Private Equity in India and Southeast Asia – Uday Garg

In Episode #34, we are joined by Uday Garg, Managing Partner at Mandala Capital, a private equity firm focused on long term and sustainable investments across the food value chain in India and Southeast Asia. We discuss:

• The basics of food and agriculture ("agri") investing and why it is helpful to analogize to the oil and gas business.

• Why food and agri investment makes sense in Southeast Asia and India, from both a demand and supply perspective.

• The $2,000 per capita GDP threshold as a good indicator for consumption spikes in emerging nations.

• Mandala Capital's strategy for investing in food and agri.

• Why so much investment goes into agritech and whether agritech is really a new investment area.

• What cannabis (especially hemp) is doing to the US and global market and why seed companies and branding companies are most likely to emerge as major players.

• Impact investing and calculating an SROI (social return on investment).

• Reading, listening, and watching recommendations from:

  • Uday

    • 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World by Howard G. Buffet

  • Jonathan

    • The New Tech Supply Chain, a Nikkei Asia webinar

  • Fred

    • A Woman Called Hey, a Sixth Tone article by Zhang Yue