Blockchain technology to get access to hands-on workshops as well as Thought- leadership reports. The joint initiative also intends to create academia-industry connections & assist focused startups.
TiE Bangalore, with its experience in incubation and entrepreneurship promotion, has an established platform to engage startups, entrepreneurs, students, and professionals. Leveraging TiE’s network combined with Algorand’s blockchain operations can further the reach and impact of blockchain initiatives.
6, Dec 2023
Graphite India acquires a 31% shareholding in Godi India
Strategic entry into advanced battery technologies and energy storage systems Focus on fast evolving global electric vehicle battery market and supercapacitor applications.
India, December 6, 2023 – Graphite India Limited (“Graphite India” or the “Company”, BSE: GRAPHITE; NSE: 509488), one of the largest producers of graphite electrodes globally, has entered into a definitive transaction with a cash consideration of Rs. 50 Crores for an investment in Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares of GODI India Private Ltd (“GODI India”), which on a fully diluted basis will provide an equity shareholding of 31% in the company.
GODI India, which is currently backed by Blue Ashva Capital, a venture capital fund, is engaged in advanced chemistry R&D to support the manufacturing of sustainable batteries for electric vehicles and supercapacitor-based energy storage systems. In addition to high power density Lithium-ion batteries, GODI India has developed technical expertise in advanced technologies such as Sodium ion and Solid State batteries.
GODI India’s technologies include Aqueous Electrode Processing TM, Active Dry Coating TM, and Pranic Binder TM which are environment friendly and carbon neutral processes. It is a signatory to The Climate Pledge co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019 as a commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.
Significant growth in Godi India sales and the increasing demand for energy storage systems are underpinning the attractive industry dynamics for the production of battery cells and supercapacitors. GODI India is strategically positioned to capitalize on this opportunity.
Commenting on the investment, Mr. Ashutosh Dixit, Executive Director of Graphite India, said “We are delighted to announce Graphite India’s strategic investment in GODI India, as part of its strategy to diversify into advanced battery and energy storage systems technologies. GODI India is leading the development of Lithium-ion, Sodium ion, and Solid-State batteries for electric vehicles and consumer electronics for Indian and global markets. This strategic move reaffirms Graphite India’s commitment towards technological innovation and growth, which is a significant step for creating a diversified business portfolio.”
Commenting on the development, Mr. Mahesh Godi, the Founder and Director of GODI India said “Over the years, GODI India’s team of seasoned scientists and manufacturing experts have successfully developed all the essential battery materials and components using environmentally friendly processes. Our battery product applications focus on the high-growth, dynamic electric vehicle and consumer electronics markets. In addition, GODI India has also developed supercapacitors for a wide range of regenerative energy storage systems for industries including automobiles, trains, telecom towers, and power transmission grids. As a testament to our R&D capabilities, the company received India’s first Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for in-house developed electric vehicle battery cells. We welcome this strategic partnership with Graphite India not just for their long-standing expertise in carbon and electrode manufacturing, but also for their perspectives on other synergistic technologies.”
6, Dec 2023
BII commits $25m to GEF South Asia Growth Fund III to support green projects in India
· The fund will mainly invest in Indian businesses across various sectors that offer solutions for a green and resilient economy.
· This reflects BII’s commitment to invest up to $1 billion into climate-related projects in India between 2022 and 2026.
· It contributes to BII’s target of 30 percent of total new commitments in climate finance.
India, 6 December 2023: British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, today announced a $25 million commitment to the GEF South Asia Growth Fund III’s (GEF SAGF III) first close. The Fund will invest in companies and projects that contribute to the transition to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy mainly in India and parts of South East Asia.
The Indian subcontinent is vulnerable to climate change with an increasing incidence of extreme weather like flash floods and heat waves. The government in India has set a target to meet 50 percent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2070. It is estimated that $160bn per year is needed until 2030 to achieve these goals.
The Fund’s differentiated, high-impact climate finance strategy invests in three critical areas that support India’s transition to a green and resilient economy – Adaptation, Mitigation, and Circular Economy. With BII’s investment, the Fund will tap into multiple sectors, ranging from renewable energy value chain, energy efficiency, food and water security solutions, to low-carbon transition, waste recovery, and mobility solutions as well as smart city innovations.
Alexander Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India, said: “Combatting climate change together is one of the top UK/India priorities. Today’s announcement shows the UK’s commitment to support India’s green growth and creating new, green jobs, and BII’s work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while alleviating poverty.”
Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia at BII, commented: “We are proud to partner with GEF in our mission to promote sustainable energy in Asia. We have witnessed first-hand the transformative potential of the GEF SAGF II, and our renewed commitment with GEF SAGF III will accelerate India and South East Asia’s journey toward a greener future. The fund will support our goal of enabling sustainable practices, with a focus on renewable energy, efficient resource management, and cutting-edge environmental solutions.”
Raj Pai, Managing Partner at GEF Capital, added: “BII has been a critical catalyst for scaling climate finance in South and South East Asia by extending its expertise in climate investments, ESG, and developmental impact thought leadership. GEF remains very excited to count BII as a long-term partner towards defining productive, sustainable, and inclusive growth through our climate impact investment.”
GEF SAGF III follows the predecessor fund, GEF SAGF II where BII had also committed $25 million.
