Lodha Group launches real estate startup investment fund

January 4, 2017

Mumbai, January 04, 2017: Lodha Group, India's largest real estate developer, today announced launch of its maiden investment fund 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.

Lodha Group's Startup Investment Fund will invest in startups at all stages of the development cycle, including early stage startups, 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, Abhishek Lodha, Managing Director, Lodha Group said, "Our fund's philosophy is in line with Hon'ble Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi's three core campaigns - Startup India, Housing for All and Demonetization. Real estate sector is unarguably an important sector for India's economy being the 2nd largest employer in the country after agriculture. As India ushers in a new era on the back of pathbreaking policy changes such as demonetization, RERA and GST, the sector too will reap its benefits in the long run. Demonetization and decline in interest rates alongside the government's new incentives for low cost housing will boost the overall growth of the real estate sector.

To aid this progress, our fund will address the prevailing inefficiencies in the sector with the use of technology and smart solutions. Being the largest developer in the country, we have a deep knowledge of the sector and the inefficiencies affecting this growth - we will be able to combine this knowledge with the energy and technical know how of startups to find pathbreaking solutions enabling India's real estate industry to leap frog ahead and become globally benchmark-able in its innovation and practices. 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. With the launch of the Startup Investment Fund, the company will bring significant expertise, knowledge and resources for the technology led solution providers which aim to serve the smart city and real estate space and enable the real estate sector to contribute in a bigger manner to our nation's employment and economic growth.

Lodha Group has been at the forefront of delivering best-in-class products and unparalleled experiences to its consumers across its developments. The company has always challenged the status quo and innovated to get to its leadership position in India's real estate sector. From the world's tallest residential tower - World One to the world's largest (non govt.) greenfield smart city development - Palava, it has pioneered use of technology and futuristic solutions to bring quality, branded housing in India.

About Lodha Group:

Established in 1980, privately held Lodha Group is India's leading real estate developer and amongst the world's select multinational real estate developers with presence in India and the United Kingdom. The company is the largest in India by sales for four consecutive years, having clocked over INR 6,400 Cr of net news sales for FY 15-16. The company is currently developing around 4.1 crore sq. ft. of prime residential real estate globally with the largest land reserves in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region 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.

Lodha Group has several landmark developments to its credit including World One, Mumbai, the world's tallest residential tower, and has brought some of the top global names including Armani/Casa, Trump, Philippe Starck, Jade Jagger, Greg Norman and Pei Cobb Freed to India. In 2013, the Group has extended its international footprint with the acquisition of the landmark MacDonald House at 1 Grosvenor Square in Prime Central London from the Canadian Government for a consideration of over GBP 300 million (INR 3,100 Cr). Lodha Developers is one of the largest corporate entities in Mumbai and one of the largest employers in the MMR, with over 3,800 direct associates and over 25,000 workmen at its sites. The group is committed to investing two per cent of its profits towards corporate social responsibility, focused primarily on education as a transformative tool. With offices in London, Dubai and Shanghai and planned openings in the USA and Singapore, Lodha Group is on the road to substantial international presence.

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