In a deepawali bonanza for the Indian early-stage startups, a $55 million (approx INR 390 crore) venture fund has been set up by Japan’s Credit Saison for startups in Southeast Asia and Indian markets, reported Inc42.
Through equity investments, Credit Saison aims to put its corporate venture capital (CV) with first ticket sizes of upto $1 million, and will invest in around six to eight companies every year.
Credit Saison said that they are primarily looking to invest in fintech startups operating in areas with less availability of financial services offered by banks.
The company is also targeting startups, which can complement Credit Saison’s suite of financial services, it added.
While, Kosuke Mori, managing partner at Saison Capital, expressed that there is a trend of startups looking to integrate financial services in their product, but many of them might not have the expertise to do so.
“CVC then comes handy with the technical expertise and financial capabilities to help these startups scale up,” Mori added.
Interestingly, the Saison Capital is going to be the first dedicated corporate venture capital (CVC) of the credit card company.
Mori also gave insights on the factors the fund looks for before investing. According to him, startup’s unit economics, its scalability, and its founder’s ambition in growing the company play a significant role.
The portfolio startups will become a part of the Credit Saison ecosystem and will be granted access to partner across its finance and technology arms.
The funding company expects that the CVC’s patience towards its portfolio companies might pay off in the long run.