Cedar-IBSi Capital

BankTech & FinTech Venture Capital fund by global domain experts & thought leaders

AboutPillarsPhilosophyFinTech Focus Areas

About Cedar-IBSi Capital

Cedar-IBSi Capital is India’s leading early-stage FinTech venture capital fund, primarily focused on BankTech/B2B FinTechs providing infrastructure technology to the Financial Services industry.

The fund was born on the legacy platform of global management consulting firm, Cedar (www.cedar-consulting.com) and global FinTech market intelligence firm, IBS Intelligence (www.ibsintelligence.com). The group also runs the region’s only FinTech Lab with a strong track-record of accelerating 56+ B2B FinTechs (www.cedaribsifintechlab.com).

Cedar-IBSi Capital is independently structured and follows a classic LP-GP model.

The fund leverages the deep knowledge and intelligence backbone of Cedar Consulting and IBS Intelligence’s 30+ year track record in global financial services and technology research and consulting. The $30-40 million fund will build a portfolio of 10-15 companies with a strong focus on the BankTech and B2B FinTech space, hoping to create value for founders in multiple strategic areas beyond capital.

The fund brings together the research, intelligence, experience, and network of Cedar Consulting and IBS Intelligence’s three decades of digital transformation and CTO advisory experience across the region. Given the fund’s linkage to the group platform, portfolio companies will have the unique advantage of accessing more than just capital, in the form of access to in-house domain experts, global networks and offices, data sandboxes, an expansive global banking and CTO network, and lots more.

Category: Category II Alternative Investment Fund

Registration Number: IN/AIF2/22-23/1185

Investment Manager: Cedar-IBSi Ventures Private Limited

Pillars of Strength

B2B FinTech/BankTech Focus

  • An under-leveraged opportunity and is core to the evolution of the wider FinTech ecosystem
  • Cedar-IBSi’s strong competitive advantage lies in our 60+ year research and consulting track-record in the BankTech space
  • Allow the fund to focus on profitable and scalable technology businesses with clear unit economics

In-house FinTech Lab

  • Cedar-IBSi’s FinTech Lab has been home to 55+ well-recognized FinTechs since 2018
  • Marketplace model and cohort programs help FinTechs boost growth across areas
  • Multi-region lab between the GCC, India, and Europe
  • $850 mn+ successfully raised by past and current lab members

We are FinTech super-specialists

  • 30+ year track-record of transforming 300+ banks and globally whilst driving business and FinTech strategy​
  • Trusted advisor to 500+ global FinTechs across segments on product, growth, and market strategy​
  • Proprietary research and data portals on FinTech players and trends. 4,000+ FinTechs profiled by our teams​
  • In-house team of FinTech experts and consultants. 500+ years of cumulative experience

We are the fulcrum of global FinTech

  • 360° research coverage
  • Daily news coverage, leadership interviews, & conversations
  • Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab
  • Annual IBSi League Tables and rankings
  • Annual global events & knowledge conferences

Strong ability to add value to founders & portfolio cos.

  • Subject matter expertise
  • Access to Cedar-IBSi ecosystem
  • Banking network
  • Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab
  • Visibility with the right audience
  • Global expansion support
  • In-house mentorship

Strong competitive edge across the investment process

  • Multiple proprietary sources of founder relationships and deal flow ​
  • 100+ in-house FinTech experts to supplement the due-diligence process
  • Significant ability to create value and operate portfolio companies, leveraging Cedar-IBSi’s platform

Exclusive access to targets, founders & deals

  • 1-1 relationships with founders
  • 100+ FinTechs screened weekly by Cedar-IBSi
  • Proprietary FinTech directories
  • FinTech lab members
  • Research Coverage

Strong fund manager network

  • Global clients & network
  • Strong educational institution associations
  • Active business networks
  • Associations with key industry bodies

Investment Philosophy

Leveraging more than 60+ years of research and advisory experience, the fund will heavily focus on B2B FinTech, with a double-click on banking infrastructure/BankTech, which is a strong knowledge competitive advantage of the fund and our platform

B2B companies inherently have stronger unit economics leading to profitability in a relatively shorter timeframe, with limited grey-area metrics. We will also have a clear playbook on defining traction and metrics in the B2C space.

Entering companies at an early-stage is relatively less “risky” for Cedar-IBSi Capital in light of our strong understanding of the technologies and opportunities. Our ability to value-create for the portfolio is also stronger. This excites us.

Cedar-IBSi is a trusted advisor to large technology firms who are often seeking to acquire/invest in emerging players. Especially in the B2B space. This is promising and strong exit channel for Cedar-IBSi Capital’s portfolio companies. Our access to banks who are seeking to make acquisitions is also natural.

Banking infrastructure/technology is often taken for granted and requires a strong understanding of the use-cases and technology. This is our strong competitive advantage. Multiple successful Indian banking infrastructure companies have grown in our FinTech lab and relied on the Cedar-IBSi platform to grow and build products.

Strong knowledge, framework, and people resources within our internal ecosystem can be leveraged and help us identify the “winners”. Our formal fund Operating Partners are a strong asset.

FinTech focus areas

Strong BankTech & FinTech focus across Cedar-IBSi’s expertise areas, split between B2B & B2C

B2B

B2C

BankTech/Financial Infra

BankTech/Financial Infra

  • Digital channels & customer lifecycle management & onboarding
  • Digital automation
  • Digital lending
  • Digital payments and cards
  • Wealth management & private banking
  • Lending & risk management
  • Digital automation & channels
  • Cash management
  • Trade finance and supply chain
  • Treasury and liquidity
  • RegTech
  • Universal banking
SME Solutions/SaaS

SME Solutions/SaaS

  • Payments​
  • SME lending​
  • RegTech​
  • Payroll​
  • InsurTech​
  • Tax
Personal Finance

Personal Finance

  • Lending & credit​
  • WealthTech​
  • Financial quotes​
  • Neo-banking​
  • InsurTech​
  • Tax​
  • Wallets
  • Remittances

B2B

B2C

Banking Technology
Core Focus

Banking Technology

  • Digital channels & customer lifecycle management & onboarding
  • Digital automation
  • Digital lending
  • Digital payments and cards
  • Wealth management & private banking
  • Lending & risk management
  • Digital automation & channels
  • Cash management
  • Trade finance and supply chain
  • Treasury and liquidity
  • RegTech
  • Universal banking
SME Solutions/SaaS

SME Solutions/SaaS

  • Payments​
  • SME lending​
  • RegTech​
  • Payroll​
  • InsurTech​
  • Tax
Personal Finance

Personal Finance

  • Lending & credit​
  • WealthTech​
  • Financial quotes​
  • Neo-banking​
  • InsurTech​
  • Tax​
  • Wallets
  • Remittances