New Delhi, May 25 -- Sujeet Govindaraju, the former India head of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), has teamed up with a pharmaceutical entrepreneur to set up an alternative investment firm and plans to roll out its maiden fund.
Govindaraju, who left the Canadian pension fund last year, has joined hands with Srinivasan Namala, vice chairman of Hyderabad Angels Forum (HAF) and an early-stage investor, to start Sira Alternatives, he told VCCircle.
The new firm is in the process of applying for approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to float a private credit fund with an aim to raise Rs 1,250 crore ($131 million), including a greenshoe option of Rs 500 crore, in its first outing, he said.
While the firm has not launched the fund, co-founder Srinivasan has come in as the anchor investor. The platform has also warehoused deals in preparation of the fund launch and is actively evaluating transactions in the market.
Govindaraju, who is managing partner at Sira, said the debut fund will provide credit to mid-market Indian companies. It will deploy capital across performing credit, special situations, pre-IPO bridge financing, and complex acquisition structures.
The fund aims to generate annualised returns in the range of 18-21%, with approximately half delivered through regular quarterly distributions alongside a structured upside. The deals will be structured across the full capital stack in sectors such as industrials and manufacturing, infrastructure, renewables, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, technology and real estate.
Sira joins a bunch of investment firms that are raising new private credit funds to deploy in India. ASK Alternates floated its second private credit fund earlier this month while JM Financial and Sundaram Alternates are preparing for new credit funds. Ascertis, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers and IIFL Capital are also raising new debt funds.
Govindaraju was India head at CPPIB for seven years, during which the pension fund's India assets under management grew from $3.5 billion to $22 billion with investments across credit, private equity, public markets, real estate, infrastructure and renewable energy.
"I spent years at one of the world's best capital allocators watching first-hand what institutional discipline can unlock in India - both in scale and in returns. The opportunity I kept seeing was in the mid-market: capable promoters with strong businesses who value investors that go beyond the cheque - rolling up their sleeves, bringing sector expertise honed across cycles, and opening their networks at every stage of the journey," he said.
"On the LP side, our ambition is equally clear - to build a blue-chip alternatives firm that becomes the trusted gateway to the India opportunity for global institutions, and the partner of choice for domestic ones."
Sira's other co-founder, Srinivasan, is part of the founding family of Porus Laboratories and was also the speciality chemicals company's CEO. Porus was acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital in 2023 and is now known as Novopor.
"When you have built a business yourself, you develop an instinct for management quality that no financial model captures. You know how to spot a high-quality promoter who is genuinely building something," said Srinivasan, who is now an angel investor with over 30 investments.
Sira has also brought onboard Harsh Doshi as partner. Prior to Sira, he was driving the India investment function at Veld Capital (formerly AnaCap), a London-headquartered private credit fund, where he was instrumental in building and managing India book from the ground up.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.