The success and oversubscription of Campus Fund II underscore the growing confidence and belief of Indian Investors in the capabilities of student entrepreneurs.
The second edition of Campus Fund has been oversubscribed by 37%, taking its fund II corpus to over 100 crores. The funding venture had set a target of Rs. 75 crore in July 2022 to bolster startups spearheaded by students. PTI, in its press release, said, “The fund garnered substantial support from a diverse range of investors including Large Institutions, Family Offices, Industry Veterans, Entrepreneurs, and Fund Managers amongst others, with 54% capital coming from Institutions plus Family offices and 46% coming from Ultra HNIs, with 90% of the total capital being domestic. “Campus Fund, established in July 2020 by Richa Bajpai, a serial entrepreneur during her tenure at the London Business School, recently announced the oversubscription of its second fund, Campus Fund II, by an impressive 37%.
Initially set at Rs. 75 crore in July 2022, this fund was designed to bolster startups spearheaded by students. Domestic investors led the overwhelming response to Fund II; Notably, 90% of the total capital originated locally, signifying strong confidence of Indian investors in the local entrepreneurial landscape. Richa Bajpai, an entrepreneur herself with a history of founding ventures like NextGen in Renewable Energy and co-founding Good era in 2014, shared her perspective on Campus Fund’s journey. She highlighted, “Campus Fund is a testament to the latent potential of student founders, who are poised to shape the global entrepreneurial landscape in the upcoming decades. We have established the largest sourcing and screening engine, spanning across more than 60 campuses in India, with the aim of discovering the next visionary entrepreneurs emerging from Indian educational institutions.
“S Ramann, the Chairman & MD of SIDBI, expressed great enthusiasm in supporting the Campus Fund, emphasizing the significance of cultivating entrepreneurs from university grounds. He noted that this approach would be crucial in propelling India towards becoming the Startup Hub of the World and the world’s third-largest economy. Since November 2020, Campus Fund has been investing in student-led ventures and has provided backing to 23 such startups after evaluating a staggering 7000 proposals. Noteworthy investments include Digantara (a space-oriented Google Maps alternative), Sama (a platform for dispute resolution), and GreenGrahi (focused on insect-based protein).Looking ahead, Richa emphasized, “The entire Indian education ecosystem is dedicated to nurturing student entrepreneurs, and Campus Fund is committed to scaling up its efforts to support and empower more student-led ventures.”The success and oversubscription of Campus Fund II underscore the growing confidence and belief in the capabilities of student entrepreneurs. With a robust track record of identifying and backing promising ventures, Campus Fund remains a pivotal driving force in the next wave of entrepreneurial innovation emerging from educational institutions across India.
https://www.yourcampusfund.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabajpai/?originalSubdomain=in
Source: PTI
