Elevar Equity

Last week in New York, we were thrilled to celebrate 20 years of Elevar and share the vision of the EPIC Opportunity with like-minded individuals. The event brought together a dynamic audience from diverse backgrounds—united by their curiosity, enthusiasm, and belief in the transformative potential of Entrepreneurial Households. It was inspiring to see the positive response to how this vision can reshape opportunities for millions across the globe. At Elevar, we have always championed a customer-first approach, and this conviction is the foundation of our work. But creating real impact requires more than just vision—it demands a community of passionate advocates and collaborators who see the same untapped potential as we do. Entrepreneurial Households represent a trillion-dollar opportunity, and yet, they remain undercapitalised and overlooked. By unlocking their potential, we believe we can create value not just for the households themselves but also for the global economy. Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to such a meaningful conversation! Sandeep Farias Jyotsna Krishnan Amie Patel Aneesh Patnaik #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #EPICOpportunity #humancenteredcapital #EquityforEquity #Impactinvesting

At Elevar Equity, we’ve always believed in the potential of Entrepreneurial Households to shape India’s next wave of growth. This conviction drove us to back Utpal Isser, SAMEER MISHRA and SarvaGram in 2019 as the company’s founding investor, and today, we are thrilled with their INR 565 Cr Series D fundraise! Congratulations to the entire SarvaGram team. Your pioneering household-centric approach to offering tailored financial and productivity solutions, is the foundation for a transformative ecosystem for rural India, at scale. As you build and scale further in the years to come, meeting the needs of aspirational rural households, we look forward to multiple field visits, exchanging ideas on what works on the ground for the customer, all while building an enduring and iconic customer centric brand. We have been thrilled to invest as part of this round, along with existing investors Elevation Capital Temasek and TVS Capital Funds - and welcome Peak XV Partners to this wonderful journey.   Sandeep Farias, Jyotsna Krishnan,Johanna Gil Posada, Vipul Rawal, Shobha Venkataraman, Amie Patel, Shikha Gupta, Kripa Joy, Raghunandan Bokare, CFA Vaishali Vinod #ElevarMethod #EquityforEquity #Impactinvesting #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #EPICOpportunity #humancenteredcapital 

The rise of Entrepreneurial Households (EH) across India is a testament to the country’s evolving economic landscape. This transformation is taking shape through the relentless work of  EH-focussed businesses like LEAD School, SarvaGram and Samunnati, that cater to the demand for quality core services of Entrepreneurial Households (EHs). Elevar has consistently backed businesses that build solutions for this customer segment using real, on-the-ground insights and empower communities with access to quality education, credit solutions, and market linkages. These businesses have developed innovative and customised solutions that create on-ground impact at scale. LEAD makes quality education accessible by partnering with affordable private schools in underserved communities. Sarvagram helps rural families meet their growing aspirations by offering financial and productivity-enhancing services. By bridging gaps in the agricultural value chain, Samunnati empowers smallholder farmers and agricultural enterprises by offering access to markets & financial intermediation. This article, authored by The Better India, highlights the India story which is unfolding in unseen parts of India and brings the economic vibrancy of Entrepreneurial Households to the fore. As Entrepreneurial Households across India continue to rise, they are transforming their communities and contributing to the nation’s economic prosperity. #EquityforEquity #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #EPICopportunity #humancentredcapital

Had an engaging conversation on Gender Lens Investing in India at IIC’s Prabhav 2024. Gender Lens should be viewed in two dimensions - one that plays out in the formal sector where women are a part of boardrooms, founders, C-Suite of companies; and second in the informal markets where women are a massive part of the economic activity. The former is an important challenge we need to work on collectively, while the latter is highly inspiring! ✅In the formal sector, building real diversity means constant questioning of historical bias to set-up women for success and unlocking their potential. ✅In the last two decades, Elevar has spent time understanding women's aspirations on the ground. A major shift has occurred, from microfinance to early indicators of women leading Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in rural India as board members and CEOs, and with significant business growth. Women also play a crucial role in household economics, are active economic participants in Entrepreneurial Households, and actively engage in economic activity - in sectors like microfinance, education, agriculture & healthcare. We must be proactive in understanding their entrepreneurial capacity and the role they play in decision-making as we deliver financial services, education, agri-services and healthcare to them. These are important conversations and I am happy to have discussed these insights with Rajat Arora from Women's World Banking , Sarita Raichura from Blume Ventures, Shalaka Joshi IFC - International Finance Corporation, Rajnish Kadambar and our moderator Ragini Pillai from British International Investment Full video here: https://lnkd.in/gxnZbpY5 #EPICopportunity #EquityforEquity #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #humancenteredcapital #ElevarMethod #ImpactInvestment #IIC #Prabhav2024

Better late than never when it comes to posting. Recently participated in an engaging panel on Risk, Return and Impact: The Tripod of Impact Investing at Impact Investors Council (IIC)’s flagship event #Prabhav2024. Was a good opportunity to articulate a few points as an impact investor for close to 20 years: ✅As investors, we need to evolve our thinking of the end customer segment. They have evolved from what we used to call bottom of the pyramid to be Entrepreneurial Households – aspirational, resilient and with multiple sources of income, which create a massive trillion dollar transactional volume on just core solutions and services. ✅The search for aligned capital remains a key challenge - despite clear evidence that there are real, risk-adjusted returns to be made. The impact investing sector needs to value its own work, and reflect that work in valuations - which in turn will convince other pools of capital that returns can be made. ✅Building companies for this customer segment requires a unique DNA and approach - where technology, data, and branding are approached differently. We need to set up transformational platforms to build blue chip companies that serve this segment effectively. Thank you to my fellow panellists - Geeta Goel from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, India; Sugandhi Matta from abcIMPACT, A Member of Temasek Trust Asset Management, Shilpa Kumar from Omidyar Network India and our moderator Royston Braganza from Grameen Impact Investments India. https://lnkd.in/gvPGkMrn #EPICopportunity #EquityforEquity #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #humancenteredcapital #impinv #ElevarMethod #ImpactInvestment #IIC #Prabhav2024 Many thanks for the team at IIC, in particular Neha Bhatnagar and Ranjna Khanna.

At Impact Investors Council (IIC)’s Prabhav’24, Jyotsna Krishnan spoke at the session on Gender Lens Investing in India, highlighting the importance of removing biases and unlocking the potential of women in both formal and informal sectors. Here are key takeaways from the discussion: ✅Two Dimensions: Gender Lens should be viewed in two dimensions - one that plays out in the formal sector where women are a part of boardrooms, founders, C-Suite of companies  and second in the informal markets where women are a massive part of the economic activity. ✅Challenging unconscious bias to unlock potential: In the formal sector, a true and authentic culture of diversity only develops if there is a constant questioning of historical bias. Businesses need to measure their efforts on gender diversity, against available metrics, like the 2X Challenge. By allowing for biases to be set aside, we can set up women to flourish and unlock their potential. ✅Economic Role of Women in Entrepreneurial Households: Over the last two decades, Elevar has spent time understanding women's aspirations on the ground. A major shift has occurred,  from microfinance to women now leading Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in rural India. These women serve as board members and CEOs of businesses with significant turnover. Women also play a crucial role in household economics across sectors like microfinance, education, agriculture, healthcare, and MSMEs. We must be proactive in understanding their entrepreneurial capacity and the role they play in decision-making. #EquityforEquity #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #humancenteredcapital #GenderLensInvesting #DiversityInInvesting #ImpactInvesting #InclusiveGrowth #IndiaInvestments #GLIOpportunities #Challengingbias

At Impact Investors Council (IIC)'s Prabhav'24, Sandeep Farias spoke at the session on Risk, Return and Impact: The Tripod of Impact Investing. He delved into the multi-trillion dollar EPIC Opportunity and the need to recognize the aspiration and potential of Entrepreneurial Households. Some insights from the discussion: ✅Power of Entrepreneurial Households: Impact investors have not kept pace with our end customer segment. Two decades ago ‘bottom of the pyramid’ was used to describe this segment but today we are talking about their resilience, their aspirations & their wallet share. Investors need to evolve their thinking on this customer segment. ✅Right Value of Impact Investing: Impact investors have not valued their work. The sector needs to give the right valuation to companies and in turn, become momentum investors and tell the world of capital about the impact and returns that can be made. ✅Capital Alignment: The search for aligned capital remains a key challenge in spite of large capital being allocated for impact investing. There exists a fundamental bias against investing in this segment, despite the evidence that there are real, risk-adjusted returns to be made. ✅Multi-trillion Dollar Opportunity: Entrepreneurial Households have multiple sources of income and create massive transactional volume just on core services alone. Based on our 2024 EPIC Opportunity Report, this is a multi-trillion-dollar investment opportunity. ✅A Different Approach to Company Building: Building companies for this customer segment requires a unique DNA, where technology, data, and branding are approached differently to truly serve the needs of the end customer. ✅Transformational Platforms: There is immense potential for transformational platforms to add value to the customer. We now have the technology, capability to get data on the ground, and talent to build blue-chip companies that serve this segment. #EquityforEquity #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #ElevarMethod #humancenteredcapital #InclusiveGrowth #ImpactInvesting #EPICOpportunity #Institutionbuilding

Join us at Prabhav 2024, the Impact Investors Council (IIC)'s biennial flagship conference where Elevar Equity will be sharing insights from two decades of work in impact investing. Jyotsna Krishnan, Managing Partner, Elevar Equity and Co-Founder, Enmasse will talk about themes within Gender Lens Investing (GLI), while highlighting the power and aspiration of women from Entrepreneurial Households. Check below for more details #EquityforEquity #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #humancenteredcapital #GenderLensInvesting #DiversityInInvesting #ImpactInvesting #InclusiveGrowth #GLIOpportunities

Join us at Prabhav 2024, the Impact Investors Council (IIC)'s biennial flagship conference where Elevar Equity will be sharing insights from two decades of work in impact investing. In one panel, Sandeep Farias, Founder & Managing Partner, Elevar Equity and Co-Founder, Enmasse will share his experience and unique perspectives on how we can drive capital to address the needs of Entrepreneurial Households globally. Check below for more details #EquityforEquity #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #ElevarMethod #humancenteredcapital #InclusiveGrowth #ImpactInvesting

The aspirations of hundreds of millions of Entrepreneurial Households (EHs), and the Industrious Communities they form around the world, will drive economic growth and social mobility in the decades to come. The latent potential of this customer segment is evident from our investing journey. In two decades, we have built a customer portfolio of over 50 Mn Entrepreneurial Households and a constantly but carefully expanding enterprise portfolio of ~50 companies. Part of our success is attributed to the missionary zeal with which we have been taking the story of this vibrancy and ambition to the world of capital and businesses that serve this segment. An example of that is The EPIC Stories Contest, Enmasse World's latest partnership with The Better India, an effort to get the real stories of these households straight from the source. See here https://lnkd.in/gqAApKfi for the contest details. The EPIC Stories Contest unearthed inspiring stories of successful small business owners all across India. The stories told in the submissions embodied the aspiration, resilience and growth we have seen in this customer segment. #EPICopportunity #EPICbyEnmasse #EntrepreneurialHouseholds #EquityforEquity