Sequoia India’s Rajan Anandan to head Indian Venture & Alternate Capital Association as VC Council

The Indian Venture & Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), an industry body for alternative assets, introduced a new VC Council for 2022-24. The council will be chaired by Rajan Anandan, managing director, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia and Surge. Rahul Khanna, co-founder and managing partner of Trifecta Capital will co-chair this council. 

The eight members constituting the new VC council also include Manish Khetarpal, founder of WaterBridge Ventures, Priyanka Chopra, COO of Bharat Innovation Fund, Ruchi Khajanchi, chief financial officer of A91 Partners, Sehraj Singh, managing director, Prosus India, Anil Joshi, managing partner of Unicorn India Ventures and Sameer Brij Verma, managing director of Nexus Venture Partners. 

The council envisages to engage more than 120 VC Member Funds of IVCA and engage with other domestic and global funds at large to work on important industry initiatives and issues.

The formation of this council is one of the initiatives IVCA has undertaken to strengthen governance practices for venture capital (VC) companies and start-ups while continuing working with the government and its various agencies to improve the environment for venture capital in India. 

The council functions as a permanent sub-committee under the aegis of IVCA Executive Committee. The new VC Council aims to continue driving government engagement by advocating for policies that encourage innovation which contributes to capital creation, nation building and knowledge dissemination. 

These elements work in tandem to offer governance and advocacy support to strengthen the ecosystem by supporting young and first-time fund managers - all the while working with a gender agnostic approach to further the cause of diversity and inclusion in the Indian VC community. 

“The startup ecosystem and the venture capital industry in India are entering a new phase. India is already the third largest startup ecosystem in the world and has become a preferred destination for investors from around the world. Our mandate as the VC council is to ensure that we continue to build on these strong foundations while addressing a range of areas such as attracting more domestic capital, improving governance, and encouraging new funds in emerging sectors. As we do this, we look forward to collaborating with all VC in the industry and our progressive policy makers in the government to take our ecosystem to new heights,” said Anandan. 

The previous VC Council led delegations for virtual meetings with government entities such as the Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), among others. 

The new VC Council will organise platforms for engagement for VCs with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce & Industries, DPIIT and other policy leads on issues that boost more capital induction into startups and VC funds as well as fast track  exits by enabling ease of doing business for the VC industry.

“The supply of capital from venture investors as well as the continued improvement on the policy and regulatory front have helped boost India's start-up ecosystem. My aim in the new role will be to support the maturing of this asset class by providing access to best practices in capital formation, portfolio management, governance and reporting. This should particularly benefit my peers in the venture capital community especially, the emerging local managers who are helping fund growth and innovation in the Indian economy,” added Khanna.