Beam’s FinTech Fund looks set to expand into the Middle East

By Leandra Monteiro

Beams Fintech Fund is India’s first ever dedicated Growth Capital Fintech Fund, investing in companies operating at the intersection of financial services and technology. The platform focuses on creating significant value for its portfolio companies and wants to expand internationally and sees the UAE as well positioned to be the international hub for the rest of the Gulf, North and East African regions.

As one of the largest trading partners, remittance partners and FDI investors in India, the UAE is equipped to provide the necessary capital and infrastructure to support the FinTech companies out of India.

Given the favorable demographic factors, the enabling regulatory framework pushed by the RBI, CEPA and the historical relationship between the two countries, this is the right time for institutions and investors in the region looking to build FinTech portfolios to diversify geographically by evaluate newer opportunities coming out of India.

With a target size of $120 million and a greenshoe option, Beam’s strategy is to invest $15-$20 million in Growth Stages, Series B & C rounds of FinTech companies led by high-quality entrepreneurs. Beams takes a very strong co-investment approach to investing and actively offers co-investment opportunities to its LPs. Beams plans to build a concentrated portfolio of a dozen FinTech companies in a market currently valued at $80B+ and likely to touch $250B+ by 2030. Beams is launched by India’s first and largest integrated incubator, Venture Catalysts, which also has 9Unicorns , a $120 million early-stage sector-agnostic accelerator fund in its stable.

With more than 2.6 million members and a population share of 30%, Indians make up the largest expatriate community in the UAE and become the natural entry point for Beam’s portfolio companies. Middle East Banks, NBFCs and Large Tech Founders can become part of Beam’s ecosystems to support the Middle East Fintech ecosystem.

On the need for a fintech fund, Anuj Golecha, Co-Founder and Partner, Beams said, “The Fintech opportunity is huge in India as it is the only technology segment in India that has created over $80 billion in value in India and $8 billion in M&A. Our return in BharatPe is a testament to the opportunity in Fintech space in India. We have given 90x returns to investors from BharatPe exit which turned Unicorn last year and are creating more Unicorns in this space. We have one of the best Fintech investment teams in India with an excellent track record.”

“The Middle East and especially the UAE plays an important role in India’s tech ecosystem. Middle Eastern investors are not only actively investing in India but also supporting companies’ expansion into the Middle East. ADGM & ADIO have come up with special incentives to encourage Indian companies to enter the Middle East , and we are excited to help build the Fintech ecosystem in the region.” Deepak Ahuja, Fintech Expert Partner, Beams.

With higher adoption of technology and growing interest from banks and financial institutions in the UAE looking to collaborate on technology, product creation and partnership with Fintechs, this would be the right time to bring in models from India. Indian FinTechs can not only offer technology partnerships but also build greater results in the region by acquiring domestic fintech players. They can cooperate by building larger regional platforms, building cost synergies etc