Deep impact: Aavishkaar-Intellecap raises ₹232 cr from TIAA's Nuveen

Impact investment firm Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group has raised $32 million (Rs 232 crore) from Nuveen, the investment management arm of US-based pension fund Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA).

“Over the last 18 to 20 months, we have tried to bring in new investors who would be willing to help us grow in size and scale. Nearly 80 percent of the capital raised would be used to strengthen the financial lending business, and the rest would be used to expand in Asia and Africa,” says Vineet Rai, founder, Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group.

Nuveen, with $988 billion asset under management (AUM), is present in 16 countries.

With this transaction, three institutional investors, including European lender Triodos Investment Management, Shell Foundation and TIAA, own 40 percent of the fund. The rest lies with the promoter group. The Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group has three lines of businesses—equity investments, advisory services, and debt funding vehicles—and, with over $800 million in assets, is targeting an AUM of $5-7 billion by 2024-25.
 
Rai says they are launching a $150 million fund solely to invest in Africa in 2019, for which it has tied up with Dutch Good Growth Fund and six other investors. It will also launch its $300 million fund to invest in Asia, ex-India and China.