InnoVen Capital pours $20m into 15 startups, including Oyo Rooms

Photo credit: tuk69tuk / 123RF.

InnoVen Capital today released not one financing announcement but fifteen.

The Mumbai-based venture debt firm granted US$20 million in 15 deals from July to September, its largest quarterly funding amount in its eight years of running and the firm’s “most productive quarter,” India managing director Vinod Murali tells Tech in Asia. Among those joining its portfolio are three hotel startups: Oyo Rooms – which owns, operates, and aggregates hotel rooms – as well as bargain hotel chains Treebo and Fabhotels.

Online furniture rental startup Rentomojo, marketing and cashback app Crownit, food delivery company HolaChef, and Raw Pressery, an online ordering service for fresh-pressed juices have also hopped on the InnoVen train.

Other existing clients got a cash boost too: fashion discovery portal Voonik, jewelry marketplace Bluestone, Koye Pharmaceuticals, Faaso’s Foods, and tea startup ChaiPoint.

The firm did not disclose the amount of the US$20 million allotted to each startup.

“While the equity environment continues to remain lukewarm, we believe that strong businesses are able to attract capital – both equity and venture debt,” said Vinod in a statement (he adds that he’s Team Venture Debt).

Stepping stone

Vinod Murali, managing director at InnoVen Capital. Photo credit: InnoVen Capital.

Vinod has been with the firm since Ajay Hattangdi founded it in 2008. A banker by trade, he, like Ajay, fell into this arena by accident. The son of an entrepreneur, he enjoyed learning about the startup ecosystem from a venture debt standpoint.

“It turned out that the venture debt platform itself became my shot at entrepreneurship,” he shares.

It’s a tough niche to crack, particularly in India, as it involves lending to startups in a system Vinod describes as “inefficient.” It’s also a bit of a stepping stone from equity funding – InnoVen tends to come in after startups’ series A round, which means a startup needs to have made some progress before the firm looks at it. Much of InnoVen’s first few years were spent finding it a place in India’s startup ecosystem.

“[InnoVen is on] a journey not very different from a traditional startup,” he says. “It just doesn’t seem it because we’re in the business of funding startups.”

Goals and growth

InnoVen Capital has a cross-border financing deal, allowing it to invest in Singapore and other countries in Southeast Asia. The firm has its eye on the US next.