Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Sunday, Nov 16, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Sunday, Nov 16, 2003 |
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Money & Banking
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Financial Institutions IFC plans to increase investments to $1 billion Our Bureau
Mumbai , Nov. 15 THE International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, plans to raise its investments in the country to $1 billion in the next two years, from around $700 million currently. According to Mr Daniel Crisafulli, Investment Officer, Information Technology Investment Group, IFC, the funds would flow into a range of sectors including telecom, small and medium businesses, infrastructure funding as also micro-financing. Queried on the institution's IT sector investments, he said there was no particular segment that the group was targeting. Rather, "IFC is willing to take greater exposure in the country provided it gets a quality investment proposal," he said. He said the mission of the IT investment division was to help build sustainable businesses that promoted the spread of information technologies to the emerging markets and help reduce poverty and improve the people's lives. In this regard, he cited the example of Spryance Inc, a US-based healthcare BPO player, which has implemented a unique micro-entrepreneurial model, which was credited with spawning thousands of small entrepreneurs. The model, thanks to the use of innovative technology solutions and management processes, he said, had enabled medical transcriptionists to work from home at a time that was convenient to them. This was in sharp contrast to the traditionally-run medical transcription operations that were seen as `people factories,' across the globe. Spryance, which has been logging 25 per cent growth every quarter for the past two years, is also cited as a good example of a quality investment proposal for the institution. It has received funding of $7 million from IFC and other investors. Spryance set up its Indian arm, with headquarters in Mumbai, in January 2000. It also has a quality assurance (QA) hub in Chennai. The company, which has already invested $4 million in India, plans an additional $5 million investment in the next 12-15 months. According to Mr Raj Malhotra, President and CEO, Spryance, the funds would be used to set up units in Pune and Hyderabad. Queried on its investment strategy, he said like any other venture capitalist, the investment division had its eye on the return and exit options available to it. The division was looking at a minimum average return of 15-20 per cent. Further, it was open to a range of venture capital funding options starting with first level to mezzanine funding and debt. This would depend entirely on the company's needs, he added. Mr Crisafulli added that the department had invested in a number of IT companies in the country including Spryance, Moser Baer, NewPath Ventures, which is launching businesses specialising in semiconductor design and embedded software, Web Duniya, which provides technology for Web services in multiple languages as well as a subsidiary of NIIT.
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