BlackSoil, an alternative credit platform, has successfully raised through its first close ₹110 crore for its maiden secured AIF strategy BlackSoil India Credit Fund (BICF). Raises primarily from family offices & high networth individuals, the fund will use the capital to a differentiated credit strategy comprising of venture & structured debt, and target startups/companies across mid & growth stages.

BlackSoil has pioneered in providing distinctive financing resources by working extensively with startups, high growth companies, SMEs and established promoters with tailor-made structured products. The fund intends to raise total of ₹350 crore and complete over 30 deals with an average cheque size of ₹10-20 crore per investment. The AIF will have companies in the same ecosystem as PE/VCs without the inherent risks associated with equity investments. With the rising popularity of debt funding among startups, BICFs fundraise is a positive signal. This fund is aimed at solving the problem of access to finance for high growth innovative companies backed by marque institutional investors or established Indian founders, professionally managed SMEs and lending to firms by offering customized debt. This sector agnostic fund will specifically look at companies with a strong cash flow and are EBIDTA positive.

“We are seeing a strong pipeline of startups across technology, healthcare, enterprise and consumer segments with a need to finance their growing businesses, which will continue to grow in the coming years. We have a strong track record of catering to this segment and have already deployed ₹950 crore over 4 years across 70+ transactions in companies namely: Oyo Rooms, Zetwerk, Spinny, Purplle, Koye Pharma, EarlySalary, LetsTransport, IndustryBuying, iNurture and others,” says Ankur Bansal, Co-Founder, BlackSoil.