Mumbai: Continuing its vision to create, build, and nurture 1,000 startup investments by 2025, Venture Catalysts – India’s first, largest, and pioneering integrated incubator and accelerator platform – has partnered with Sapient Wealth. The strategic association marks the first corporate venture partnership agreement signed by Venture Catalysts. This latest move is a leap forward towards its larger mission to create 10,000 angel investors across 100 start-up cities in the country and make start-up investments as a viable and accessible asset class for investors.

Sapient Wealth shall now be able to provide opportunities in this asset class of start-up investments to its clients through Venture Catalysts.

Speaking on this association, Mr. Paresh Kariya, Director – Sapient Wealth, said, “As an emerging asset class, start-up investing is finding increased acceptance and allocation in the investment portfolios of HNIs and family offices. This asset class is increasingly being recognized for higher returns by fostering innovative businesses with unique and disruptive ideas. We have been investing in startups since about 10 years, and have experienced multiple exits between 3.5x and 19x. With the integrated & vibrant start-up ecosystem of Venture Catalysts, and their strong deal flow, we are confident that our select investors shall invest, create and benefit with a portfolio in this asset class.”

Sapient Wealth has given due importance to Start-up investing by dedicating a team led by Mr. K. K. Ram, Vice President-Venture Investments. On this association,  Mr. K K Ram said, “We, at Sapient Wealth, are truly excited with Venture Catalysts’ curated start-ups that enable systematic execution of  diversified high-return investment strategies. As we engage with Venture Catalysts, we are continuingly being impressed with the deal flow of exciting start-ups and the vibrant team of Venture Catalysts that is enabling the same. Such vibrant ecosystem is highly desirable by investors, and is essential for building a sizable portfolio of startup investments. We believe that Venture Catalysts would be the right enabler for our clients, and look forward to selective investments, collaborative growth, and remunerative exits for our startup investors.”

Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder & President – Venture Catalysts, added, “At Venture Catalysts, our goal is to create the maximum entrepreneurial value by providing end-to-end support to both start-ups and investors. Our association with Sapient Wealth, one of the leading players in its domain in India, as a corporate venture partner is in line with this vision. The partnership will enable us to provide our investees with greater exposure to established corporate organisations as investors and mentors, thus accelerating their growth. Corporate investors, on the other hand, get access to handpicked, high-potential start-up deals from across the country. Through this partnership, we are confident that we can establish start-up investments as a viable and lucrative asset class for established corporate entities and maximum the entrepreneurial value created across the board.”