Wealth and asset management firm, Lighthouse Canton, has announced the first close of its venture debt fund, a Category II alternative investment fund (AIF), at ₹155.4 crore.

The fund, which has a capacity of ₹550 crore and a greenshoe option of additional ₹550 crore, is part of Lighthouse Canton’s regional venture debt strategy, it said. The fund has seen participation from onshore and offshore institutions and family offices.

Lighthouse Canton’s Global Head of Asset Management, Sanket Sinha, said, “In more mature venture ecosystems such as the US and Europe, venture debt has risen to 15-20 per cent of the total VC funding, whereas this proportion is less than 2 per cent in India. Given the growth of the venture ecosystem in India, we see tremendous opportunity for venture debt, and we expect the size of this market to grow 3-4 times in the next five years.”

The fund shall provide debt capital to technology-enabled companies which are part of the Indian start-up ecosystem.

Earlier this year, Lighthouse Canton partnered with Nueva Capital to launch its maiden venture capital fund, LC Nueva, focused on pre-series A and series A companies in India. The fund was oversubscribed and it applied for an additional ₹50 crore with the regulator.

Headquartered in Singapore, Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution with wealth and asset management capabilities. The firm said it has over 100 experienced professionals in Singapore, Dubai, and India, and it oversees over $3 billion worth of assets under management and advisory (as of September 30, 2022). 

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