Five post-graduate programme (PGP) students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) have set up a Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) club to help students get hands-on experience by involving PE/VC players from India and abroad. Unlike finance clubs run by most B-schools in the country, this club exclusively focuses on PE and VC funding.

The lack of opportunities and experience in the PE and VC space led five students to set up the club called ‘Leverage’. With around 50 students interested in being members, the club will be a forum for students interested in all aspects of private equity and venture capital.

“We came up with an initial skeletal structure of the PE club by looking at institutes like Harvard and others from the Ivy League. But the end product has been entirely our idea of how a PE club should be. Although we prefer to call it an interest group for the time being, we plan to run a full-fledged club with more activities soon,” says Anirudh Singh, a member of the club.

“PE as an industry has boomed in India and we plan to invite speakers to the campus, hold conclaves, workshops and other events to provide a platform for the students and corporates to interact. Also, we are looking forward to hold intra-institute events, where the students can write an investment proposal and a panel of faculty members can judge them.

We have no restrictions when it comes to corporates as we would be involving both top- and middle-level players to encourage more and more activities in the field of PE and VC,” says Gagandeep Singh, another member of the club.

As part of formalising the club, the students are holding the first intra-institute event called the ‘Zen of Investing’, where the club plans to invite alumni working in the area of private equity, besides involving the faculty and students for the activity.

The club also has plans to tie-up with Post-Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) students to getter a better perspective of private equity. “The PGPX students would be able to share their experiences about private equity and with their support, we plan to involve ourselves with the corporates in a deeper way through various activities, including projects and case workshops,” adds Anirudh Singh.

The club is in talks with a few corporates, who have shown interest in sponsoring the club.

“We are considering more options for funding besides the institute and the corporates we are in talks with. Currently, we are in the stage of gauging the responses from the people about the club,” says Anirudh Singh, before adding, “Although we have started out PE and VC, we may consider branching out to other areas like micro finance later.”

More : business-standard.com

Satish Mandhana has IDFC Private Equity (IDFC PE) as Executive Vice President, the company said in a release here today.

Piror to Mandhana worked as Chief Financial Officer at JK Paper.

From an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University and a bachelor of Industrial Engineering of the IIT, Roorkee, Mandhana has more than 24 years exeprience in the field of financial services.

In the world this exchange could coexist with the primary market. The Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London, is such an example, along with many others in countries such as Mexico, China, Brazil and South Africa. Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) indicates a separate exchange is very urgent, in compliance with similar formats in other countries. “It has not yet a priority. We have a lot of small businesses, and only a few small and medium enterprises in India. You scaling up or they die.”

But the idea has its own share of critics, who believe that such an initiative is to disrupt the current evolution model of financing by venture capital (VC), followed by private equity and then to an IPO . “A methodology separate stock market for SMEs, there is in London, but it may not be good for India, because there are many points which lies between the two economies. I think that SMEs can be found on the main stock market, because it would result in faster PEs By liquidity, “said an officer of ICICI Securities.

K Rangarajan, head of the Centre for SMEs-study at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) propose, with branches in the banking system of the whole country for SMEs-reserve, where trade, banks can create “Trade tables -” in some branches of banks. “That underlines the need for the creation of a specific route mediator and is also assisting in the review of SMEs, before they are approaching, fund market, “he says.

In the meantime, the company could PE the best bet for most developers of small businesses learn quickly, the strings of financial prudence and corporate governance. It depends, of course, from the extent to which firms PE, in the activity of the business, its participation in society.

While some have a strict hands-off approach, while others have been instrumental in achieving a change in small businesses. More often, the hand must PEs flagship Top management of the transition from strict control of the family business in a professional organization, the period of leave.

And the change management process, it can be very difficult. “The mentality of the separation of property is the biggest challenge that we have to say,” Avigo Capital Partners Investment Manager Vinay Chauhan. Gabrani But, which were clearly learnings is worth it: “Our experience with private equity helped us in preparing for the IPO (initial public offering), “he says.

SMEs in certain sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automotive, and software are identified, they are probably willing than others, for an audience of the list, either globally because they are an integral part of alliances or global supply chains, to the point of forcing their information and transparency of reporting systems and efficient manner. It can be thousands of other small businesses, with the potential, in a quandary let rest. One way to mid-May, is the only solution, says that Balasubramanian. “Transparency does not come one day,” he says. “Therefore, the regulation should not be in the path of growth - should facilitate growth.”