ARIAS signs MoU with CIIA to boost agri Growth & Employment

Staff Reporter Guwahati, June 27: Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society, an autonomous body under the Government of Assam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Caspian Impact Investment Adviser Pvt. Ltd. (Caspian Equity), a venture capital institution that invests in social impact enterprises. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of strengthening rural infrastructure and fostering agricultural productivity in the state of Assam. Under the partnership, ARIAS will be the nodal agency for establishing and implementing a contributory and determinate investment trust - the Assam Agribusiness Investment Fund (AAIF). ARIAS is designated as the anchor investor for the AAIF, which will be managed by Caspian Equity as the fund manager. With anchor funding from the World Bank through Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), AAIF will operate as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). With a corpus of INR 250 crore, AAIF is a unique sector-specific fund through a State government in India, focusing on boosting agricultural productivity and employment generation in the state. It will mainly invest in small and medium enterprises in the agribusiness and allied sectors to achieve accelerated growth.