Matrix Partners India has acquired an undisclosed stake for Rs 22 crore in Waterlife India Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad-based water purification company. Founded in 2008, Waterlife is involved in installing and operating mini water purification plants in rural areas, treating water for bacterial and chemical contamination.
Waterlife has installed safe water systems in more than 1,500 villages and urban areas covering more than one million people, according to a company statement. It had raised funding from Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund in 2009 and also from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation earlier this year. The company has been promoted by Sudesh Menon, Mohan Ranbaore and Indranil Das.
Waterlife installs contamination removal units, community water systems, mobile water units, apartment and institutional systems and also implements water supply schemes for communities across the country.
“This capital infusion provides Waterlife the growth capital to expand its scale in the underserved potable water space. We started our work in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, and presently operate in six states to provide potable water solutions. We are now poised to emerge as the leading player in this segment across India,” said Sudesh Menon, managing director of Waterlife India.
Avnish Bajaj, co-founder & managing director of Matrix India, has joined the board of Waterlife. This is the second investment by Matrix in the water space, with both the deals coming this year. In April, Matrix announced Rs 60 crore infusion in Pune-based Chetas Control Systems Pvt Ltd, a provider of turnkey water metering solutions to municipal corporations and water utilities.
Incidentally, there are other water purification companies which are headquartered in the USA but have major operations in India. California-based WaterHealth International, Inc. raised funding from India’s ICICI Bank and Dr Anji Reddy (chairman of Dr Reddy’s Labs), besides Dow Venture Capital and SAIL Venture Partners. HaloSource, which launched its business in India in 2006 in partnership with Mumbai-based Eureka Forbes, has also raised $11.5 million from Origo Sino-India Plc.
