New age credit platform, BlackSoil Capital Pvt Ltd on Tuesday said it has raised an additional ₹22 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCD).
This marks the final capital raise via NCD in the financial year 2020-2021 for Blacksoil, which has managed to raise ₹80 crore in the current fiscal.
The funds raised through this NCD issue will be utilised primarily for lending activities, to fund growth startups as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Since its inception four and a half years ago, BlackSoil has raised a total of ₹287 crores via multiple NCD issues, with 30% of this capital being repaid back as well.
Blacksoil’s portfolio includes OYO, LetsTransport, Purplle, Furlenco among other names.
“With the pandemic accelerating the number of venture debt deals across industries, the Indian startup ecosystem is currently poised to become a significant hub for opportunities in the alternative capital segment. At BlackSoil despite covid, we have seen massive 35% growth in disbursement amount compared to last year, which makes us confident that emerging businesses have finally warmed up to the concept of considering alternative avenues of fundraising,” said Ankur Bansal, director and co-founder of Blacksoil.
Over the last two-three years, Blacksoil has created a network of more than 200 high net-worth families and corporates who have shown support by investing in multiple NCD issuances.
Mint had earlier reported that venture debt firms are gearing up to raise new, larger funds on the back of higher demand from startups, as the latter look to streamline cost structures, extend cash runway and fund working capital requirements.
Amongst the other venture debt firms is Alteria Capital which is raising its second fund with a target corpus of ₹1,000 crore and a ₹750 crore green-shoe option, significantly higher than its earlier fund of ₹962 crore.
Innoven Capital, which has $500 million of commitments for India and other Asian markets, is also exploring to launch its maiden fund this year, Mint had reported earlier, citing sources.
The need for working capital has also given rise to new-age debt platforms such as N+1 Capital, which funds startups based on their revenue projections.
