Stride Ventures, a sector agnostic venture debt firm announced on Thursday (12th November) that it has raised INR 85 crore from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The company states that the fresh infusion of fund will further strengthen the deployment of its maiden fund - Stride Ventures India Debt Fund I which had marked its first close in Nov 2019 and is expected to close by end of 2020.

Founded in 2019 by ex-banker

Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, Stride Ventures focuses on growth-stage companies that are backed by institutional capital with a banking scope of lens. Stride Venture’s latest investment was in cosmetics brand Sugar Cosmetics and robotics startup Miko. The company currently counts 10 startups in its portfolio and plans to invest in 25-30 startups under its Stride Venture India Debt Fund I.

Speaking about the investment Ishpreet commented, “We are delighted to have joined hands with SIDBI in our journey to revolutionize venture lending. Their commitment of up to INR 85 crore will further strengthen our deployment from our maiden fund - Stride Ventures India Debt Fund I. Their invariable support to indigenous funds strongly propels the country’s mission to be aatmanirbhar.

It corroborates Stride’s strong performance as well as the immense growth potential of the asset class. In spite of the challenges brought upon by the pandemic, we have been extremely active in deploying capital and have successfully completed 7 deals during this period. Further, we have seen no delinquencies or delays in our portfolio. We are excited to partner with SIDBI as we look to maintain this momentum and finish the year strongly."