IMPACTASSETS 50™

An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

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An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

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ImpactAssets 50: A Global Landscape of Impact Investment Fund Managers
The ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50) is the first open-source, publicly published database of experienced private debt and equity impact investment fund managers.
https://www.impactassets.org/impactassets-50

ImpactAssets 50

An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

IA 50 2024 PROFILE

cKers Finance Pvt Ltd

Total Assets Under Management: Less than $25M
Asset Class: Private Debt - Absolute Return / Notes
Primary UN Sustainable Development Goal: 7 – Affordable & Clean Energy
Climate Change
Workforce Development, Upskilling and Retraining

Firm Overview

Category: Private Debt - Financial Inclusion (Microfinance, SME Finance and/or CDFIs - Emerging Markets)

cKers (pronounced ‘seekers’) Finance is a specialized Sustainability finance company that operates in the rapidly growing segments around clean energy and resource efficiency in India.  This includes segments such as rooftop solar, electric vehicles, storage, solar pumps, energy efficiency, etc. Launched in 2017, it is emerging as an aggregation platform of choice, that can help investors deploy climate/ ESG capital into sustainability ventures. cKers is backed by cKinetics and Infuse Ventures. It has also raised capital from California Clean Energy Fund; and received support (partial guarantee) from the US International Development Finance Company (DFC).  cKers was an IA50 Emerging Impact Managers in 2022. See a summary video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBNmezzCpdA

Firm Headquarters: Asia & Oceania
Years of Operation: 5 – 9 years
Total Assets Under Management:
Less than $25M
Total Number of Investors: Between 5 – 25
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: 50% – 99%
Investment Thesis:

We extend credit to growing micro, small and medium enterprises, in underpenetrated Sustainability segments, and help them build their credit so as to attract larger capital flows.

Investment Overview:

cKers Finance is an early entrant in MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) led segments that are leading the Sustainable Energy Transition and Sustainable Mobility Transition. The first part of the thesis is to make ourselves invaluable to the MSMEs. We build data around risk metrics and help MSMEs build track records; and bring in mainstream investors into these ventures. As this happens, cKers will continue to build its expertise as a specialized sustainability financier, and hence more borrowers seek loans from cKers The second part of the thesis is that Capital providers looking at the Sustainable Energy space seek to invest through (or with) cKers and correspondingly, cKers attracts more capital.  

Company Differentiator:

Our key differentiators: 1. Our positioning: We are exclusively focused on the Sustainability transition 2. Origination: We are an early entrant in this domain and make it a point to know all the key players and channels in the market 3. Specialized analysts: Our team speaks the language of the borrrowers- enabling rapid underwriting 4. Digital-first intellectual property: Use data and learnings extensively to develop toolkits and underwriting/ risk frameworks (B2B and B2C)

Investment Example

We have several illustrations on the first part of the thesis. One of our early borrowers was SunSource: an emerging solar EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) company, desirous of growing into a solar developer. cKers provided an initial line of $200K around Sep 2017 to help the company build its initial solar assets. By March 2018, we understood the sector/ company better and our credit grew to nearly $700K. On the back of the track record to rapidly roll out rooftop solar assets, SunSource raised $4m in equity.  Subsequently, in 2018 we enabled $2m of debt from a boutique lender.  By end 2019, we refinanced the loan with a mainstream bank. We have built risk frameworks in Sustainability segments that are accepted by other financiers. We are now working on the second part of the thesis - attract capital providers into our platform (where ImpactAssets can play a role!) 

Leadership and Team

Cumulative Leadership Experience in Impact Investing:
30 years or more
Cumulative Impact Experience of Top Three Firm Leaders:
30 years or more
Jayant Prasad – Executive Director More Info

Banker with over 20 years of experience in Corporate Banking, Rural and Agri-lending with ICICI Bank; having led several new initiatives (in India and internationally) during his tenure.
Pawan Mehra – Director and CIO More Info

20 years of experience working at the intersection of capital and new ventures – first as a venture capitalist in India and Silicon Valley and then an entrepreneur who has founded & built successful organizations.
Deepak Gupta – Head New Markets More Info

Seasoned banker who has built new segments across India and in Canada with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. Start-up enthusiast seeking to bring capital into emerging sectors and catalyze their growth.

Financial Performance

Target Financial Returns Relative to Benchmark:
Market Rates
Actual Performance of Impact Products/Funds Relative to Target Financial Returns in the Past Three Years:
Over-delivered compared to initial target returns
Financial Reporting Frequency to Investors or Donors
Quarterly

Impact Performance

Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments:
100%
Primary Impact Outcomes:
Addressing climate change and environmental issues
Secondary Impact Outcomes:
Creating jobs
Increasing access to financial services
Value-added Services Offered:
Access to markets
Other: Access to insurance, battery warranty and other ecosystem for our cargo electric vehicle borrowers

Investments systematically target companies where social and/or environmental impact is integral to the product/service being created:

We only invest in companies that are working on the sustainability transition exclusively. Correspondingly we get to track new capacity created, GHG mitigated, employment created, etc.

Impact Tracking and Monitoring

Impact is Tracked:
Yes
Impact Verified by an Independent Third-Party:
No
Social and/or Environmental Impact is Reported to Investors and Donors:
Yes – to the public
Third Party Validations:
GIIRS-rated fund
B-Corp certified firm
Participant in Global Reporting Initiative
Signatory of the United Principles for Responsible Investing
Member of Impact Capital Managers
Impact Frontiers Cohort Participant
Implement recommendations from Task Force on Climate Related-Financial Disclosure
Net Zero Assets Managers Initiative
Utilizes standardized impact metrics (e.g. IRIS+, GIIRS, etc.)
Listed on ImpactBase
Participant on steering committees or leadership roles within impact industry associations
Publisher or contributor to industry white paper or other research in impact investing
Participant in the Impact Management Project
Signatory of the Operating Principles for Impact Management

Learn More

Key Contact Name: Pawan Mehra
Phone: 650-207-0880
Website: https://ckersfinance.in/
Mailing Address:

Building No. 24-30, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase 3, New Delhi-110020, India

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