
SEBI-encouraged funds — venture capital, SME, social-impact and infrastructure. Close-ended, generally unleveraged.
Menterra Social Impact Fund (also known as Menterra Social Impact Fund I) is a SEBI-registered Category I Alternative Investment Fund – Social Venture Fund (IN/AIF1/15-16/0187), registered on November 20, 2015, and managed by Menterra Venture Advisors. The fund is headquartered at 602, Hallmark Business Plaza, Sant Dnyaneshwar Marg (Nr. Kala Mandir), Bandra East, Mumbai 400051. Menterra was created to address the funding gap for seed-stage social enterprises incubated at its affiliate, Villgro Innovations Foundation (India's pioneering social enterprise incubator). Menterra Social Impact Fund I had a target corpus of ₹50 crore and made 12 investments across healthcare, education, and agriculture during its investment period. The fund deployed 104% of its corpus and has returned significant capital to investors — including through the exit of Biosense (acquired by PerkinElmer, USA). Other portfolio companies include Omix Research and Diagnostic Labs, Adiuvo Diagnostics, Ez Vidya, Chrysalis, Medhavi Professional Services, and Iron Kettle. Institutional investors included The Lemelson Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Menterra subsequently launched Menterra Social Impact Fund II in 2022 with a ₹750 crore target (achieved first close at ₹227 crore, ~USD 30M). The fund is co-founded by Mukesh Sharma and Paul Basil (Villgro founder). Key team members include George Thomas (asset management lead) and Chris Ashley Pinto.
Mukesh Sharma
Co-founder, Partner & Head-Investment Management
Chartered Accountant, CFA
Mukesh witnessed the impact of better education, healthcare, and farming on the underprivileged in his hometown. He worked in investing in emerging markets for 10 years before becoming Chief Investment Officer at Villgro, where he discovered impact investing. This inspired him to establish Menterra, through which he aims to create social and environmental impact while generating financial returns. Mukesh is a Chartered Accountant and CFA.
Paul Basil
Co-founder, Partner & Head-Impact Management
Paul's journey, from a family of medical professionals to a social entrepreneur, was a transformation fueled by his passion to make a positive impact on the lives of underprivileged rural communities in India. Paul founded Villgro, one of India's first social enterprise incubators, and expanded it to multiple countries across the world. Paul is an Ashoka Fellow and his story is a testament to the transformative power of social entrepreneurship. Paul has a degree in mechanical engineering and is a post graduate in forestry management.
George Thomas
CEO, Partner & Head of Asset Management
An alumni of St. Stephen's College, George began his career with Unilever's food businesses in India before moving on to work with India Value Fund Advisors for several years. In late 2011, George established CapAleph Advisors India Private Limited, a private equity fund. At Menterra, George spearheads the efforts to establish a comprehensive post-investment, asset and operating interventions.
Chris Ashley Pinto
Investment Analyst
B.Tech, FRM, CFA (all three levels cleared)
Chris firmly believes in the transformative impact of focused capital and innovation, and the crucial roles they must play in addressing the complex challenges society is faced with. Guided by this conviction, he strives to unite capital with purpose at Menterra. He brings with him a unique perspective, having previously gained experience in both technology and quantitative risk at Nomura. In his most recent role, he focused on building and improving risk models, exploring better quantitative techniques, and ensuring model compliance. In technology he was involved in building data tools and analytical solutions for teams across regions, including the use of machine learning algorithms. Chris is a merit award recipient for his B.Tech in Computer Engineering at NMIMS' Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering. He has also earned the FRM designation and has cleared all three levels of the CFA program.
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Shoba Barnes
Office Manager
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