The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India announced that they have signed an agreement for ADB to invest up to US$ 100 million into the NIIF Fund of Funds. ADB’s investment will support the growth of India’s private sector by helping the country’s maturing private equity industry to efficiently raise capital from international and domestic institutions.

ADB joins the Government of India and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as investors in NIIF Fund of Funds, which has now secured US$ 700 million in commitments. ADB’s investment is expected to help attract new investors to NIIF Fund of Funds and enable it to reach its US$ 1 billion target size.

ADB’s investment contributes to the fund of funds component of the strategic NIIF initiative by the Government of India. NIIF currently manages over US$ 4 billion of capital commitments across three funds, each with its distinct investment strategy. NIIF’s direct funds are focused on large investments in infrastructure and associated sectors.

NIIF Fund of Funds was established in 2018 and invests in private equity funds managed by India-focused fund managers, with a focus on smaller and medium-sized enterprises that require growth equity to further scale up their businesses. So far, it has made commitments to three private equity funds aggregating more than US$ 350 million, which invest across several segments including green infrastructure, middle-income, and affordable housing, and entrepreneur-driven middle-market growth companies operating across diversified sectors. The managers of the three funds have been able to raise an additional US$ 1.1 billion alongside NIIF’s investments, demonstrating NIIF’s ability to crowd-in capital alongside its own investments.