Bangalore-based early state investor NEA-IndoUS Ventures, World Bank-backed investment company IFC, the venture arm of software giant SAP and New York-based investment management firm Ovation Capital have invested $17 million (€11.6 million) in Connectiva Systems, a US-based provider of revenue and risk management solutions for the telecommunications industry.
The investment round was led by NEA Indo-US, while Ovation Capital is a returning investor.
Connectiva produces revenue and risk management software that allows telecom operators to make the most of their existing infrastructure. It provides solutions for revenue assurance, fraud management, credit risk and analytics. Some of its clients include telecom operators such as India’s Bharti Airtel and BSNL, Tunisia’s Tunisiana, the UAE’s Etisalat, Kuwait’s Wataniya Telecom and Zain, and UK's Cable and Wireless.
The company is headquartered in New York and it maintains its Global Innovation Center in Kolkata, where it employs more than 300 people. The company develops the core of its intellectual property in India, said Avi Basu, chief executive of Connectiva Systems.
Connectiva is a strong fit for NEA-IndoUS’ portfolio, said Vinod Dham, a managing director at the firm, said in a statement. Its revenues are growing fast, and it has “a unique business model that leverages the strengths of India”, he added.
India is witnessing a boom in the telecommunication sector, and software development and related solutions have been India's strong suit over the last decade. As such, Connectiva is well-positioned to benefit from both, the technological expertise available in India which facilitates the development of products, and its rapidly growing telecommunications sector, which provides the company with a market that is constantly growing.
India added 83 million mobile subscribers or an average of seven million new users per month between February 2007 and January 2008, the most anywhere in the world, according to Informer Telecoms and Media. It has 296 million mobile connections as of August 2008, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India – making it the world's second largest telecom market after China. For a country with a population of more than 1.1 billion, there is still much scope for further growth in this sector.
Dham and Prvaeen Malhotra, a senior investment officer with IFC’s Global Information and Communications Department, have joined Connectiva’s board.
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