San Francisco and Fort Worth, Texas and Mumbai, India – January 22, 2018 – The Rise Fund, a global investment fund managed by TPG Growth that is committed to achieving measurable social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns, today announced that Anand Mahindra has joined the Rise Founders Board. As a member of the Founders Board Mahindra will grow The Rise Fund’s presence in India and identify new investment opportunities for the $2B fund. Mahindra joins The Rise Fund’s founders—Bill McGlashan, Bono, and Jeff Skoll—as well as other visionary business leaders who work closely with the fund to build businesses that drive positive impact.

As the Chairman of Mahindra Group, one of India’s leading industrial business groups, Anand Mahindra brings the Founders Board invaluable insight on India, where The Rise Fund sees a critical opportunity for impact investing—20% of India’s population lives below the poverty line, while it is the fastest growing major economy in the world, with outstanding educational institutions, thriving innovation, and rapid technological development. The Rise Fund made its first investment in India last year in Dodla Dairy, a fresh dairy product company that is capturing opportunity in India’s expanding dairy market while improving the incomes of small farmers.

Mahindra will bring The Rise Fund deep expertise in business development, governance, and social and environmental impact. During Mahindra’s tenure, Mahindra Group has grown into a global federation with a leading presence in major sectors of the Indian economy, including agriculture, automobiles, IT services, renewable energy and aerospace and defense. Mahindra has also served on numerous influential boards and organizations, including the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York; World Bank Group’s Advisory Board for Doing Business; and the International Advisory Council of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. He is co-hosting the Global Climate Action Summit 2018 and has been invited by the Central & State Governments to provide his inputs on matters of national importance. Mahindra was the co-chair for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2009 and the WEF India Economic Summit in 2014.

“It is an honor to join Bill and this group of esteemed individuals on the Rise Founders Board. Rise is Mahindra’s core purpose and my personal belief,” said Mahindra. “India is the world’s laboratory of social and economic development policies and has the robust potential for entrepreneurship and innovation that adequate capital can unlock. I am thrilled to begin working with The Rise Fund to drive meaningful and measurable positive change across the country.”

Mahindra’s core purpose ‘Rise’ is to drive positive change in the lives of our stakeholders and communities across the world, to enable them to Rise. Many of Mahindra’s businesses including Mahindra Finance, Farm Equipment, Micro Irrigation and Renewable Energy, focus on unmet needs of under-served customers in under-penetrated markets.

Mahindra has been a firm believer in the power of education. He founded Project Nanhi Kali, a program that aims to provide underprivileged girls across India access to high-quality education, which has reached 310,000 girls over the last two decades. Mahindra is also Chairman of the Board of Naandi Foundation, a leading NGO that focuses on socio-economic development in India. Naandi has spun off some of its initiatives into for-profit social businesses. One example is Naandi Community Water Services, a JV with Danone communities that is engaged in setting up low-cost drinking water plants, catering to 700,000+ customers. Another is Araku, a shared value enterprise maximizing the benefit to Adivasi farmers by creating a global brand that bypasses middlemen. The first global Araku branded coffee store was inaugurated in Paris in February 2017.

“Anand is an accomplished executive with a vision that is closely aligned with ours at The Rise Fund,” said Bill McGlashan, Founder and Managing Partner of TPG Growth and Co-Founder and CEO of The Rise Fund. “Rise established India as a priority early on due to the unprecedented opportunities to build businesses that significantly benefit the country. Anand’s support and deep local knowledge will be essential to our growth and impact in the region, and we’re very pleased to welcome him to the Founders Board.”

TPG has a team of 11 dedicated professionals in India and, across funds, has made more than 19 investments in the country, including Campus Active Wear, Janalakshmi, Lenskart, and Manipal Hospitals.

About The Rise Fund

The Rise Fund is a global fund committed to achieving measureable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns —what we call “complete returns.” The Rise Fund is managed by TPG Growth, the global growth equity and middle market buyout platform of alternative asset firm TPG. TPG Growth Founder and Managing Partner Bill McGlashan, U2 lead singer Bono, a well-known activist and a special partner with TPG Growth, and Jeff Skoll, a global entrepreneur, film producer, and impact investor, co-founded The Rise Fund. They were joined by a group of influential thought leaders with a deep personal and professional commitment to driving social and environmental progress, who came together to form the Founders Board. The Rise Fund’s objectives align with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Rise Fund invests in education, energy, food and agriculture, financial services, growth infrastructure, healthcare, and technology, media, and telecommunications companies that deliver complete returns.

Media Contacts 
Erika White
415-743-1550
media@tpg.com