BlackSoil.
The desk's only rating-agency-verified numbers: GNPA 2.1%, since-inception write-offs of ₹27 Cr against ₹8,427 Cr disbursed (~0.3%), RoMA 2.8%, published by ICRA, not marketing. The Caspian merger (Nov 2025) added an impact-SME book, DFI shareholders and an upgrade to A-.
GW GP Score
BlackSoil is what the venture-debt desk looks like when it grows up into a real NBFC: audited-adjacent disclosure via ICRA rationales, a merger (Caspian Impact Investments, completed Oct 31, 2025) that added SME/impact lending, partial credit guarantees from Rabo/US DFC/Dell Foundation, and DFI equity on the cap table (FMO). The numbers are the argument: 2.1% GNPA, 0.3% lifetime write-off ratio, profitable every year, and the January 2026 ICRA upgrade to A-(Stable) is the institutional receipt. The venture book is smaller-ticket and less glamorous than rivals'; the transparency is the best in the category.
Re-up candidate: the realised-cash evidence is doing more work than the brand story.
The score may understate process quality because realised multiples are modest but repeatable.
No named analyst override yet; current view is generated from the scored dossier and should be refreshed when the next primary source lands.
Caspian integration: Avishek Gupta's role, impact-covenant retention.
BluSmart residual exposure at CIRP: undisclosed; FY25 write-offs unattributed.
Merger integration: two credit cultures, one unconfirmed leadership seat, and impact-LP covenants to honour.
Computed from current dossier sources; analyst override pending.
The transparency benchmark of Indian venture debt: rating-agency-verified losses, profitable through the cycle, upgraded post-merger. Positive: the integration is the only thing between it and a re-rate.
550+ borrowers, 11 unicorns; less marquee-heavy than rivals
ICRA-published GNPA/write-off/profit data: best verification on the desk
Impact-SME diversification is defensible; venture pure-play share shrinks
Three capital raises in 12 months + rating upgrade + enhanced lines
Founder continuity; merger integration and Caspian leadership open
Portfolio quality 25% · Exit realisation 30% · Sector positioning 15% · Capital velocity 15% · Franchise stability 15%: see the full GP Score methodology · compare this firm →
Positive catalysts and/or re-up evidence exceed the visible risks, but the score should move only after the named proof lands.
Curefoods liquidity clears with credible OFS/block-sale evidence.
BluSmart residual exposure at CIRP: undisclosed; FY25 write-offs unattributed.
Caspian integration: Avishek Gupta's role, impact-covenant retention.
Every other credit desk asks you to trust a marketing claim; BlackSoil hands you an ICRA rationale. Use its published GNPA/write-off table as the diligence template for the whole category: then ask the others why they can't match it.
Merger integration: two credit cultures, one unconfirmed leadership seat, and impact-LP covenants to honour.
Caspian integration: Avishek Gupta's role, impact-covenant retention.
Coverage initiated: inaugural GW GP Score.
Catalyst exposure · latest source pressure
Recent public evidence mapped to this GP. Read this before reading the position table: it is where the score can move next.
Keep the file warm; current events cut both ways or are not yet material enough to move score.
Attribution0 positive catalyst(s), 0 pressure catalyst(s); top driver: monthly refresh only.
The funds
₹1,918 Cr assets · ₹14,000 Cr cumulative disbursed (merged) across 3 tracked vehicles.
| Vehicle | Vintage | Size | Stage | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBFC balance sheet (merged) | 2016-First boom | ₹1,918 Cr assets | Alternative credit | Net worth ₹635 Cr, gearing 1.9x, CRAR 38%; funding mix banks 48% / NCDs 39% / ECBs 13% |
| AIF (Blacksoil Asset Management) | 2022Correction onset | ₹280 Cr+ | Venture debt | SEBI Cat-II |
| Udhyam Debt (ex-Caspian book) | 2025Recovery / IPO window | merged | SME / impact credit | Partial guarantees: Rabo Foundation, US DFC, Dell Foundation, NCGTC |
Closest booksStride Ventures (2 shared) · Kalaari Capital (2 shared) · Trifecta Capital (2 shared)computed · E
Fund analytics · LP underwriting screen
Computed from the public dossier: vehicle cadence, realised exits, mark drift, concentration and franchise stability. All computed signals are GW estimates.
No fresh flagship close found after the 2021-22 cycle-top window.
Next liquidityCurefoods
1 visible exit events since Jul 2024.
No fresh flagship close found after the 2021-22 cycle-top window.
3 up / 6 flat / 1 down tracked signals.
No senior departure flagged in key people.
3 up / 6 flat / 1 down
1 events since Jul 2024
Largest tracked active exposure
Higher spread = less balanced franchise
Marked overhangBluSmart: names with negative 12-month mark or momentum signals in the reconstructed book.
Unicorn discovery; pricing still forming
Repricing began mid-deployment
Exit-led repricing; entry discipline decisive
Cloud kitchens
At least one cited source is dated 2026.
1 visible events tracked.
10 representative positions tracked.
No departure signal structured.
Fund-level DPI/TVPI is usually not public; proxy remains estimated.
Peer median 2 · -1
Peer median 3 · -2
Peer median 74 · +2
Peer median 30 · -10
Peer median 0 · +0
Diligence agenda · how this view can change
The live research question, the proof required, and the source standard. This prevents a GP score from becoming a stale label.
The latest vehicle is raising, unclosed or stale against the current deployment cycle.
Current · At least one cited source is dated 2026.
BluSmart residual exposure at CIRP: undisclosed; FY25 write-offs unattributed.
Track first/final close, LP quality, target-vs-close delta and mandate shift.
BluSmart residual exposure at CIRP: undisclosed; FY25 write-offs unattributed.
Curefoods: next public-market or secondary print
Evidence quality · source file health
How hard the public record is beneath this view: source mix, freshness, low-confidence fields and the next source action.
Low-confidence fields: Exit data, Team data, Performance proxy.
5 total sources · 20% primary
At least one cited source is dated 2026.
ICRA: rating rationale, merged entity (Jan 2026)
Upgrade Exit data evidence before changing the score.
Source tiering follows Gravitywell policy: primary = filing/regulator/company disclosure, secondary = reputable media or research, E = Gravitywell estimate. Evidence score is a GW control metric, not an external rating.
The position book
550+ companies financed cumulatively; 11 unicorns, 14 listed. Credit exposures below.
| Company | Sector | Entered | Entry stage | Status | 12-mo signal | Latest read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreshToHome | Consumer & Commerce | 2026 | ₹115 Cr+ NCDs led (two tranches) | Private | → | ₹40 Cr + earlier ₹75 Cr; Stride co-lends: the desk's most syndicated 2026 name |
| BlueStone | Consumer & Commerce | 2024 | ₹30 Cr pre-IPO debt | Public | ▲ | Plus ₹10 Cr via Caspian: listed Aug 2025 |
| Indifi | Fintech | 2026 | ₹40 Cr debt | Private | → | SME-lending expansion line |
| Celebal Technologies | AI | 2026 | ₹50 Cr debt | Private | ▲ | Enterprise data/AI services |
| Euler Motors | EV & Climate | 2026 | Debt (co-lender) | Private | ▲ | With Trifecta, Alteria: the three-desk EV syndicate |
| ideaForge | Deeptech & Space | 2022 | Venture debt | Public | → | Drone maker: listed 2023 |
| Upstox | Fintech | 2021 | Venture debt | Unicorn | → | — |
| Curefoods | Consumer & Commerce | 2023 | Venture debt | Soonicorn | → | Cloud kitchens |
| MobiKwik | Fintech | 2022 | Venture debt | Public | → | — |
| BluSmart | EV & Climate | 2022 | >$4.5M growth capital (w/ BigHaat, LoanTap) | Shut | ▼ | ₹30 Cr NCDs repaid Feb 2025 after delay; residual exposure at the Jul 2025 CIRP undisclosed |
Representative tracked positions reconstructed from public disclosures: not the full book. 12-mo signal is a GW estimate of mark direction from round/exit prints (E). Ownership stakes are not shown: not reliably public.
Sector exposure · where the book leans
Share of the tracked active book by normalized sector (GW estimate): read against our sector dossiers for crowding.
New cheques · 2025-26
19 deals in H1 2025 and a 2026 book that spans enterprise AI services (Celebal), fintech lending lines (Indifi) and syndicated EV credit (Euler with Trifecta and Alteria). Post-merger, the growth mix is deliberate: 43% growth/impact/SME, 28% financial institutions, 29% supply-chain finance, a diversified credit house, not a venture monoline.
Earmarked climate + Tier-2/3 + women-led lending
Realisation · are LPs getting paid?
Credit realisation here is a published table, not a claim: 18 exits in FY24 alone, GNPA path 6% (FY23) → 1.7% → 2.5% → 2.1%, lifetime net write-offs ~₹22 Cr. The BluSmart timing (repaid February 2025, scandal in April) was either underwriting or luck; the ICRA numbers say the book absorbs its mistakes either way.
₹30 Cr NCDs repaid after delay: two months before the Gensol scandal broke; residual exposure at CIRP undisclosed. FY25 write-offs (~₹8 Cr) unattributed.
Down from ~6% FY23 peak; partly via small write-offs
Profitable through the cycle; 7-yr avg RoMA 2.4%
ICRA upgrade Jan 2026 post-merger; lines enhanced to ₹955 Cr
Caspian CEO role unconfirmed; impact-mandate LPs to retain
The only desk member whose loss data comes from a rating agency rather than a press release. GW read: smaller, less glamorous, best-verified, the benchmark for what venture-debt disclosure should look like, and the reason its funding mix now includes banks at 48%. E.
What they're doing
Diversify beyond venture: post-Caspian, a full-stack alternative-credit NBFC: venture + SME/impact + supply-chain finance.
Institutionalise the liability side: banks to 48% of funding, DFI equity (FMO), impact credit lines (Denmark ₹200 Cr): cheaper capital than rivals' HNI bases.
Guaranteed-book economics: partial credit guarantees on the ex-Caspian SME book de-risk the impact mandate.
25% AUM CAGR target with concentration falling (top-10 exposures 38% → 23%).
What can break
Merger integration: two credit cultures, one unconfirmed leadership seat, and impact-LP covenants to honour.
RoMA compression (3-4% → 2.8% → est. 2.0% merged) shows spread pressure as the book de-risks.
Smallest venture-pure franchise on the desk: the diversification that de-risks it also dilutes the startup-credit brand.
Caspian integration: Avishek Gupta's role, impact-covenant retention.
BluSmart residual exposure at CIRP: undisclosed; FY25 write-offs unattributed.
Merged-entity RoMA (est. 2.0% FY25): whether diversification pays.
Point-in-time discipline: these are the open items we could not verify at the current vintage. They get resolved: confirmed, corrected or dropped, at the next monthly refresh, never silently.
The takes · one screen, three readers
Every other credit desk asks you to trust a marketing claim; BlackSoil hands you an ICRA rationale. Use its published GNPA/write-off table as the diligence template for the whole category: then ask the others why they can't match it.
BlackSoil's DFI-backed, guarantee-cushioned SME book lends where your portfolio's vendors and supply chains live: it's ecosystem credit, not competition. Its bank-heavy funding mix also means it prices through cycles rivals can't.
The GNPA trajectory (6% → 2.1%) is the cleanest public time-series on Indian startup-credit stress: read it alongside our Capital Stress Index as the credit-side confirmation signal.
Sourcing. Every figure is sourced and dated. We tier provenance: Primary (official, regulatory, exchange or company filings), Secondary (tier-1 industry research and reputable media), and GW estimate (our own reconstruction or opinion, labelled, never presented as external fact). We prefer primary where it exists, reconcile divergent prints to cited ranges, and hold every number point-in-time: dated, and never silently restated; revisions publish as dated changes.
Fact vs opinion. Facts vs opinion: market sizes, official prints, prices, named deals and agency ratings are sourced facts (Primary/Secondary). Scores, grades, purity weights, scenario paths and indicative sparkline points are Gravitywell's analytical opinion (GW estimate): labelled, not presented as external data.
GW GP Scores are research opinions, not investment advice, not a solicitation, and not an assessment under any SEBI regulation. Dossiers are compiled from public sources believed reliable; firms named did not participate and figures marked E are Gravitywell estimates. Point-in-time: dated to the vintage shown and never silently restated.