The fund has invested around Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) in 'Carz-on-rent', a licensee company of Hertz International, and Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) in 'Bravo Healthcare'.
The SME growth fund was launched by Sidbi and a group of banks to make equity/ equity-related capital investments in units operating in various sectors.
"The fund has made commitments to the tune of Rs 26 crore (Rs 260 million) as on March 31, 2005," said Ajay Kumar Kapur, chief executive officer, Sidbi Venture Capital Ltd.
Considering the growth rate in the SME sector, Sidbi proposes to increase the corpus of the existing Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion), said Kapur.
"We have received commitments from the existing partner banks including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank of India and Corporation Bank," he added.
"The investment period for this fund is five years. But Sidbi plans to deploy the entire Rs 500 crore within the next two to three years," said Kapur.
"Investments will be made in the manufacturing and retailing sectors and will include bio-informatics, transport, bio-technology, auto components, alternative fuel sector and textiles," he added.
These initiatives gain importance as the finance minister is planning to set targets for bank lending to the SME sector.
"On the lines of the thrust given to farm sector in the last fiscal, the government would set a target for SME credit," said Chidambaram in his recent visit to Mumbai.
He had also urged banking entities to work with Sidbi and the government to sharply increase credit flow to the sector, he added.
