IIM Udaipur Launches India’s First Student-Driven Impact Investment Fund
• Anil Mathur

 


Udaipur, Feb 3. Indian Institute of Management Udaipur launch edastudent- managed Impact Investment Fund (IIF) focusing on investing in early-stage projects orstart-ups that create a social and environmental impact on society.

       It is India’s first such student-driven Impact Investment Fundand an affirmation of IIMU’s initiatives that are encapsulated in their hashtag #ItStartsAtU


The launch was announced through a webinar in which Mr. Nakul Zaveri, Managing Partner, Relativity Investment Management, Mr. Navneet Garg, CEO and Co-Founder Caya Constructs, and Mr.Ramesh S.Ramakrishnan,Chairman,TransworldGroupofCompanies,spoke,.

 In his address MrRamakrishanansaid, “When patterns are broken new worlds emerge.Evolution and growth are the only stimulants that keep us moving and impact projects are goingto be agents of change to bring. There has been an increased shift towards sustainability byinvestors globally in the last five years. At Transworld Group, the higher purpose of ‘DeliveringProsperity to Humanity’ is our guiding light motivating us in our endeavour to be a channel ofprosperity not just our shareholders or staff, but to an all-encompassing constituent covering ourassociates, humanity and the entire ecosystem. As investors, it is our responsibility to supportimpact investments that support social development and would help to achieve the UnitedNation’sSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)by2030.”

 Mr. Nakul Zaveri discussed the three most important things that impact should be aligned with.The impact should be globally acceptable while also being relevant to national/regional contextand adhering to standard metrics. He highlighted the importance of generating impact at scale,terminalvalueofabusiness,andofusingrelevantframeworksandmetricsinimpactinvestment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Navneet Garg advised that looking for the right business model before investing is crucialfor any impact investment. He also said that doing good is good business. It must be theessence of what we do. The focus should not only be on impact, but it should also be onsustainabilityaswellasgeneratingfinancialreturns.

 

Mr. Yogesh Andlaysaid, "Social businesses have the potential of large-scale transformationand improve the quality of lives of millions of people.   IIMU Impact Investment Fund sourcedand managed by the students of IIM Udaipur is targeted towards seeding and catalysing suchsocialinnovativebusinesses.

 

ThisfundwillprovideanexperientiallearningopportunitytothestudentstounderstandEnvironment, Sustainability and Governance issues. And build their capabilities to becomewholesomeservantleadershavingempathy,selflessness,andhumility.”

 

On the launch of this initiative, Prof. Janat Shah, Director, IIM Udaipur, said, " It is a matter ofgreat pride and satisfaction to see this student-driven initiative take seed in India through thecommitment and passion of our young students to societal good. It will help make a positivesocial impact through the venture investment and mentorship support it provides. Importantly, itwill also give the students an opportunity to put their classroom learnings to a practical, sociallyrelevant application, as they identify, mentor and grow the ventures to also deliver reasonablereturns to fund investors. It is an intrinsically valuable lesson to imbibe as a future businessleader.IhopethisinspiresstudentsfromotherinstitutionsinIndiatoalsotakethisup”

 

The B-school further mentioned the impact investment fund is to create an impact benefittingsociety and our environment. Being the first student-led impact investment fund in India, intendsto promote a culture of impact investing in India by spreading awareness and inspiration to otherinstitutes.