BlackSoil, a Mumbai-based alternative credit platform, has successfully raised $25 million in funding from a range of investors, including banks, family offices, corporate treasuries, and high-net-worth individuals.
Notably, 60% of these investors were repeat investors, indicating confidence in BlackSoil’s previous performance. This funding comes at a time when Indian start-ups are navigating a “funding winter” in the technology ecosystem, leading them to explore alternative funding routes, such as venture debt.
Venture debt has emerged as a preferred option for upcoming companies, and BlackSoil has capitalized on this trend. The company’s approach to investing in sustainable growth companies and structuring opportunities in a risk-adjusted manner has garnered investor interest in its platform.
BlackSoil’s recent notable investments include various new-age sectors, such as battery swapping, OTA travel, discount broking, health tech, and deep tech, and the company has invested in well-known unicorns like MobiKwik, OYO, Udaan, and Spinny, among others.
BlackSoil’s platform comprises an RBI-registered Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) as well as a SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Fund (AIF)/Fund.
Through these avenues, the company has achieved a significant milestone of $300 million in venture debt deals, spanning more than 100 start-ups and growth companies. Currently, BlackSoil manages over $100 million in assets.
Ankur Bansal, co-founder of BlackSoil, expressed confidence in the company’s portfolio performance and its ability to attract investors despite the challenging funding environment. This funding round will likely enable BlackSoil to further expand its venture debt offerings and support promising companies in their growth journey.
Overall, BlackSoil’s successful funding round and strong portfolio performance reflect the growing interest in venture debt as an alternative funding route for start-ups in the Indian technology ecosystem.
