India Progress Fund II (IPF II)

The core challenge that IPF II addresses is the shortfall of growth-stage capital for impact-driven enterprises in India, particularly in the inclusive financial services and agri-food sectors. These sectors are vital for social and economic development but remain underserved by mainstream investors due to perceived risks, limited scalability, and fragmented ecosystems. Despite their potential to deliver measurable impact - such as financial inclusion and rural transformation - many of these businesses struggle to secure the patient, strategic capital needed to scale. IPF II responds to this challenge by offering tailored investments and sector expertise, helping bridge the gap between promising impact models and sustainable growth.

IPF II offers a targeted solution to India’s impact capital gap by deploying strategic investments through three core lenses - Climate, Tech Enablement, and Gender - to achieve outcomes in resilience, capacity building, and inclusion. The fund provides early growth to mid-expansion capital to entrepreneur-led businesses in financial services and agri-food, focusing on scalable models that serve underserved populations. By backing companies with strong operational experience and measurable social performance, IPF II enables innovations such as climate-smart agriculture, digital financial inclusion, and gender-equitable workplace practices. This approach not only drives sustainable development but also aligns with global impact standards and investor expectations for both financial returns and social outcomes.

IPF II is yet to be launched, but its predecessor IPF I has made 9 high impact deployments. IPF I has reached over 282,000 underserved borrowers (92% rural, 50% new to credit), positively impacted 2.4 million farmers and 226,000 SMEs, and its investees have disbursed EUR 254 million in loans - mainly in rural India. The fund has enabled 5.9 million acres of sustainable cultivation, avoided 96,000+ MT of food waste, saved 13.5 billion liters of water, and prevented 160,000+ MT of carbon emissions. Gender inclusion is strong, with 60% women borrowers and two women-led portfolio companies. IPF I has also created over 11,600 direct jobs and 280,000 indirect jobs, while supporting climate resilience, financial inclusion, and sustainable agri-food practices across India.