What Setuka Partners does

Setuka Partners LLP is a privately held boutique advisory firm founded in 2018 and headquartered in New Delhi, with a regional office in Washington DC. The firm describes itself — and brands its name, which means "bridge" in Sanskrit — as a connector between capital and capacity providers in the "developed" world and social enterprises in emerging and frontier markets. Its stated thesis is that the divide between Development Finance and Commercial Finance is artificial and that appropriate blending of public and private capital can deliver both commercial and developmental outcomes.

The firm's service portfolio comprises five integrated offerings: International Development Advisory (reforming aid and development program design and delivery); Impact Investing Advisory (building enduring partnerships between emerging-market enterprises and responsible capital providers, including bespoke public-private blended finance); South-South Learning (study tours and knowledge transfer for senior officials across emerging markets); Capital Facilitation Services (sourcing, structuring, and negotiating debt, equity, mezzanine, and grants); and SME Handholding Services (business strategy, fundraising planning, and investment negotiation support for SMEs). It serves four primary customer segments — impact investment funds, DFIs and multilateral agencies (IFC, World Bank, ADB, FAO, UNDP), social enterprises in emerging and frontier markets, and local financial institutions — across sectors spanning agribusiness, healthcare, financial services, education, renewables, and logistics.

Commercially, Setuka operates as a sales-led, relationship-based professional services firm generating advisory fees from bespoke engagements; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is presumably quote-based depending on transaction complexity. The firm is wholly founder-owned (Aman Khanna serves as Founder and Managing Partner), bootstrapped with no institutional funding rounds, and operates with a lean team of 1–10 employees including a Delhi-based analyst/consultant bench and senior professionals in Delhi and Washington DC. There is no proprietary technology platform, no app, no API, and no AI/ML capability — the entire value proposition rests on human expertise, on-ground networks, and cross-border relationships with DFIs, multilaterals, and sovereigns. Documented client transactions range from $4.6mn to $50mn in deal size across geographies including India, West/East/North Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Name

Setuka Partners

Legal name

Setuka Partners LLP

Website

https://setuka.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Setuka Partners LLP is a Delhi-based boutique advisory firm with a Washington DC office that helps emerging-market social enterprises and DFIs source, structure, and execute cross-border blended finance and impact investment transactions across Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150), Miscellaneous Intermediation (523910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Placement Agents (Reg D/144A) (FSAEALAA), Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM), Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Impact investing advisory
• Blended finance advisory
• Emerging markets advisory
• International development consulting
• SME capital advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory Services: Professional advisory fees for investment banking, transaction support, and strategic consulting services. The firm provides hands-on advisory on investing and creating value in emerging and frontier markets, including facilitating cross-border capital flows, deal sourcing, evaluation, and portfolio company value maximization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Setuka Partners LLP is a boutique advisory firm providing hands-on advisory on investing and creating value in emerging and frontier markets. It facilitates cross-border movement of catalytic capital (debt, equity, mezzanine, grants) and capacity from overseas providers to social enterprises in healthcare, agriculture, education, renewables, and financial inclusion through bespoke blended finance transactions, international development program advisory, and South-South knowledge transfer programs.

Product overview

Setuka Partners LLP is a mission-driven boutique advisory firm offering a portfolio of integrated service offerings rather than a unified technology product. The core services include International Development Advisory (driving change in aid and development program design and delivery), Impact Investing Advisory (connecting social enterprises with responsible capital providers through bespoke blended finance transactions), and South-South Learning (cross-border knowledge transfer through study tours). Supporting these are Capital Facilitation Services (sourcing, structuring, and negotiating debt, equity, mezzanine, and grant financing) and SME Handholding Services (end-to-end support including business strategy, fundraising, and investment negotiation). The firm operates from Delhi and Washington DC, serving emerging and frontier market enterprises across agriculture, healthcare, financial inclusion, education, and renewables sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• International Development Advisory Strategic advisory services driving fundamental change in the construct, delivery, and evaluation of aid and development programs by embedding practical insights from on-ground experience and networks with the public and private sector and policy makers in emerging and frontier markets. Targeted at governments, DFIs, multilateral agencies, and foundations.
• Impact Investing Advisory Advisory services helping entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and fund managers in emerging and frontier markets build enduring partnerships with providers of capital who understand socially responsible investment. Includes design and execution of bespoke public-private capital blended finance transactions.
• South-South Learning Study tours and knowledge transfer programs for senior public and private sector officials from emerging and frontier markets to other similar markets, facilitating cross-pollination of learnings across geographies and sectors.
• Capital Facilitation Services Sourcing, structuring, and negotiating debt, equity, mezzanine investments, and grants for clients in healthcare, agriculture, education, renewables, and other impact sectors across emerging and frontier markets.
• SME Handholding Services Comprehensive support for small and medium enterprises globally including business strategy, fundraising planning, use of proceeds guidance, and investment negotiation assistance to help SMEs secure the best terms for cross-border investment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple cross-border transactions closed ranging from $4.6mn to $20mn with various blend structures including grants, debt, and equity combinations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSetuka has been invited by FAO to speak at conferences and share results from development work, contributing to international agricultural development discourse.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a multilateral partner organization in Setuka's credentials.
• Government of LiberiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSetuka guided the Liberian government on prioritization of seven agriculture value chains and recommendations for a ~$25mn World Bank project for agriculture transformation.
• Government of Assam, IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSetuka was recommended by World Bank/IFC to support anchoring outreach for securing international LP commitments for the Assam Agribusiness Investment Fund under the World Bank sponsored project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SetukaL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/setuka-partners-llp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Setuka Partners