Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group has entered into an association with a $250 million Chinese venture capital fund known as Ganesh Ventures. The idea behind this partnership is to create a strong and sturdy network among the Indian entrepreneurs and Chinese investors and entrepreneurs.
Ganesh Ventures will stand as Jack Ma’s strategic partner in India. The India-focused fund has currently made its first close of $30 million. The funding was led by Jack Ma’s eWTP Ecosystem Fund and Hong Kong-based Landmark Capital.
Ganesh Ventures will further build offices in Gurugram, Bengaluru, Hong Kong and Beijing. The company also intends to finalize half a dozen deals this year. Ganesh Ventures will also be eWTP’s strategic investment partner in India. The company, named after the elephant-headed god who is the first to be worshipped at any auspicious event as per Hindu scriptures, made its first investment in India in fin-tech firm IndiaLends.
“We want to engage not just at the early stage but also at growth stage,” said Jessica Wong, managing partner of Ganesh Ventures. “We’ve been testing the waters in India for some time and have gained a valuable understanding of the market. The success we have achieved so far with our partners and portfolio strengthens our confidence to engage with more stakeholders and enhance our portfolio,” she added.
The latter aims to connect Indian entrepreneurs with the Chinese startup ecosystem and stakeholders. Also, it has been successful in receiving commitments from institutional investors in Europe and Southeast Asia as well for its entire corpus.
“Chinese (investors) support not just through equity and debt financing but also operationally and technology-wise,” said Navin Honagudi, managing director at Kae Capital, which has co-invested with Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital.
For a long time, the Chinese investors are showing a keen interest in the Indian market. Alibaba already has a number of investments in India and is increasing its existence here. The Indian startup ecosystem is now ready to witness next bets of the group with Ganesh Ventures. India’s large market has made it an obvious destination for Chinese investors. And this is making India’s market grow bigger and international.