SBICAP Ventures Ltd (SVL) on Monday announced the launch of SME and affordable housing Funds. These funds are aimed at addressing the equity gap in the SME sector and in improving the availability of affordable housing in India.

SVL, which is an alternative asset manager and a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets Ltd, is seeking to raise a corpus of ₹400 crore for SME Fund and ₹350 crore for Affordable Housing Fund.

While the gap in debt funding to SMEs (small and medium enterprises) is increasingly being bridged by NBFCs, there continues to be a significant gap in the equity funding for the sector despite the steep growth rate, State Bank of India’s step-down subsidiary said in a statement.

“The SME landscape is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years and as per IFC, it is estimated to account for over 40 per cent of the GDP by 2020. Bridging the equity gap in the SME sector is, therefore, crucial for the overall economic development of the country and hence SVL’s launch of the SME Fund,” the statement said.

SBI’s step-down subsidiary SVL is launching a private equity fund for providing a stimulus to improving the availability of affordable housing in India. In the initial phase, the focus of the fund will be in eight cities of the country which are amongst the most active real estate markets in India.

The Fund will complement SBI’s role as the largest provider of home loans from the banking sector and also provider of significant loan funding for construction of housing projects.

Varsha Purandare, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, SBI Capital Markets Ltd, said,“With these two new funds, we are looking forward to strengthening our foothold in the economically and socially relevant sectors. These funds shall be an effective tool in addressing the equity gap in the SME sector and in improving the availability of affordable housing in India”.

Related Topics