Colossa Ventures, a SEBI-registered independent venture capital management company, has achieved a significant milestone with the first close of its inaugural fund, the Colossa WomenFirst Fund, securing Rs 100 crore in investments.
With a target corpus of Rs 500 crore, the fund targets investments in the pre-Series A stage and beyond. Based on extensive research, Colossa Ventures aims to carve out a distinct niche within healthcare and health tech, fintech, climate and cleantech, deep tech, and the consumer landscape.
The fund’s strategic approach hinges on leveraging gender diversity to drive alpha returns. Notably, it has garnered support from esteemed institutions like SIDBI and prominent family offices, including Dr. Ranjan Pai’s Family Office and the Shriram Ownership Trust, among others, who participated in the first close.
Established in 2022 by Ashu Suyansh and Vandana Rajadhyaksha, the Colossa WomenFirst Fund stands out as a sector-agnostic venture growth fund uniquely dedicated to revolutionizing the startup ecosystem by exclusively targeting women-founded, co-founded, or women-beneficiary ventures.
India’s startup landscape is witnessing a surge in women-focused investment initiatives. For instance, Kalaari Capital’s CXXO initiative, tailored for female founders, and Achieving Women Equity (AWE) Funds, which recently launched its inaugural India fund amounting to Rs 350 crore, exemplify the growing emphasis on gender-focused investment platforms. Moreover, tech behemoth Google runs the Google for Startups Women Founders Fund, offering $100,000 in equity-free cash to female-founded startups.
Other notable players, such as Saha Fund, She Capital, and StrongHer Ventures, also prioritize investments in women-founded startups, signifying a concerted effort to foster gender diversity and inclusivity within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The successful first close of the Colossa WomenFirst Fund not only underscores the burgeoning investor interest in gender-diverse startups but also reflects a broader commitment towards fostering an equitable and inclusive startup ecosystem where diversity thrives as a driving force for innovation and growth.
