Campus Fund, which was founded in July 2020, engages students as investors who search, assess, and participate in decision-making about investments in student-led enterprises.
An investor in student-led startups, Campus Fund has secured $10 million (about Rs 75 crore) from significant institutions, family offices, and general partners of renowned funds for its second fund.
The round had the participation of Omidyar Network India, IIFL Wealth, Jaimin Bhatt (CFO, Kotak Mahindra BankNSE 0.36 percent), Bharat Shah (former chairman of HDFCNSE -0.26 percent Securities), Kanwajit Singh (founder, Fireside Ventures), and Shivkumar Janardhanan (former CEO, Essilor India).
Campus Fun, which will be launched in July 2020, engages students as investors who search, assess, and participate in decision-making about investments in student-led enterprises.
Campus Fund will continue to invest at the pre-seed stage with its second fund.
Tanglin Venture Partners, Chiratae Ventures, and Kalaari Capital have all invested in Fund I startups Digantara,HealthySure, and Expand My Business.
Richa Bajpai launched Campus Fund after co-founding Goodera, a technology platform in the Tech4Good industry.
Bajpai added, “In the previous two years, we worked with over 60 students around the country to scout and analyze over 1,600 student-led start-ups.”
We currently have a portfolio of ten distinct student-led enterprises with solid foundations and the ability to impact the future and help India achieve its goal of being a $5 trillion economy.”
Campus Fund’s portfolio includes 40% non-tech founders, 30% female co-founders, and 30% hardware-first tech-enabled student-led enterprises.
Sarvesh Kanodia, principal at Omidyar Network India, stated, “We are thrilled to support Richa and the Campus Fund team in their quest to foster student entrepreneurship across the country. This would give fuel to the courageous young entrepreneurs who are tackling major problems in the country and creating jobs.”
