Thread by @thebetterindia

(1/12) Vasudha Madhavan, an investment banker based out of Bangalore, founded Ostara Advisors, India’s ‘first’ investment bank focused solely on the electric mobility and sustainability sector.

(2/12) Both Vasudha and Ostara fly against stereotypes and ‘conventional wisdom’ – with her being in an otherwise male-dominated profession, and Ostara being focused on a specific niche. Otherwise, most investment banks specialise in offering services across multiple sectors.

(3/12) “In 2017-18, I was advising a company that was diversifying its mobility business. The company wanted to enter clean mobility, and this gave me a great opportunity to study electric two-wheelers.”

(4/12) It was during this transaction that Vasudha started actively thinking of the space and the energy consequences of EVs.

(5/12) It was a personal conviction in the EV space that led Vasudha to take this plunge. It was a time when investing in EVs or lithium-ion batteries was not common practice. “

(6/12) I also learnt along the way that there was a need to move away from being a generalist, as startups and investors interested in this space needed a specialised advisor.

(7/12) I had to get into the details understand battery chemistries, powertrain components, the role of technology in the EV, etc. I was keen on developing a technical understanding of & finding interconnectivity between various startups in the electric mobility space,” she says.

(8/12) On why there are so few women in the EV space in India, Vasudha says that is something that she hasn’t been able to figure out. I would like to see a greater number of women entrepreneurs in the EV space, deep-tech and hardware-focused sectors.

(9/12) In fact, the first deal that I did in this sector was to acquire Ampere Vehicles, which was founded and built by a woman. Her entrepreneurial zeal and determination was inspiring,” she shares.

(10/12) Another professional milestone that Vasudha is proud of is the recent successful fundraising for Altigreen Propulsion, an EV 3-wheeler manufacturer based in Bengaluru.

(11/12) “This $40 million fund raise was critical for the company and is a great validation of the work that the company, my own firm, and the ecosystem partners are putting in,” she concludes.

(12/12) #WingifyEarth encourages such proactive actions to safeguard the environment and keep it clean.

In partnership with @WingifyEarth