Rejuvenate and Revive the traditional Indian art forms | Vinayak Kamath, Co-Founder and Mg Partner, Hearth Ventures

Vinayak Kamath is the co-founder and managing partner of Hearth Ventures, which is India's first mentor fund for craft and circular economy enterprises. Vinayak is an alumnus of the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Sciences and has a background in engineering and management. Before starting Hearth Ventures, Vinayak worked as a corporate executive with Indian multinationals like Arvind Mills and G, co-founded a couple of companies, and worked as a private equity investor. The motivation to start Hearth Ventures came from a desire to invest in the handicraft sector in India, which was missing at-risk capital. The sector had numerous skilled artisans but was facing challenges such as skill attrition and traditional art forms dying. With the help of experts in the craft sector, it was concluded that at-risk capital was needed to rejuvenate and revive traditional Indian art forms. Vinayak and his team hope to be the first to set up a venture fund for the craft sector and believe that with at-risk capital, the other elements of a successful venture such as marketing and distribution, design expertise, and a market audience, will fall into place.