Lodha Group launches investment fund for realty startups

Realty firm Lodha Group today launched its maiden investment fund, with an initial corpus of Rs 50 crore, for startups focused on smart city solutions and overall real estate sector.
"With an initial investment corpus of Rs. 50 crores, the company will not only provide angel funding or venture capital, but also business opportunities, industry contacts and mentorship," Mumbai-based developer said in a statement.
Lodha Group's investment fund will invest in startups at all stages of the development cycle, including early stage entrepreneurs, which are focused on creating value in the real estate and smart city space in India.
Within real estate, the company will look at all aspects of the value chain, right from digital marketing to analytics and from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to smart city services.

Lodha Group will make all possible resources accessible to the startups, essential for their success as long as the ideas and founders resonate with the company's philosophy and values.
Launching the startup fund, Lodha Group MD Abhishek Lodha said: "Our fund will address the prevailing inefficiencies in the sector with the use of technology and smart solutions."
"We have been working in a focused manner to establish this platform over the last few months. 2-3 business ideas have been already vetted and the first round of investments will be completed by March 2017," he added.
The company had achieved Rs 6,400 crore of net new sales for FY 2015-16. It is currently developing around 4.1 crore sq ft of prime residential real estate and has 31 ongoing projects across London, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Hyderabad. In FY 2015-16, Lodha Group delivered 6,800 units across projects.