Assam Partners with World Bank to Launch Rs 250 Crore Agricultural Fund

Assam has established a ₹250 crore fund in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including the World Bank, to promote small and medium units within the agriculture sector, officials announced recently.

Caspian Impact Investment Adviser, a venture capital fund based in Hyderabad, revealed its partnership with the Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society to launch an agribusiness investment firm. Under the agreement, ARIAS has been assigned the role of the central agency responsible for creating and executing the Assam Agribusiness Investment Fund (AAIF), which is a specific investment trust with contributory and determinate characteristics.

The AAIF, with a corpus of ₹250 crore, is a sector-specific fund designed to enhance agricultural productivity and generate employment opportunities within the state. Its primary focus will be on investing in small and medium enterprises operating in the agribusiness and allied sectors, to achieve accelerated growth, as stated in a press release by Caspian Impact Investment Adviser.

The AAIF has appointed ARIAS as the primary investor, with Caspian Equity assuming the role of fund manager. Saurabh Johri, the Executive Director and CEO of Caspian Impact Investment Adviser expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, "We are delighted to collaborate with ARIAS in our shared mission to catalyze the economic development of Assam's rural communities. Through the integration of our investment proficiency and ARIAS' extensive knowledge and expertise, our objective is to create a lasting influence and enable individuals to prosper and flourish sustainably."

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Ravi Narasimham, the Investment Director of Caspian, will lead the fund, and the company looks forward to establishing a partnership with ARIAS to create a prosperous and empowered rural community, he added.

Chairman of ARIAS Society, Ashish Kumar Bhutani, highlighted the uniqueness of the AAIF, calling it a pioneering state-led initiative aimed at addressing critical gaps in value chain finance within the agriculture and allied sectors. The fund aims to enhance farmers' income by providing essential support and investment opportunities.

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Toshiaki Ono, the World Bank Group Finance Sector Specialist, emphasized the significant role that agribusiness SMEs play in the transformation of the agriculture sector. Despite acknowledging the limited availability of external financing, especially in terms of long-term and patient capital necessary for their expansion, Ono expressed his assurance that the AAIF would provide support to agribusiness SMEs with significant growth potential. This, in turn, is expected to cultivate robust and resilient agri-food value chains in Assam.

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