Gray Ghost Ventures

Invests in sustainable businesses in the technology sector that promise a high positive social impact and long-term financial return

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About

  • Headquarters

    Chennai, Tamil Nadu

  • Since

    2003

Gray Ghost Ventures makes profitable investments in early-stage enterprises that aim to make a positive social impact in developing countries through Read moreInformation and Communications Technologies (ICT), Clean Tech, and other innovative technology. Gray Ghost Ventures engages in impact investing in enterprises with sustainable and scalable business models. In order to qualify for funding from Gray Ghost Ventures, a business must address the following: access to markets, information, knowledge and/or services; enhanced opportunities for productivity, mobility and/or creativity; and improved efficiency or time saving. In addition, the business plan must be able to quantify its social impact. Currently, Gray Ghost Ventures has three funds: Gray Matters Capital Mission-Related Portfolio, Gray Ghost DOEN Social Ventures Coöperatief, and Gray Ghost Emerging Markets Fund. Gray Ghost Ventures has also established the Indian School Finance Company (ISFC) which focuses on funding affordable private schools in India in order to bring increased educational opportunities to low-income communities. The ISFC identifies schools that show the most promise, helps them improve the quality of their academic programs, and enables them to reach a greater number of children.

Programs

  • BeamMoney

    Launched in 2009, Beam Money was introduced as a secure mobile payment and transfer service with the primary objective of enhancing financial inclusion and simplifying financial transactions. The company has established a network of agents, affectionately known as "Sahayaks" or Helpers, spread across India. These Sahayaks assist unbanked customers in storing cash for payments, managing electronic utility bill payments, remitting funds to their families, topping up pay-as-you-go mobile phones, and purchasing travel tickets – all without the need to navigate the complexities of opening a bank account.
    GGDOEN was the initial investor in Beam, and the partnership has been marked by a close collaboration with the management team, resulting in the establishment of a substantial and devoted customer base of unbanked individuals throughout India.

  • PharmaSecure

    PharmaSecure empowers patients and consumers to verify the authenticity of their pharmaceuticals through the use of mobile technology. The process is simple: customers acquire a verifiable drug and transmit its unique code via cell phone to a dedicated verification telephone number, akin to the method employed for pre-paid phone cards. The cellular network receives this code and cross-references it with the PharmaSecure database to ascertain the authenticity of the drug in question. In cases where PharmaSecure does not find the code in its database or if the code has been authenticated repeatedly, a cautionary message is relayed to the customer, indicating potential counterfeiting or diversion.
    Gray Ghost DOEN joined forces with PharmaSecure in 2009, catalyzing the company's transformation from a pre-revenue entity to a prominent market leader. Today, PharmaSecure safeguards more than 1.8 billion products across over 40 countries.

Leadership Team

  • Brian Cayce

    Vice President, Investments

  • Arun Gore

    President and CEO

  • Bahniman Hazarika

    Director, Investments

  • P (Raja) Rajasekharan

    Advisor

Demographics & Structure

  • No. of Employees

    21-50

M&E

  • Internal, External Assessors

    No

Policies

  • Ethics and Transparency Policies

    No

  • Formal CEO Oversight & Compensation Policy

    No

Political & Religious Declarations

  • On Affiliation if any

    No

  • On Deployment Bias if any

    No

Registration Details

  • FCRA

    Not Available

  • CSR Registration Number

    Not Available

Location

  • Headquarters

    Surya, 8/16, Seethammal Extension, 2nd Cross Street, Alwarpet, Chennai, 600018

    Directions
  • Offices in Cities

Other Details

  • Parent Organisation

    Gray Matters Capital (GMC)

  • Type & Sub Type

    For-profit
    Private Limited Company