India Knowledge-Manufacturing Fund – I (“IKMF-I”), a fund managed by Forum Synergies, is focused on investments in India.
Analysts are unanimous in considering the small & medium enterprises (SMEs) sector of the Indian economy to be poised for takeoff. Built on strong, talented technical base and low cost structure, the sector is increasingly exploiting the exploding domestic market for its growth. The downturn in late ‘90s and early 2000s compelled the Indian SMEs to restructure and radically improve their competitiveness. Today’s SMEs stand at the cusp of explosive growth. They need business leadership and operating expertise, besides of course global networks and capital, to realise this growth potential.
IKMF-I targets investments primarily in unlisted SMEs in growth and expansion phase. The focus is on identifying businesses with strength to grow to global scale and competitiveness, mainly in four verticals viz., -
• Engineering
• Healthcare
• Clean Technology
• Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
Knowledge-Manufacturing refers to business strategies which do not typically rely on cost or labour arbitrage alone for their competitiveness but display an ability to use technology or processes in innovative ways to create a differentiation and a competitive edge for themselves.
Thus, the investment focus of IKMF-I on unlisted SMEs, makes it the ideal vehicle for investors to leverage the emergent opportunity in the SME segment in India and generate exceptional returns over a period which coincides with Indian businesses arriving on the world stage.