India’s apex industry body for alternative assets, the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), today launched a one-of-a-kind learning and knowledge-sharing programme on fund management - #VC101, for emerging venture fund managers. It is one among several initiatives by IVCA to strengthen the environment for venture capital in India and push India as the leading fund management hub in the world. 

According to the recent Bain & Co.- IVCA report, Micro VCs (MVCs) became significantly more present across the landscape in 2022 with the base of active MVCs growing from 65 to 80+ over 2021–22. Micro VCs and domestic funds and other small funds (CVCs, family offices, and new funds) also accounted for a salient share of investments in 2022. As more limited partners and family offices look to invest in alternatives viz-a-viz public equity, the sector is on the road to witness an explosion in venture-backed companies. In continuation of this trend and with alternative investment funds growing at an annual rate of 20 per cent over the past decade in India, the meteoric rise of micro-VCs (with an active fund size of less than USD 30 million) and first-time fund managers has been inevitable.

Commenting on the development, Rajan Anandan, MD, Sequoia India & Southeast Asia, and Surge & Chair, VC Council, IVCA, said, "The growth of entrepreneurship in India has been accompanied by the rise of PE-VC, both of which have contributed substantially to the country’s rapid economic progress. IVCA’s #VC101 Series, with sessions led by seasoned venture capital investors, should be of great value to budding venture capitalists in India."

#VC101 will be a month-long, on-ground programme spanning three fortnights in the month of June.  The programme is divided into three modules with in-person learning sessions in each of the city – Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi. Specifically, the programme will discuss fundraising, formation and portfolio management fund strategy, raising, and firm building; fund setup and deployment; and portfolio management, governance, exits, returns, n+1 fund strategy and much more.

The following industry veterans and experts of IVCA’s Venture Capital Council will mentor the participating fund managers: Rajan Anandan (Managing Director, Surge & Sequoia Capital India LLP), Rahul Khanna (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Trifecta Capital), Manish Kheterpal (Founder & Managing Partner, WaterBridge Ventures), Ruchi Khajanchi (Chief Financial Officer, A91 Partners), Priyanka Chopra (Chief Operating Officer, Managing Partner, Seed Investing, CIIE.CO, IIM Ahmedabad, & Venture Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund), Anil Joshi (Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures), Sameer Brij Verma (Managing Director, Nexus Partners), and Sehraj Singh (Managing Director, India, Prosus Ventures).