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ENTREPRENEURS
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| BYST Growth Fund |
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WHO WE ARE
The BYST Growth Fund provides equity-like financing to small, local, “everyday” businesses, along with one-on-one mentoring and business development assistance. It was created in partnership with the Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), an NGO with a country-wide mentor network that makes loans to micro entrepreneurs. VenturEast has partnered with Aavishkaar Venture Management Services, a pioneer in micro–equity, to form Ventureast Micro-Equity Managers - the investment advisor to BYST Growth Fund.
Ventureast Micro-Equity Managers aims to become a long term financial partner of outstanding micro entrepreneurs. The current fund’s investments range from USD 10,000 to USD 200,000, depending on requirements of investees. The geographic focus of the fund is India, with the fund likely to invest in about 20-25 promising micro entrepreneurs.
WHY WE ARE UNIQUE
Our equity-like investments differ from bank loans in several important ways:
- Equity-like financing is collateral-free
- Fixed repayment obligations are major sources of concern for small entrepreneurs, and tend to deflect focus from business operations. Equity-like financing demands no fixed repayment schedule of either interest or principal.
- In the case of equity-like financing, repayments are linked to business performance; if the company does well, then the returns to the fund will be high. On the other hand, if the business suffers, then the fund can even go without any return. This is unlike the fixed repayments – independent of the business environment – that are demanded by a loan.
HOW WE HELP BUSINESSES GROW
Our equity-like financing model is ‘entrepreneur friendly’. Besides the funding itself, the BYST Growth Fund provides hand holding support to its entrepreneurs at two levels: - One-on-One mentoring
Most of our promoters have limited exposure to organized business and are first generation entrepreneurs; they lack the benefit of an experienced hand guiding them in their business. The fund has partnered with BYST to fill this void. One-on-One mentors from BYST guide our entrepreneurs in their day to day business operations, helping them make decisions that lead to the smooth functioning of their business. - Business development assistance
Our Fund Manager team provides the second tier of hand holding support to the entrepreneurs. From improving internal systems, setting goals for business growth, developing business alliances to helping formulate business strategy, we guide our entrepreneurs in unlocking their businesses’ potential.The Fund will also develop cookie-cutter models for managing investments in each industry, using which multiple investments will be made in the same vertical. Besides leveraging our expertise in an efficient manner, this will enable networks of investees to reap mutually beneficial synergies.
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