Jun 20, 2013

BY  Bhawna Gupta Earlier in 2009, Aavishkaar Venture Fund invested $0.9 million in Pune-based Saraplast. Saraplast Pvt Ltd, a manufacturer of sanitary facilities and a provider of sanitation services and liquid waste management, has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from responsAbility, an asset manager which invests in developing markets. Pune-based Saraplast operates under the brand 3S Shramik. Besides manufacturing, it also services/cleans portable & other public restrooms for un-served settlements, slums and other such areas in India. The company leases out portable facilities as well and provides onsite cleaning and waste evacuation services on a daily basis through its automated network of cleaning trucks. Saraplast proposes to have an inclusive growth, offering a pay-and-use model and also working to rope in schools to improve their sanitation facilities. It has a no-human-touch approach in cleaning and servicing sanitation facilities. 3S or Shramik Sanitation Systems was founded in 1999 and pitches itself as a social enterprise. The investment will help the company increase its footprint. Ourea Capital Advisors was the exclusive advisor to the firm for the transaction. In May 2009, Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund, a fund managed by Aavishkaar Venture Management Services, invested $0.9 million in Saraplast for 21 per cent stake. responsAbility is an independent asset manager, specialising in development-related sectors of emerging economies such as finance, agriculture, health, education and energy. Founded in 2003, responsAbility currently has AUM of $ 1.4 billion, invested in 400-plus companies in around 80 countries. This is the second investment by responsAbility in India. Last year, it put in $1.2 million in the BPO service provider DesiCrew Solution Pvt Ltd, along with Ventureast Tenet Fund II, the fund managed by Ventureast Fund Advisors India Ltd. (Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal) ResponsAbility India Business Advisors Pvt. Ltd. (responsAbility Social Investments) ResponsAbility Ventures is a venture capital firm with more than $ 1 billion assets under management. It provides growth capital to small and medium-sized enterprises. It typically invests between $0.5 million to $2.0 million in its portfolio companies. The firm also provides debt financing ranging from $0.2 million and $1.5 million in its portfolio companies. The firm is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland with additional offices in India, France, Peru, and Kenya. Head office: