Hyderabad-based Caspian Debt to double its healthcare portfolio
The healthcare industry continues to be a major contributor to the portfolio and impact thesis of Caspian Debt. Our portfolio firms in the healthcare sector span the preventive and curative range, with an emphasis on eyecare, dentalcare, kidney, and diagnosis.
Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based Caspian Debt, a provider of debt funding to startups and social enterprises, has provided loans of over Rs 2,000 crore to 160 companies across verticals including healthcare. It has so far provided loans worth Rs 90 crore to 16 healthcare companies across India and is keen to double its exposure this year.
Emphasising on the company’s healthcare focus, Avishek Gupta, investment director, Caspian Debt, told Telangana Today, “The healthcare industry continues to be a major contributor to the portfolio and impact thesis of Caspian Debt. Our portfolio firms in the healthcare sector span the preventive and curative range, with an emphasis on eyecare, dentalcare, kidney, and diagnosis. As companies pivot their goods and business strategies in the fight against Covid, the healthcare industry will continue to be a focal point for next year.”
“We would continue to support enterprises working towards improvement in the accessibility of quality preventive and curative healthcare through innovations in teleconsultation & point-of-care diagnostics, and infrastructure expansion in Tier Y and Z geography. We are looking forward to piloting blended finance to enterprises innovating products and services in response to pandemic,” he added.
When asked if Caspian Debt will create a dedicated healthcare fund, he said, “We will continue to support the healthcare sector through our available pools of capital. In the future if some investors are interested in partnering with us to create a dedicated fund for health care, we are open to creating one. Not having a dedicated fund will not come in the way of our investing in healthcare and we aim to double our exposure in the sector to respond to the critical need which has emerged.”
Fresh investments
Pandemic has driven demand for companies such as Pluss Advanced Technologies, which manufactures material used in vaccine delivery, and Collateral Medical (ColMed), a medical device marketing and distribution company. These companies faced an urgent need for loans to expand their Covid-19 related services. When Pluss partnered with Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to deliver vaccines, Caspian Debt sanctioned a loan of Rs 7 crore to support working capital needs.
ColMed faced demand for oxygen cylinders and concentrators during the second wave of the pandemic, requiring more working capital. Caspian Debt sanctioned a new funding line of Rs 2 crore and collaborated with the US Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported Samridh Healthcare Blended Finance Facility, which made an additional Rs 1 crore available. ColMed was able to import 7,000 oxygen concentrators and make them available for people in need.
Gupta added, Caspian Debt and Samridh will jointly support the expansion of healthcare solutions focused on health infrastructure, supply chain management for Covid-19 medicines and vaccines, training for healthcare workers, and other community-based activities to address the Covid-19 pandemic.
