Rs 250 cr agri fund launched in Assam to boost agribusiness

INTERNATIONAL DESK: An Rs 250 crore fund has been created in Assam by multiple stakeholders, including World Bank, to promote small and medium units in the agriculture sector, officials said on Tuesday.

Venture capital fund Caspian Impact Investment Adviser said it has joined hands with the Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society to roll out the agribusiness investment firm.

The Hyderabad-based company said that according to the agreement, ARIAS will be the nodal agency for establishing and implementing a contributory and determinate investment trust — the Assam Agribusiness Investment Fund (AAIF).

“With a corpus of Rs 250 crore, AAIF is a unique sector-specific fund, focusing on boosting agricultural productivity and employment generation in the state. It will mainly invest in small and medium enterprises in the agribusiness and allied sectors to achieve accelerated growth,” it said in a statement.

ARIAS is designated as the anchor investor for the AAIF, which will be managed by Caspian Equity as the fund manager.

Commenting on the development, Caspian Impact Investment Adviser Executive Director and CEO Saurabh Johri said: “We are delighted to collaborate with ARIAS in our shared mission to catalyse the economic development of Assam’s rural communities. By combining our investment expertise with ARIAS’ deep-rooted knowledge and experience, we aim to make a sustainable impact and empower individuals to thrive.”

Caspian Investment Director Ravi Narasimham will lead the fund and the company looks forward to building a partnership with ARIAS to enable the creation of a prosperous and empowered rural community, he added.

ARIAS Society Chairman Ashish Kumar Bhutani said, “AAIF is a unique and first-of-its-kind state-led initiative that aims to address the critical gaps in value chain finance in the agriculture and allied sectors and help increase farmers’ income.”

World Bank Group Finance Sector Specialist Toshiaki Ono said that agribusiness SMEs play a vital role in this transformation but external finance, especially long-term and patient capital for their growth, is extremely limited.

“We are confident that the Fund will support high-growth and high-impact agribusiness SMEs for vibrant and resilient agri-food value chains in Assam,” he added. (TAT)