Singapore-headquartered investment firm Venturi Partners is seeking to raise $150 million for a new consumer-focused fund to target growth investments in India and Southeast Asia (SEA), managing partner Nicholas Cator told DealStreetAsia.
Cator, a long-time executive at Belgium’s family-owned investment firm Verlinvest SA, launched Venturi Partners last year.
“There are no consumer-focused funds at this stage of growth. If you look at the venture capital (VC) stage, there are a number of specialised funds,” he said. “I, therefore, felt that there was a big opportunity to establish a consumer-focused fund targeting growth investments in India and SEA.”
The firm plans to target investments across the consumer space in FMCG, education and healthcare services. It is targeting investments in the range of $20-50 million as it gears up to bridge the funding gap for companies looking to scale up operations.
Venturi Partners made its maiden investment in Indian online home design firm Livspace, along with other risk capital investors. “It (Livspace) is also a good example of converging consumer trends between India and SEA and we expect it to become the regional leader in the interior design and renovation space over the next 2-3 years,” said Cator.
Edited excerpts of an interview:
