Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund Secures Ist Close of $70 Mn for India's 1st Early Stage Climate-focused Fund; SIDBI, SRI Fund, UKIDCF, among others Participate

Avaana Climate & Sustainability Fund will invest in technology-led global climate solutions built from India

Avaana Capital, India's leading climate-focused venture capital firm, has achieved a significant milestone in India's emerging climate-tech ecosystem by securing commitments of USD 70 million for their first close in Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund. The firm is targeting a total corpus of $100-125 million for the fund, which will focus investments in three sectors that are responsible for 90% of India's emissions: Energy Transition & Resource Management; Mobility & Supply Chains and; Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems. Since its launch the fund has garnered strong interest from global and domestic Limited Partners (LPs). It has attracted renowned institutional investors, including Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund, the UK India Development Cooperation Fund (UKIDCF) and marquee corporates such as Godrej Group, Murugappa, Torrent, Tsadik, and Bellerive Capital, among others.

Left to Right- Anjali Bansal, Swapna Gupta & Shruti Srivastava

Led by industry veterans Anjali Bansal, Swapna Gupta, and Shruti Srivastava, Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund will further invest in tech-driven and innovative climate solutions, looking to solve climate risk mitigation, adaptation and resilience building. Avaana Capital has made notable portfolio investments such as Eeki Foods, Aerem, Kazam, sentra.world, FarMart, Eggoz, Ninety One 91, Turno and Terra.do.

“With significant global capital flowing, supportive policies, corporate interest and wealth of entrepreneurial talent in the climate sector, India's climate-tech story is rapidly progressing. At Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund, we evaluate over 200 new climate opportunities every quarter,” said Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner, Avaana Capital.

“At Avaana Capital, we recognize that India is integral to global climate solutions and invest in climate solutions for India and the world. Our technology and innovation-first approach, deep sector expertise, and strong relationships across the ecosystem help us build large-scale outcomes in climate and sustainability. Avaana invests in thematic areas of Energy and Resource Management, Mobility and Supply Chains and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems,” said Swapna Gupta, Partner, Avaana Capital.

"India, with its responsibility to uplift the standards of living for over 400 million citizens, requires swift acceàleration in the adaptation and adoption of technology for climate action. Avaana is the leader in climate tech and the crucial mission of mitigating climate risk. SIDBI is delighted to support Avaana's remarkable progress and applauds their efforts in taking the pole position in this vital endeavour,” said Shri S Ramann, Chairman & Managing Director, SIDBI.

Christina Scott, Acting British High Commissioner to India, said, “The UK is proud to support development partnerships and investments that are helping to address some of the biggest global challenges. I am pleased our new investment in the Avaana Fund will support innovative businesses develop solutions to climate change and inclusion.”

Suresh Kohzikote, from Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund, shared, "The SRI Fund's investment objective is to support onward growth capital to boost the economy and create a self-reliant India. Our partnership with Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund — India's first tech-led climate fund — is to realise those objectives through climate solutions from India.”

As the world's second-largest population and sixth-largest economy, India plays a critical role in global climate solutions. Our transition to sustainability must prioritise people, planet, and profits. Technology-led disruption in sectors like energy, resources, mobility, supply chains, agriculture, and food systems holds immense potential. Climate-tech investments in India have surged, attracting $1.2 billion from 2016 to 2020, with a focus on renewable energy and electric mobility. To achieve India's net-zero emissions goal by 2070, approximately $2.5 trillion in investments is needed by 2030. Avaana Capital's Climate and Sustainability Fund aims to mobilise capital and support innovative climate solutions aligned with India's targets.

About Avaana Capital

Avaana Capital is an early-stage climate-tech investor in India. Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund invests in future market leaders who are leveraging technology-led innovation to build and scale solutions for climate and sustainability while delivering exponential returns. Avaana invests in thematic areas of Energy and Resource Management, Mobility and Supply Chains and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. Avaana integrates four ecosystems that drive successful outcomes for climate solutions and sustainability: Digital Innovation, Industry Linkages, Policy and Research, and Catalytic Capital.

Avaana’s Team has previously made investments in unicorns and category-leaders like Nykaa, Urban Company, Darwinbox, Delhivery, NinjaCart etc. Investments from Avaana include the likes of FarMart, Ninety One, Eeki Foods, Eggoz, Turno, Terra.do, Aerem, Kazam, sentra.world etc. The Company has offices in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Sentra.world, an ESG SaaS Platform Raises $2 Mn in Seed Funding Led by Avaana Climate Fund to Enable Industrial Businesses to Meet Net-Zero Goals and Better Manage Scope 3 Emissions

sentra.world who aims to manage 1% of global GHG emissions in the next five years, will infuse seed funding for novel sectoral climate intelligence, product development, team expansion and strategic partnerships

sentra.world, a technology platform empowering industrial businesses on their path to net zero, is proud to announce a successful seed funding round of $2 million (~INR 16 crores). The funding round was led by Avaana Capital, India's foremost early-stage climate-tech venture capital firm, with participation from RPG Ventures and Golden Sparrow Ventures.

The recent momentum towards net-zero emissions is evident, with 1000’s of companies committed to achieving net-zero emissions globally. Industrial sectors such as utilities, steel, cement, aluminium, automotive and chemicals play a significant role, accounting for approximately 38% of global emissions and 62% of emissions in India (McKinsey's Global Energy Perspective, 2022 & Decarbonising India, 2022). This underscores the pressing need for decisive action.

sentra.world aims to help industrial companies manage GHG emissions of their own operations, of their suppliers (scope 3), and at the holding company level through its products sentra.calculus, sentra.network and sentra.portfolio respectively. With sector specific measurement approaches, simulations for emissions reduction, intuitive dashboards, global reporting standards, and gamified data reporting, sentra.world empowers industrial businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to a sustainable future.

Companies are now aiming to include scope 3 (supplier related) in emissions management with procurement and sustainability functions partnering to deliver. Large industrial companies have upwards of 5000 suppliers each, however, face challenges such as suppliers not having enough/unstructured data, not the right incentives, and suppliers not wanting to expose their data to buyers and competitors, The sentra.network product solves for these and also provides a green rating to suppliers, giving them a new value proposition and enabling procurement functions of buyers to find the right suppliers for their net zero journey.

Harsh Choudhry (CEO) and Vikas Upadhyay (COO), the founders of sentra.world, bring over 30 years of combined global experience in sustainability, heavy industry, and technology. Their background as former junior partners at McKinsey, a renowned global management consulting firm, has shaped sentra.world's vision and comprehensive suite of solutions. With Harsh Choudhry's visionary leadership and Vikas Upadhyay's expertise in driving sustainable operations, sentra.world is committed to facilitating industrial businesses worldwide on their net-zero journeys through sector-specific SaaS products.

Harsh Choudhary

"We envision empowering global industrial businesses on their net-zero journeys through sector-specific SaaS products," shared Harsh Choudhry, Co-Founder and CEO of sentra.world. "By prioritising Scope 3 emissions, we drive sustainability across the value chain for industrial businesses in India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, with future expansion into Europe. Our goal is to have 500 industrial companies and 500,000 suppliers as valued customers, managing 1% of global emissions within five years.”

Vikas Upadhyay co-Founder & COO, sentra.world

"This seed funding will accelerate our efforts to provide cutting-edge solutions, sectoral intelligence that help businesses seamlessly track supplier emissions, enhance green sourcing, and optimise their environmental impact”, said Vikas Upadhyay, Co-Founder and COO, sentra.world. “As sentra.world stands for Sustainability and Energy Transition for a Better World, we are enthused to embark on this sustainable journey to make a lasting positive impact on Planet Earth”, he exclaimed.

"We are excited to lead the seed funding round for sentra.world and support their groundbreaking efforts in Scope 3 emissions management," said Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner at Avaana Capital. "Their innovative platform and comprehensive suite of solutions address critical challenges faced by industrial businesses, driving sustainability and enabling a greener future. We are confident that sentra.world will play a pivotal role in shaping the industrial sector's transition to net-zero emissions."

Sentra.world's seed funding will drive global expansion, platform development, and sectoral intelligence enhancement, serving industrial businesses in India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and beyond. With a commitment to sustainability and net-zero goals, Sentra.world offers innovative Scope 3 solutions to empower businesses and achieve ESG excellence.

About sentra.world

sentra.world is a technology platform that empowers industrial businesses on their net-zero journeys by providing accurate, comprehensive, efficient, and traceable methods to measure emissions performance. Through its SaaS products, including sentra.calculus, sentra.network, and sentra.portfolio, sentra.world enables businesses to achieve ESG excellence, decarbonise their value chain, and drive sustainability across the industrial sector. With a strong focus on India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe, sentra.world aims to be at the forefront of managing emissions for at least 500 industrial companies, contributing to a more sustainable future. Headquartered in Bangalore, sentra.world combines a dedicated team of tech experts and climate specialists with advanced data analytics and cloud technologies.

For more information about sentra.world and its ESG technology platform, please visitwww.sentra.world

About Avaana Capital

Avaana Capital manages Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund, India’s first and largest climate-tech venture capital fund, investing in future market leaders who are leveraging technology-led innovation to build and scale solutions for climate and sustainability while delivering exponential returns. Avaana invests in climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience across thematic areas of Energy transition and Resource management, Mobility and Supply chains, and Sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Avaana's portfolio features climate-focused startups such as Eeki Foods, Aerem, FarMart, Turno, Terra.do, Ninety One, Praman (Intello Labs), Eggoz, Praan etc. Avaana’s Team has previously made investments in unicorns and category-leaders like Delhivery, Nykaa, Urban Company, ShadowFax, NinjaCart, Stellapps etc.