Carbon credit advisory firm Emergent Ventures India raises private equity finance from IDFC

07 April 2008

Carbon credit advisory firm Emergent Ventures India Pvt. Ltd (EVI) has raised Rs40 crore from IDFC Private Equity Fund II managed by IDFC Private Equity (IDFC PE).

IDFC PE's investment will be drawn on to enhance EVI's existing businesses in South and Southeast Asia and to build the company's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities as well as innovative financing backed by carbon credits.

EVI has 21 successfully registered projects and 33 million carbon credits under management and has significant expertise in the field of renewable power generation assets. The company is a pioneer in the Indian carbon market and is among the few that provide CDM solutions across the value chain, ranging from identifying project opportunities, structuring financial solutions including project investments, turnkey solutions for development and construction of the projects, CDM registration and the verification and sale of generated carbon credits.

EVI plans to use the funding to provide project developers with integrated financial and technical support to complete projects in time, with the right technology and with competitive and assured cost levels. EVI will seek to leverage its leadership in the carbon credit financing space to enhance overall project returns.

Vinod Kala, EVI's founder and chief executive, speaking on the occasion of this landmark transaction, said, ''With IDFC PE's support, we will be able to rapidly scale up our business and build a leading global business around the theme of sustainable solutions for the environment.''

IDFC PE has been raising its focus on environment friendly infrastructure solutions.  In November 2007, it led a consortium of reputed international investors including GIC Special Investments and CDC Group plc, to invest $100 million in PV Technologies India Ltd., the solar cell manufacturing arm of Moser Baer, the world's second largest manufacturer of optical storage media.