Trifecta Capital to raise $112 mn venture debt fund

Trifecta Capital is planning to raise its second debt fund with a target corpus of Rs 500 crore ($74 million), along with a greenshoe option to raise another Rs 250 crore, a financial daily reported.

The venture debt provider is looking to mark the first close of the new fund at Rs 250 crore by the end of 2018.

Rahul Khanna, co-founder and managing partner of Trifecta said while $70-80 million will come from rupee-equivalent investors, $40 million will be contributed by offshore investors.

Trifecta’s Rs 500-crore maiden fund, which counts RBL Bank and Azim Premji Trust as anchor investors, has so far invested in 30 companies, including BigBasket, PaperBoat, Rivigo, Nephroplus, Urban Ladder, Industry buying, OneAssist, Urban Clap and IdeaForge. It will be fully deployed by the next quarter, Khanna added.

Founded by Nilesh Kothari and Rahul Khanna, Trifecta provides early-stage debt capital to Indian companies, primarily in the technology sector.

The report also said that Aakash Goel, the former vice-president at Bessemer Venture Partners, has joined Trifecta Capital as a partner.

Venture debt is an important tool for funding for companies as it rarely involves stake dilution by promoters. It also provides companies more time to grow. The segment is growing in India even as venture capital activity is seeing a slowdown.