Verlinvest, the Belgian investment firm known for its consumer-sector bets in India, has appointed Amit Aggarwal to lead its early-growth investing efforts in the country as it sharpens its focus on this segment.
“Aggarwal’s expertise in consumer brands, especially consumer tech, will play a key role in helping us on our journey to the goal of a $200 million (Rs 1,785.2 crore) average annual deployment in India’s fast-growing consumer market,” Arjun Anand, managing director and head of Asia at Verlinvest, said in a release. He added that the firm is deepening its focus on early-growth investments in the $5-20 million range.
Verlinvest’s venture capital arm, V3 Ventures, continues to invest in nascent consumer-led early-stage ventures.
Aggarwal joins as partner, early growth, Asia, from Elevation Capital, where he served as principal for four-and-a-half years, evaluating early-stage consumer technology companies. At Elevation, he led investments in emerging Indian startups, including digital travel platform Atlys, online education firm Seekho, and renewable energy company SolarSquare.
He started his career as a manager at Bain Capital, where he spent about six years. This was followed by a two-year stint at Hero Group’s technology space venture Hero Electronix. Aggarwal has also spent roughly a year at Meta, helping the company strategize India growth and operations.
Verlinvest manages over €2 billion (around Rs 20,384 crore) in assets and has been investing in India since 2010. It counts mattress and furniture brand Wakefit, coffee chain Blue Tokai, yogurt brand Epigamia, beverage maker Lahori Zeera, spreads and dressing company Veeba, beauty and personal care brand Purplle, and Sula Wines in its portfolio.
Anand had earlier told VCCircle in an interview that the firm intends to double its annual deployment in India to €200 million over the next two-three years.
Verlinvest aims to make 10-15 investments annually across early-growth and growth stages in India, the statement added.
