Angel investment networking platform We Founder Circle’s (WFC) GIFT City Fund has raised $10 Mn (around INR 83 Cr) and onboarded more than 250 investors.
The GIFT City Fund, called WFC Global Angels Fund, has a target corpus of $30 Mn, with a green shoe option of $30 Mn.
WFC Global Angels Fund, a cross-border fund based in Gujarat’s GIFT, is one of the two funds launched by the Mumbai-based angel network last year to back early-stage startups in India.
WFC’s other fund is Invstt Trust, with a target corpus of INR 200 Cr (roughly $24 Mn) and a green shoe option of up to INR 200 Cr.
The sector-agnostic GIFT City fund has so far invested in seven startups – Nintee, Zivy, Pixxel, Trading Leagues, Piersight, and Aistra Labs.
The fund’s average cheque sizes range from $50,000-$1.5 Mn and aims to close at least up to 10 deals by the end of the current fiscal year.
The GIFT City fund leverages innovative financial structures and compliance strategies to facilitate fast and convenient cross-border investments, WFC said in a statement.
“We aim to complete onboarding of at least 300+ investors with a signed contribution of $15 Million+ by March 2024. In a relatively short span, we have forged partnerships with leading incubators, accelerators, and other startup funds,” said WFC’s cofounder Gaurav VK Singhvi.
The strategy of being sector-agnostic in early-stage startups suggests a focus on diversification and a willingness to explore opportunities across various industries. This approach is aligned with the principle of spreading risk and capturing potential high-growth opportunities, the statement added.
Founded by Singhvi, Bhawna Bhatnagar, Deo Saurabh and Neeraj Tyagi in 2020, WFC has over 9,000 investor base with over 100 investments made since inception. The network counts companies like Stylework, Vidyakul, Settle, Blusmart Mobility, Microfinance.ai, etc as its portfolio.
The development comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that new forms of capital and digital technology will play an important role in the development of GIFT City.
For the past few years, most of the VC, PE or angel networking platforms have been floating funds to back early-stage startups, also paving the way for overseas investors for investment opportunities in India.
For instance, earlier this year, PE firm Airavat Capital also announced the launch of a global technology fund called Airavat Global Technology Fund R (AGTF R). The fund is aimed at offering Indian HNIs and investors the opportunity to leverage Indian technology ecosystem insight to capitalise on the growth potential of top listed technology companies worldwide, the statement added.
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