A two-way desk, by invitation. East African family capital into India’s regulated private-market vehicles. Indian companies into Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Every opportunity reviewed in writing, with risks sized before anyone commits.
Access to pre-IPO, unlisted, preferential and SME opportunities is offered through regulated funds and licensed partners, subject to eligibility.
6,800dollar millionaires in Kenya; Nairobi holds over 60%
349AIFs in GIFT IFSC, USD 32 bn committed
$93.69 bnIndia–Africa trade in FY26, up 14.39%
Three desks, one corridor
Pick the one that describes you. Each starts with a short, fixed-scope step and a written output.
PC · East Africa → India
For families and family offices
Indian-origin business families in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania building a second growth engine in India, through regulated GIFT IFSC and SEBI vehicles.
PC0 · India Access Diagnostic, 10 days: status for each family member, current India exposure, horizon and lock-in comfort
PC1 · Structure and onboard, with a licensed partner: the right wrapper and an onboarding file a fund’s compliance team clears first time
PC2 · Allocation desk: anchor fund commitments, co-investment in pre-IPO and unlisted companies, SME sleeves through funds, each with a written diligence note
PC3 · Family office desk: consolidated reporting, wire-fraud protection, and a next-generation India programme with plant visits
Answer four or five one-tap questions. You see the routes worth discussing on screen, and we send the full route map and document checklist on request.
For families: GIFT IFSC funds, SEBI AIFs, co-investment and smaller entry products
For companies: regulators, standards and partner types for your sector and first market
For fund managers: how an East African LP channel and pipeline diligence would work
Educational only. Eligibility, suitability and advice come from licensed partners in each jurisdiction.
An investor’s diligence lens, a regulator’s evidence standard and a home in Nairobi. Five rules govern every introduction.
Regulated vehiclesSEBI and IFSCA-regulated funds with licensed custodians.
Licensed partnersRegulated activity in each market is carried by appropriately licensed partners.
Invitation-onlyPrivate, education-led conversations with named families.
Diligence in writingEvery manager and opportunity reviewed; risks and conflicts shared with the family in writing.
Transparent by designCRS-reporting structures; every fee and conflict disclosed.
Why our diligence holds up
The 17-section method behind 40+ Indian IPO, SME and unlisted company reviews, with a physical reality check on plant, order book and use of proceeds. Venkatram invests his own capital in Indian SME and private companies through the same method.
Why onboarding clears first time
Our core business is regulator-ready evidence for supervised financial institutions. The same discipline produces KYC and source-of-wealth files that pass enhanced due diligence cleanly, and keeps family-office reporting at institutional grade.
Catalogues for families, funds and expanding companies
Private Capital & Corridor for families and fund managers; Enterprise & Investors for diligence and India-to-Africa market entry.
We build against the instruments, so families and managers know what applies and when.
Important information. This page is educational and describes how DT Alpha works with families, companies and fund managers. Investment advice and the arranging of investments are carried out by appropriately licensed partners in each jurisdiction, by private invitation, subject to each fund’s eligibility, KYC and offering documents. Nothing here is an offer, a solicitation or investment advice. DT Alpha does not hold or manage client money. Private-market, pre-IPO and SME investments carry risk of loss, illiquidity, lock-in and currency movement; past performance is no guide to future returns. Tax treatment depends on each investor’s circumstances and may change.
Dec 2022
SEBI foreign-investor conditions for AIFsHome regulator must be an IOSCO signatory; Kenya’s CMA signed the enhanced MMoU in May 2025.
Feb 2024
Kenya on FATF increased monitoringEnhanced due diligence on every onboarding; evidence quality sets the pace.
Feb 2025
IFSCA Fund Management RegulationsUSD funds in GIFT City; Category III income exempt for non-resident investors.
9 Sep 2025
SEBI Co-Investment VehiclesAccredited investors co-invest in unlisted companies alongside their AIF, up to 3× their commitment.
17 Jun 2026
SEBI caution on unlisted-share platformsRegulated fund wrappers become the path to private and pre-IPO exposure.
11 Dec 2026
Kenya Capital Markets Licensing Regulations 2025Transition window closes; regulated activity runs through licensed partners.
Sources: SEBI circular on foreign investment in AIFs (9 Dec 2022); CMA Kenya (May 2025); FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring (19 Jun 2026); IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations 2025; SEBI CIV framework (Sep 2025); SEBI PR 32/2026; CMA (Licensing Requirements) (General) Regulations 2025; Henley & Partners Africa Wealth Report 2025; BusinessToday (May 2026); Ministry of Commerce via IANS (15 May 2026).
What you receive
Samples in the real format, with illustrative data: the readiness map a family receives after the 10-day diagnostic, the scorecard an expanding company receives per market, and the summary a fund’s committee receives.
India-readiness map · Family E, Nairobi
PC0 India Access Diagnostic, day 10 · three generations · routes to discuss with a licensed partner
Member / entity
Status with India
Routes worth discussing
Open action
Founder, 68
Kenyan citizen · OCI
GIFT IFSC fund · SEBI AIF
Source-of-wealth narrative
Son, 41
Kenyan citizen · OCI
GIFT IFSC fund · co-investment
Tax residency certificate
Daughter, 37
UK resident
Reviewed separately
UK adviser to confirm
Family holding
Existing offshore structure
Structure review
Licensed partner opinion
Fit
Horizon 5+ years: fits
Lock-in comfort: moderate
Currency view INR vs USD/KES: discussed
Documents
Passports and OCI: ready
Bank references: ready
Source of wealth: in progress
Next three steps
Complete the source-of-wealth file
Choose the wrapper with a licensed partner
Shortlist two managers for diligence
Educational map. Advice and arranging are carried out by appropriately licensed partners.
SAMPLE · ILLUSTRATIVE
Market-entry scorecard · Indian EV two-wheeler maker
AX0 market & regulator map, day 10 · Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania
Factor
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
Demand signal (boda-boda fleet growth)
Strong
Strong
Moderate
Standards and type approval path
KEBS · mapped
UNBS · mapped
TBS · mapped
Distributor candidates shortlisted
3
2
2
Rider asset-finance partners
4
2
1
Charging / battery-swap partners
Emerging
Emerging
Thin
Recommendation: enter Kenya first through an established distributor with a financing partner; Uganda in phase two.
SAMPLE · ILLUSTRATIVE
Technology DD summary · Company D
Series A B2B SaaS · for the investment committee · day 10
Architecture and scalability3/5
Code and IP ownership2/5
Security and data protection2/5
Team and key-person risk3/5
Cost to scale4/5
Findings ranked by deal impact
IP: two contractors hold repository admin; IP assignment unsigned. Condition precedent.
Scale: billing module is single-tenant; re-platform before 10× load.
Data: no DPDP data map; consent flows undocumented.
90-day post-close plan
IP assignments and access clean-up, weeks 1–2
Multi-tenant billing design, weeks 3–10
Data map and consent notices, weeks 4–8
Findings support the committee’s own decision; investment recommendations remain with the investor.
SAMPLE · ILLUSTRATIVE
Request a private conversation
By invitation or referral. Tell us who you are and what you are exploring; Venkatram replies personally within one business day.
