Dubai: An Indian fintech focussed fund is hoping to rope in UAE and Gulf investments, as financial services open up to the full possibilities provided by digital space. Whether it’s related to remittances, consumer financing or digital wallets, fintech is spreading in India.
This is what the Beams Fintech Fund – an early investor in payments portal BharatPe - wants to latch onto, taking exposures in entities with high growth prospects. With a target size of $120 million and a ‘green-shoe’ option, Beams’ strategy is to invest $15 million to $20 million in startups going through growth stage, Series B and C rounds and led by ‘high-quality founders’.
“Beams plans to build a concentrated portfolio of a dozen fintech companies in a market (India) currently valued at $80 billion and likely to touch $250 billion by 2030,” said a statement. Beams is backed by the incubator, Venture Catalysts, that also has nine unicorns and a $120 million early-stage accelerator fund in its portfolio.
"Fintech opportunity is huge in India as it is the only tech segment in India that has created over $80 billion in value in India and $8 billion in M&As,” said Anuj Golecha, co-founder and Partner, Beams. “Our returns in BharatPe are a testament to the opportunity in the fintech space in India.
“We have given 90x return to investors from BharatPe exit which turned unicorn (valued at $1 billion plus) last year and are creating more unicorns in this space.”
After this year’s trade and investment deal – CEPA – between UAE and India, there are newfound opportunities to channel funds from here. "UAE plays an important role into India’s Tech ecosystem,” said Deepak Ahuja, Fintech Expert Partner, Beams. “Investors are not only actively investing in India but supporting our companies expand into Middle East.
“ADGM and ADIO (Abu Dhabi Investment Office) has come up with special incentives to encourage Indian companies to come into Middle East and we are excited to help build the fintech ecosystem in the region."
