finews.com met the two founders of RootBridge, Ajay P. Singh and Nayan Srivastava, in Zurich. The occasion was the free trade agreement between Switzerland and India, which comes into force on October 1.

Although the treaty has no immediate «investment angle,» the two emphasize, Singh notes: «We do expect a stimulating effect, including for our activities.»

Private and Public Markets

RootBridge recently launched the Diversified India Growth Fund – a Luxembourg-domiciled evergreen vehicle. It invests 47.5 percent each in private and publicly listed Indian companies, with a clear focus on PIPE transactions (Private Investment in Public Equity).

«In India, even listed firms are often controlled by anchor shareholders, and with our investments we are able to join them at the table,» Srivastava explains.

Echoes of the Mittelstand

The cultural backdrop is reminiscent of the Swiss and German Mittelstand: «We usually invest with our own capital. That’s precisely why we are accepted by Indian entrepreneurs as peers.»

The private equity fund is structured as a semi-liquid product with quarterly redemption windows.

Starting Target: 100 Million

The initial target is 100 million francs by the end of 2025, of which about half has already been raised. As an evergreen fund, the volume is expected to grow to one billion over the coming years.

Investments can also be counted toward the new free trade agreement, under which the EFTA states and the U.S. have pledged to invest $50 billion in India over the next decade.

Indian Growth, Swiss Discipline

The fund is aimed at wealth managers, family offices, and qualified private investors – initially in Switzerland, and potentially across Europe later on.

The founders’ biographies read like a bridge between India and Europe. Both grew up in Germany, after their parents emigrated from India in the 1960s, following the technology wave of the time and escaping the rigid caste-related marriage rules of the era.

Longstanding Experience

Singh, who holds a doctorate in theoretical physics, worked at McKinsey and in technology consulting. He now serves as the Indian Chamber of Commerce’s chief representative in Germany.

Srivastava, the Chamber’s chief representative in Switzerland, began his career as a sales analyst in UBS’s investment bank in London before co-founding Praefinium with Singh in 2009. That firm, seen as a predecessor to their new fund, invested for years in small and mid-sized companies with a focus on India.

Urbanization as the Investment Thesis

«Capturing the rising demand curve of India’s urbanization and formalization» is how the founders describe their core investment thesis. India is the youngest of the world’s major economies, digitally connected, with hundreds of millions of new consumers. Their focus is on consumer goods, retail, food & beverage, IT, fintech, industry, and mobility.

The fund targets net annual returns of 16 to 18.5 percent – ambitious, but not unrealistic, Singh says.

UBS Also in India Mode

The fact that UBS Asset Management is also about to launch an India ETF in Switzerland is welcomed by the pair: «Anything that helps highlight India’s opportunities is good news for us.» So far, India has hardly been on the radar for Swiss investors. «Yet it is easier to invest in than China,» Srivastava adds.

With RootBridge, Singh and Srivastava aim to build a bridge – between global capital and India’s growth story, between family-driven ownership structures and Swiss private equity discipline.