Alibaba’s Jack Ma teams with Ganesh Ventures for Indian start-up action
Alibaba’s Jack Ma is partnering with Chinese venture capital company Ganesh Ventures as they hunt for start-up action in India.
“We want to engage not just at the early stage but also at the growth stage”
Ganesh Ventures – a $250 million fund – has made its first close of $30 million thanks to Ma’s new $600 million eWTP Ecosystem Fund and Hong Kong-based Landmark Capital.
The ambition, like many other firms around the world, is for Ganesh Ventures to find suitable start-ups over the next three to five years.
Jessica Wong, managing partner of Ganesh Ventures, says: “We want to engage not just at the early stage but also at the growth stage. We’ve been testing the waters in India for some time and have gained a valuable understanding of the market.”
It is not limited to fintech only. Other areas of interest include health tech, media and consumer products.
Ganesh Ventures will set up offices in Gurugram, Bengaluru, Hong Kong and Beijing and intends to finalise half a dozen deals this year.
Alibaba has shown plenty of interest in India before.
Back in April, SoftBank and Alibaba revealed they were investing $445 million in Paytm E-Commerce.
