LC Nueva Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) has secured a funding commitment of INR 50 crores from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), according to an announcement by LC Nueva Investment Partners. This collaborative fund, formed through a partnership between Lighthouse Canton and Nueva Capital, operates as a sector-agnostic, primarily early-stage fund.

Sumegh Bhatia, CEO and managing director of Lighthouse Canton India expressed gratitude for the support received from SIDBI's Funds for Startups program (FFS), which aligns with their mission to empower early-stage entrepreneurs and businesses across diverse sectors in India. This partnership between LC Nueva AIF and SIDBI's FFS program aims to support startups at a time when funding disbursement has faced a slowdown.

Sohil Chand, founding partner and CIO of LC Nueva AIF, highlighted the fund's focus on providing financial assistance to promising startups with innovative business models. LC Nueva AIF primarily invests in startups during the Pre-Series A or Series A stage of their growth journey.

The FFS program was approved by the Government of India in 2016, with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crores to be managed by SIDBI. LC Nueva AIF has effectively aligned its performance with the objectives set at its launch, curating a diversified portfolio of nearly 32 companies from various industries. 

Despite challenges in the startup ecosystem, the fund saw it as an opportunity to build a portfolio with more reasonable valuations, reflecting its value-cautious investment approach.

With a fund size of Rs 350 crores, LC Nueva AIF has already utilized 75 per cent of the committed capital, and the remaining capital will be invested in subsequent rounds for promising companies from the existing portfolio.

Headquartered in Singapore, with offices situated in India and the UAE, Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution with an established presence in the wealth and asset management industry. It provides innovative investment solutions to its diverse clientele, comprising accredited private clients, institutional investors, and an ecosystem of founders and entrepreneurs worldwide.