Accel Partners, a global venture capital and growth equity firm, has appointed Neeraj Bharadwaj as a managing director to help build its growth equity investing initiative in India.
Bharadwaj (pictured) joins Accel from Apax Partners India, where he was managing director and country head.
At Accel, he will be responsible for scaling the growth stage effort, which will target USD10m to USD50m investments in mid-sized Indian companies across different sectors. This initiative will complement Accel’s existing venture capital activity in India, which targets smaller investments and active involvement in high potential early stage companies.
The Accel India venture portfolio includes companies such as MuSigma, Inbiopro, Kaati Zone, Myntra and Perfint.
Peter Wagner, a partner in Accel’s Palo Alto office who helped lead the formation of Accel India in 2008, says: "We are delighted to welcome Neeraj to the Accel team. The Indian market is a key element of our global strategy, as evidenced by the launch of this new growth investing effort to complement our existing early stage activities in the region. Accel and Neeraj have known and respected one another for over a decade, and share the vision of helping the best Indian entrepreneurs accelerate the development of category-defining growth-stage businesses. We look forward to bringing our global network, resources and experience to bear in these exciting opportunities in India."
Bharadwaj adds: "This is an exciting time for growth capital investing in India given the nation’s economic growth and the emergence of first generation companies competing successfully with the incumbents in key markets. Accel has the ideal platform to assist these companies, and a stellar track record of building market leaders in media, technology, retail and other high-growth sectors. Working with Accel will mean working closely with entrepreneurs and executives who have the character and the ambition to build world-class companies in India. I am excited to be joining them."
