New India-Israel Venture to Raise Funds for Start Ups

New India-Israel Venture to Raise Funds for Start Ups

Just days ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Israel, an Israeli-Indian partnership has announced the creation of a funding platform to help start-ups find investors in each other’s country.

Israel’s equity crowdfunding firm OurCrowd and India’s leading start-up platform LetsVenture have joined hands to create an ‘India Fund’ for Israeli and Indian start-ups, seeking to rope in big investors, family funds and OurCrowd’s own global network of investors.

“India is a critical growth market for our business with a huge number of very exciting startup investment opportunities in a range of sectors,” OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said.

As part of the deal, OurCrowd will showcase Israeli and global start-ups to Indian investors managed by LetsVenture, as well as curate Indian start-ups on its global equity platform.

Jerusalem-based OurCrowd publicised the details of the agreement in a press release on Tuesday:

OurCrowd, a global leader in equity crowdfunding, today announced that it has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with LetsVenture, India’s largest marketplace for startup funding.

As part of this partnership, OurCrowd will offer curated deals to Indian investor syndicates managed by LetsVenture, as well as showcase Indian startups on OurCrowd’s platform, giving selected Indian startups access to accredited investors globally and to business development opportunities.

OurCrowd and LetsVenture will be also be collaborating on an ‘India Fund’ to invest in Israeli, Indian and global startups. The investment into this fund would primarily be from family funds and HNWIs in India and OurCrowd’s global network of accredited investors.

India promises to be an attractive destination for Israeli start-ups seeking investments. The Asian giant is home to “fourth largest population of high net worth investors in the Asia Pacific region, with total wealth approaching one trillion dollars,” Israeli newspaper Globes noted. The country has seen a 12 percent rise in high net worth investors and that figure is expected to grow at 150 percent over the coming decade.

The deal will “facilitate market access and collaboration at multiple levels, focusing on investors, including family offices, corporates,” Forbes India reported:

As part of this partnership, OurCrowd will offer curated deals to Indian investor syndicates managed by LetsVenture as well as showcase Indian startups on OurCrowd’s platform, giving selected Indian startups access to accredited investors globally and to business development opportunities, the two said in a press release on Tuesday.

OurCrowd and LetsVenture will also be collaborating on an India Fund to invest in Israeli, Indian and global startups. The investment into this fund would primarily be from family funds and high-net-worth individuals in India and OurCrowd’s global network of accredited investors, according to the press release.

India, with its expanding middle class, is also a promising destination for Israeli technology start-ups looking to scale up their operations. The two-trillion Asian economy has been steadily growing at an annual rate of 7-8 percent.

Israel’s OurCrowd is betting big on India. Earlier this month, OurCrowd teamed up with India’s Reliance Capital to help Indian investors access Israeli technology and start-up ecosystem. Israeli business daily Globes reported:

Israeli equity crowdsourcing fund OurCrowd has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Indian wealth management company Reliance Private Client. This agreement will allow Indian investors to access overseas venture capital funds on the OurCrowd Platform and to invest in Israel’s dynamic startup ecosystem. (…)

Under the terms of the cooperation, Reliance Private Client will offer its accredited clientele to OurCrowd’s unique startup investment products and fund offerings. Indian investors will have the opportunity to invest via the platform in OurCrowd’s broad range of offerings, including funds OurCrowd Qure: Israel’s First Digital Health Fund and the OC50 Portfolio Index fund. [Globes; June 11, 2017]

In recent years, Indian technology and IT giants have discovered Israel’s dynamic start up scene in a big way, making big-ticket acquisitions and long-term investments in the Start-Up Nation. Indian multinationals such as Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Reliance have all created separate venture capital arms to invest in Israel.

Israel-India cooperation in start-up and technology has a huge potential to make a meaningful difference. Last year, over 150 Israeli and Indian start-ups got together up to develop healthcare solutions for rural India — a low-profit segment overlooked by healthcare multinational and pharma giants. In 2015, Indian pharmaceutical maker Sun Pharma teamed up with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to develop a cancer therapy aimed at suppressing the growth of tumours. For nearly a decade, Indian launching vehicles have been putting Israeli satellites in orbit.

Next week, Indian Prime Minister Modi will embark on a 3-day historic trip to Israel starting July 4. As India and Israel mark 25 years of bilateral diplomatic ties, Prime Minister Modi will become the first Indian head of the government to visit the Jewish State.

Watch: OurCrowd founder Jon Medved on Israel-India Connect
[Cover image via OurCrowd, YouTube]

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