Infuse Ventures declares second closing; support for ventures across cleantech sector

IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) announced that Infuse Ventures – its cleantech focused ecosystem and fund has received commitments of over Rs 110 crores versus the original plan of raising Rs 75 crores.  Infuse had announced its initial closing in May 2013 with committed support from BP, International Financial Corporation (IFC) and Government of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Technology Development Board (TDB). Partners including Godrej Industries, ICICI Bank, SIDBI, Bank of India and Union Bank have joined Infuse ever since.

“We are delighted to have complementary and like-minded partners join us in our effort to build a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem for supporting cleantech entrepreneurs in India”, said Professor Ashish Nanda, Director, IIM Ahmedabad. “As a partnership between a business incubator, domestic and global corporates, domestic and international financial institutions and Government of India, Infuse is uniquely poised to support aspiring entrepreneurs working towards creating sustainable solutions for Indian problems”, added Professor Nanda.

"BP is proud to be a founding partner for Infuse Ventures. I congratulate the team on achieving this critical milestone. We are very enthused by this unique combination of industry, government and academia coming together to develop innovative solutions for the clean energy needs of India”, said Sashi Mukundan, Regional President and Country Head, BP India.

Infuse supports seed and early stage enterprises developing new business models across the renewable energy, resource efficiency, waste, water and other sustainability-related areas. Apart from providing financial support, Infuse has been actively engaging with aspiring entrepreneurs to provide mentoring and networking support. In recent past, Infuse has partnered with Asian Development Bank, IIT Mumbai and TiE Chennai to guide aspiring cleantech entrepreneurs in India.

Mr. Nadir Godrej, MD, Godrej Industries added "Godrej Industries is pleased to be a part of Infuse Ventures and work closely with our partners to build sustainable entrepreneurial solutions for India. Infuse fits extremely well with Godrej Industries' Good and Green vision of creating a greener India and innovating for socially relevant and environment sensitive products"

"Early stage companies in India continue to have limited access to institutional capital. IFC’s investment in Infuse will help provide much needed capital to early stage cleantech companies, mobilise global and domestic investors, and enable adoption of best practices in corporate governance and environmental and social sustainability standards,” said Serge Devieux, IFC Director for South Asia. “Infuse fits in well with IFC’s mandate of supporting innovative sustainable solutions.” 

Along with the closing, Infuse also announced its investments in early stage enterprises across the sustainability spectrum including REConnect Energy Solutions, Surya Power Magic, Revive Electronic Waste and Tessol. Earlier, Infuse had announced its co-investment with IFC in Ecolibrium Energy, an energy management startup.