About
Anjali Bansal
Anjali Bansal is the Founder of Avaana Capital, investing in technology and innovation-led start-ups who are catalysing climate action and sustainability and delivering exponential returns. Previously, Anjali has been the Non-Executive Chairperson of Dena Bank, appointed by the Government of India to steer the resolution of the stressed bank, eventually leading to a merger with the Bank of Baroda. Prior to that, Anjali was a Global Partner and Managing Director with TPG Growth PE, responsible for India, SE Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She started her career as a strategy consultant with McKinsey and Co. in New York.
Anjali has invested in and mentored various successful start-ups including Delhivery, Urban Company, Darwinbox, Nykaa, Lenskart and Coverfox. She is closely associated with NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform and Digital Solutions. She has been appointed on the Expert Advisory Committee for the Start Up India Seed Fund Scheme announced by the Honourable Prime Minister.
Anjali is a member of the Steering Committee advising the government on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). She also serves as an independent non-executive director on several leading boards including Tata Power, Voltas, and Piramal Enterprises. She has previously chaired the India board of Women's World Banking, a leading global livelihood promoting institution, been a board member at GSK Pharma, Siemens and Bata, and been on the Managing Committee of the Indian Venture Capital Association.
She has been appointed as President, Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and serves on the CII National Committee on Corporate Governance. Anjali previously co founded and chaired the FICCI Center for Corporate Governance program for Women on Corporate Boards. She is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization and a charter member of TiE. She has been listed as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Indian Business” by India’s leading publications, Business Today, and by Fortune India
01. Avaana Capital is a unique early-stage investing platform that integrates technology, ESG and Gender-lens Investing. Could you please elucidate your approach towards this inclusive sustainable investing strategy?
Avaana’s thesis has been: to take new technologies and innovation, apply capital and help exceptional entrepreneurs generate outsized returns, while solving large problems. We began by investing in themes across financial inclusion, consumer and producer access, and market linkages for Bharat, and going forward, we believe that climate action and sustainability will be the largest impact segments. We expect to see integrated, scalable business models emerge, that are inclusive and sustainable. ESG and sustainability are no longer confined to board rooms, but are now drivers of business strategy, as consumer and employee preferences have shifted. Climate action and sustainability will be for the next 20 years, what digitisation was for the last 20. With respect to gender lens investing, we adopt the 2x framework: we promote diversity and inclusion in our own team, as well as in portfolio companies.
02. As some of the key impact investment sectors such as agriculture, climate-tech, financial inclusion gradually made a comeback from the pandemic effects; what were some of the key challenges and learnings for your portfolio during last year? Has the global health pandemic led you to make any significant shifts in your investment strategy?
COVID-19 accelerated the ongoing trend of digitisation of unorganised value chains, to help build in more economic resilience – especially for sectors like MSME, education, health etc. Consequently, we also saw a great spurt in entrepreneurship – with a new set of innovators, who are building upon the knowledge and learnings of their predecessors, determined to solve deeper challenges in sectors like climate, supply chains, food systems, healthcare and inclusivity. We also saw consumers becoming a lot more conscious in their choices, and more aware of their own health and the planet's. The pandemic also highlighted the need for capital efficiency - as the more capital efficient start-ups were not only able to absorb the business impact of the second wave better, but these were also the start-ups that investors sought. The pandemic did not shift our investment strategy, rather it re-affirmed our belief that digitisation will solve for these large challenges and will create value by making markets, systems and supply chains more inclusive.
03. You deploy an ecosystem approach towards supporting early-stage sustainable businesses through industry engagement, strategic partnerships and policy dialogues. Could you briefly share some of your interventions on this front and the overall impact it has created?
In order to build sustainable businesses, an ecosystem approach is must – one that brings together the relevant stakeholders, and is able to drive collective action. Through our engagements in the Innovation, Impact, Policy and Corporate ecosystems, we have been able to support our portfolio companies in strengthening their market leadership. We have accelerated revenue for our partners by opening doors to growth opportunities - through industry outreach and strategic partnerships. We have also leveraged our proprietary networks to help our partners bring on board the best talent. For one of our partner companies in the agri-tech space, we supported the building of strategic relationships with crucial industry bodies, which has helped bring in stakeholder buy-in for digitising agricultural value chains. For another company building solutions for health management, we have initiated conversations with corporates to help incorporate health support as a critical pillar of employee welfare.
04. Your thematic focus on investments are ‘food and consumption’, ‘mobility and supply chains’, and ‘resource management. Could you shed some light on the larger philosophy of investing in these segments? Are there any particular sub-segments that are of keen interest to you? According to you, what does the pipeline and investment outlook look like for these segments in 2022?
We believe that these segments will play the biggest role in driving climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience. India’s population is still ~50% agrarian, making it the largest opportunity for reducing climate footprint. With 80% of consumers willing to change their consumption preferences based on sustainability, there is an opportunity to build “Better for you and better for the planet” brands and platforms. Transportation accounts for ~14% of India’s GHG emissions, and thus green mobility of people and goods is a necessity. The digitisation of supply chains will help improve efficiencies, and thus reduce carbon footprint. India needs to transition to green energy to reach our goal of Net Zero by 2070, and in the process, air, land, water and waste will be key. We expect these segments to be further enabled by macro trends like the widespread reach of mobile broadband, declining cost curves of green alternatives, etc. while the availability of public digital infrastructure will accelerate deployment. India’s vibrant start-up ecosystem is starting to focus on climate action and sustainability, and we’re looking at exceptional entrepreneurs building for this segment in the coming decade.
05. As Avaana Capital doubles down on sustainability, how do you factor in value generation and social impact for your portfolio?
As one of the largest economies globally, with the 2nd largest population, contributing 7% of global emissions despite low per capita consumption, India’s transition for sustainability is complex as we cannot afford to trade off people and profits against the planet. We need to continue to drive manufacturing growth, farm incomes, domestic consumption and bring critical goods and services to Indian masses, without creating further adverse impact on climate. This will require massive innovation in technologies and business models across all segments of the economy ranging from how we grow our food to how we move people and goods. Avaana’s theory of change is that technology will be an essential driver towards a more sustainable future, and thus, we invest in companies that use using tech-led innovation to catalyse climate action and sustainability while delivering exponential returns. Both value generation and social impact will be natural outcomes of our investment strategy.
06. Your breadth of experience in the business community and corporate strategy is quite inspiring. You also serve as a board member to several leading companies, how do you envision the role of corporate India in the broader sustainability agenda, and more specifically, in the impact narrative today? Can we expect greater contribution from corporates to the overall development of innovation (cum sustainability) capital in India?
There is great value to be created by harnessing the synergies between early-stage start-ups and larger corporate enterprises – so they can mutually benefit from each other’s respective strengths of innovation and agility (start-ups), and supply chains, process strengths, experience and investment capacity (larger enterprises). In the Indian context, large companies have recognised that Sustainability and ESG are no longer about compliance, but they are in the realm of opportunity, and need to be integrated into business strategy. The introduction of Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) by SEBI, release of ESG index by NSE, and emphasis on ESG strategic reviews by Company Boards – are all favourable moves that will enhance corporate India’s role in a sustainable India. We are already seeing the shift – as India’s largest companies including Reliance, HDFC, TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, and JSW Steel have committed to achieving “net carbon zero”. Sustainability in consumption and production are becoming key pillars of innovation, and we expect corporate India to make greater contributions to both.
07. As one of the pioneering leaders in the domestic investing landscape, according to you, how can we inspire more domestic investors towards impact investing in India?
Impact investing is increasingly being recognised as a strong asset class – one with a track record of proven returns. In recent years, we have seen these stories play out in themes like financial inclusion, edtech, agritech, and thus it is no longer a new concept, rather the next great opportunity. Capital will enter these sectors at scale if it sees commercial returns in defined timeframes, and there is a growing consensus that profit and purpose go together. In the global context, large pools of capital have already shifted towards this opportunity, as large asset owners have been creating allocations for this space. Domestic investors are also recognizing this shift – as we see a large quantum of ESG-oriented capital flowing into India through public market funds. With increased engagement, highlighting of case studies and proven commercial success, we will see more domestic investors move towards investments that generate quantifiable social, economic, and environmental impacts without compromising on the value of capital.