Lodha Group launches Startup Investment Fund

Mumbai: Realty player Lodha Group today said it has launched its maiden investment fund with an initial corpus of Rs 50 crore for startups focused on smart city solutions and overall real estate sector.

"With an initial investment corpus of Rs 50 crore, the company will not only provide angel funding or venture capital, but also business opportunities, industry contacts and mentorship," the company said in a statement issued here.

This Startup Investment Fund will invest in startups at all stages of the development cycle, including early stage startups, which are focused on creating value in the real estate and smart city space in the country.

Within real estate, the company will look at all aspects of the value chain, right from digital marketing to analytics and from customer relationship management (CRM) to smart city services.

"To aid India's growth story, our fund will address the prevailing inefficiencies in the sector with the use of technology and smart solutions. Our experience will be able to combine knowledge with the energy and technical know how of startups to find path-breaking solutions enabling India's real estate industry to leap frog ahead and become globally benchmark-able in its innovation and practises," company's Managing Director Abhishek Lodha said.

He said the company has been working in a focused manner to establish this platform over the last few months.

"We have already vetted 2-3 business ideas and the first round of investments will be completed by March 2017. With the launch of this fund, the company will bring significant expertise, knowledge and resources for the technology led solution providers which aim to serve the smart city and real estate space and enable the real estate sector to contribute in a bigger manner to our nation?s employment and economic growth," he added.