National, 12th February 2025: The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) launched the 14th edition of its flagship event, the IVCA Conclave 2025, at the Trident Hotel, Nariman Point, Mumbai. As the premier gathering of India’s alternative investment industry, the Conclave brings together leading venture capitalists (VCs), private equity (PE) firms, family offices, policymakers, and industry experts to discuss the key trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the country’s investment landscape.
Ashley Menezes, Partner and COO at ChrysCapital and Chairperson of IVCA, highlighted the industry’s contributions to economic growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship, stating, “IVCA has grown to 422 members, with a strong representation across PE, VC, credit, real assets, and CAT-3 funds. We remain committed to fostering a dynamic investment ecosystem in India.”
The conclave, spanning two days, featured sessions on India’s investment climate, regulatory developments, and capital allocation strategies on the first day. The Panel Discussion: LP Perspectives on Indian Allocations – Evaluating Risk and Reward examined India’s position as a preferred investment destination, with discussions on key sectors of interest, investment risk frameworks, and regulatory considerations. The Discussion Session: India’s Growth Story – Analyzing the Numbers Behind the Narrative provided a data-driven analysis of India’s economic transformation, GDP trajectory, and macroeconomic indicators shaping investor sentiment.
The Report Launch: IVCA-EY Annual Trendbook 2025 offered insights into PE-VC investment trends, sectoral outlooks, and emerging opportunities. Another highlight was the Panel Discussion: Driving Successful Buyouts – From Vision to Value, which explored trends in the Indian buyout market, valuation challenges, post-acquisition growth strategies, and regulatory considerations.
Manish Kejriwal, Managing Partner and Founder, Kedaara Capital and Co-Chair, IVCA Private Equity Council, delved into the global strategies that could shape investment strategies in 2025, stating, “On the global front, from the perspective of GPs, the past year was interesting for the investing community. The biggest takeaway was the lack of DPI and shortage of liquidity. In India, the DPI story has evolved into one of the most appealing aspects due to booming IPO markets, significant dry capital for sponsors, and India’s growing global relevance. The public markets indicate where the private markets are headed, and it hasn’t been a healthy start to the year. However, I believe prices will correct, multiples will compress, and the second half of 2025 will be a buyers’ market rather than a sellers’ market.”
Moderated by Zia Mody, Managing Partner and AZB & Partners, the session on Leveraging Alternate Capital Funds for M&A and Control Transactions, discussed deal structures, exit strategies, and policy enablers supporting mergers and acquisitions. Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds, and Board Member, IVCA, said In response to Zia Mody’s question about PE deal volumes and domestic fund returns compared to growth and early-stage funds, Srinivasan stated, “Reports indicate ₹7-7.5 trillion of PE/VC investments in India. The median returns, as per the SEBI-driven benchmarking study, point out that for the average Indian investor, there is still an emotional challenge in investing in the private asset class. The single biggest challenge to private equity in India to get better returns is increasing the availability of assets. Control, M&A buyout is the way to pave our way to finding more assets.”
Other key sessions included Presentation: DPI Through the Looking Glass, which addressed LP concerns about distributions to paid-in capital, and Panel Discussion: Shaping Indian Innovation – Venture Visionaries Leading the Next Wave, covering venture capital investment trends, emerging technologies, and startup ecosystem dynamics.
The Panel Discussion: Building Resilient Climate Innovation Ecosystems emphasized the need for climate innovation and financing strategies for sustainability-driven businesses, while Green Horizons – Financing the Transition to a Climate-Neutral Economy explored investment frameworks and public-private partnerships for green finance. The prior panel, moderated by Nishith Desai, Founder of Nishith Desai Associates, the discussion brought together prominent voices in the climate investment space. Panelists included Nipun Sahni, Advisor at Apollo Global Management and Founder of Rezone Investments; Raj Pai, Founding Partner at GEF Capital Partners; Rema Subramanian, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Ankur Capital; Ruchira Shukla, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Synapses; Sandiip Bhammer, Managing Partner at Green Frontier Capital; and Vivek Jain, Co-Founder and CBO at Stride Green. The conversation centered around key components of a robust climate innovation ecosystem in India, strategies for bridging the funding gap that often hinders early and growth-stage climate innovations, and the essential frameworks needed to accurately assess the impact and effectiveness of these innovations. “Any climate investment must be commercially viable. Investors have a fiduciary duty, so returns on equity must balance revenue growth and cost reduction,” said Akhilesh Tilotia Co-founder, Thurro and Co-Chair, IVCA Climate and Sustainability Council.
A fireside chat, Bridging Finance and Innovation – Insights from Banking, Venture Capital, and Startups, between V. Vaidyanathan, Managing Director and CEO, IDFC First Bank and Karthik Reddy, Co-Founder and Partner, Blume Ventures, examined the intersection of banking and venture capital in scaling startups and fostering financial innovation.
The first day concluded with a conversation between Ashley Menezes and Shri Jayant Sinha, Senior Advisor, IVCA Climate and Sustainability Council, and Former Union Minister of State for Finance and Civil Aviation, focusing on India’s evolving investment landscape, key policy developments, the evolving role of alternate capital, and India’s commitment to sustainable finance. The closing address was delivered by Siddarth Pai, Founding Partner and CFO, 3one4 Capital, and Co-Chair, Regulatory Affairs Committee, IVCA reinforced India’s long-term investment potential, stating, “There are two important markets in the world that are long-term performers over the 30-year period, the first one is the US and the second is India, beating other countries like Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong. India has been there for the past 30 years and we have been one of the consistent compounders across the world. If we look at capital formation through AIFs, we have seen immense growth in a short span of time. We have over 1,500 startups, 30% of this capital has been raised overseas and a pooled IRR that has consistently beaten indices, this is the growth of the entire industry as a whole. When we speak about the impact of AIFs, as per the IVCA report, startups funded by AIFs have 1.3 times more jobs than compared to the non-funded ones. For every 10 million dollars invested, we see 58 million dollars of revenue enabled, 470 direct jobs created and taxes enabled of over 12 million dollars.”
The first day of IVCA Conclave 2025 set the stage for deep discussions on India’s economic growth, investment strategies, and the evolving role of alternative capital. As the event moves into its second day, sessions will focus on regulatory landscapes, private credit expansion, and emerging opportunities in infrastructure and sustainability, further strengthening India’s position as a global investment hub.