Stride Ventures raises $300 million across its three funds in India, GCC and UK; targets $600 million final close
Mumbai: Stride Ventures has launched three funds in India, Gulf Cooperation Council and the UK and raised $300 million in the last six months to be deployed in their respective regions, senior executives of the venture debt platform said.
Apoorva Sharma, managing partner at Stride Ventures, said: “These regions have been chosen deliberately: India remains our home base and the benchmark for enterprise and growth lending. The Gulf Cooperation Council represents a rapidly maturing ecosystem with strong policy support, and the UK serves as a strategic gateway to Europe’s innovation and financial centres.” Mint.
The GCC is an alliance formed by the Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
The funds, launched around April, have a collective goal of almost $600 million. However, Stride did not provide any details. The company said each fund will operate under local regulatory frameworks and follow deal structures appropriate to their ecosystem. Investors in the funds include government funds, banks, insurance companies, treasury and asset managers, but Stride did not disclose any names.
“Our mission has always been to empower entrepreneurs to build boldly and sustainably, based on trust and collaboration. Today, the same approach developed in India finds global resonance, now reflected in the sovereign and corporate partnerships that support our platform across borders,” said Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, founder and managing partner of Stride Ventures.
With the entry into the GCC and Europe, Stride aims to offer local expertise, support cross-border portfolio expansion and unlock growth pathways for Indian and overseas entrepreneurs building for global markets.
“What has changed in global capital is not our focus but our flexibility. We now have the capacity to support cross-border businesses with multi-currency structures across INR, GBP and USD. This positions us to serve companies built across borders,” explained Sharma.
local participation
Sharma added that Stride has local teams collaborating with policymakers, regulators and capital market ecosystems of these regions to strengthen its expansion plans.
Over the years, Stride has met the growing needs of startups seeking one-stop debt solutions that simplify funding and financial packages.
It has supported 200 startups across consumer, fintech, agritech, B2B commerce, healthtech, B2B SaaS, mobility and energy solutions in India. Portfolio companies include BlueStone, Moneyview, Moove, Foxtale, CureSkin, NewMe, Nat Habit and AgroStar.
Stride closed its third India venture debt fund in 2024 at $165 million. Its other two funds were $50 million (raised in 2019) and $200 million (2021). Stride said growing fund size allows the firm to write bigger checks and support later-stage companies and platforms with more structured and scalable solutions.
