Mobility 2.0: Ushering the app-based EV Rental and Charging Infrastructure Ecosystem in India
Europe meets Asia – A powerful syndicate led by IEG Principal Investments and co-led by Devonshire Capital invests in leading e-mobility company ‘Prakriti E-mobility’ in India
The Background
The mobility sector in India is rapidly evolving with electric vehicles being at the forefront of this change. India possesses a growing need for mobility options due to rising incomes and urbanization, and hence the economy is ripe for EV adoption. Prakriti is tapping this opportunity by building an integrated technology platform for both EV ride fleet and charging infrastructure in India. With the growing interest of Indian and international OEMs’ in EVs and the decreasing cost of batteries and technology, all segments have significant potential for growth. Prakriti has successfully positioned itself as the most promising ESG player for B2B and B2C customers in India despite the slowdown in the economy due to COVID-19.
The Deal
Prakriti, an app-based asset-light EV cab service provider under the brand name ‘Evera’, has secured capital from Europe’s growth-focused IEG Principal Investments and Thailand-based private equity firm Devonshire Capital. With this, Prakriti taps into its next growth phase where it will focus on multiplying the scale of its EV cars and charging stations under operation while simultaneously expanding into the South-east Asian market. Prakriti’s business model is focused on B2B and B2C partnerships focusing on intercity travel segment as well as collaboration for developing charging infrastructure across India.
Mihir Kapoor, Founder and Managing Partner of IEG India, states, “Prakriti has a robust business model led by strong governance and an execution team which is paramount in building EV rental platform and charging infrastructure across India. With a firm EV policy put forth in place by the Government of India, we feel this sector is ripe for exponential growth over the next few years.”
Nimish Trivedi, Co-founder and CEO of Prakriti, added, “In a short span of 2.5-years, Prakriti E-mobility has clocked over 8 million green KMs across Delhi NCR with the highest per employee revenue earned in this segment in India. The recent funding will be utilized to make holistic upgrades to the Evera application and launch across the B2B and B2C and intercity travel segments in India and South-east Asia.”
The Partners
IEG Principal Investments along with Devonshire Capital co-led an investment in Prakriti. IEG Principal Investments, part of IEG Investment Banking Group, is a dedicated investment vehicle that provides growth equity financing to companies across the internet and technology space in India. Devonshire Capital is a leading Thailand-based private equity fund that focuses on the South-east Asian market. The combined investment will help Prakriti expand into India and South-east Asia.
Founded in 2019 by Nimish Trivedi, Rajeev Tiwari and Vikas Bansal, Prakriti is India’s leading asset-light electric vehicle aggregator under the brand ‘Evera’ focusing on the B2B and B2C segment and intercity travel in India. With over 36 charging stations under operation and 168 EVs, Prakriti is leveraging technology to lead the way in helping businesses transition to electric mobility. Prakriti aims to create a technologically enhanced electric mobility solution that can stimulate urbanization without harming the environment.
The Perspective
The fundraise will be used to expand geographically in India and South-east Asian region with a revamped tech platform. The company will also allocate funding to make additions to its existing service offering to B2B and B2C and intercity travel segments. With accelerated demand from both Indian and South-east Asian market, Prakriti is well positioned to benefit from the rise of e-mobility ecosystem.