Former GEAPP India Head Saurabh Kumar Joins AWE Funds to Guide Deeptech and Energy Transition Investments
Renowned energy transition expert Saurabh Kumar has joined AWE Funds as Investment Committee Member marking a significant addition to the firm’s leadership and investment ecosystem as it strengthens its focus on deeptech driven innovation.
With over three decades of experience across energy policy, clean energy deployment, public infrastructure, and sustainability programmes, Saurabh brings deep cross-sector expertise spanning government institutions, multilateral organisations, and global clean energy platforms. Most recently, he served as the India Head of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), where he played a key role in advancing clean energy access, battery storage, renewable integration, and climate-tech innovation ecosystems in India.
Prior to GEAPP, Saurabh served as the Executive Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), the Ministry of Power joint venture behind some of India’s most transformative energy efficiency initiatives. He played a key role in driving landmark programmes including the globally recognised UJALA LED scheme and the Street Light National Programme (SLNP), while also scaling electric mobility, smart metering, decentralised solar power, and other clean energy solutions across the country.
Over the course of his career, Kumar has worked with the Ministries of Finance and Power, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, and the United Nations Environment Programme. He has also collaborated extensively with leading global institutions such as the World Bank, GIZ, and USAID on clean energy and sustainability initiatives across India, South Asia, and Africa.
Saurabh Kumar, Investment Committee Member, AWE Funds – “India’s energy transition has been shaped as much in the field as in policy rooms. I am excited to join AWE Funds to support and guide the next generation of deeptech founders solving for climate and resilience. I look forward to working with the team to identify and back companies that can scale sustainable impact across India and beyond.”
Commenting on the appointment, Seema Chaturvedi, Founder & Managing Partner at AWE Funds, said: “Saurabh’s extensive experience in building and scaling impactful clean energy programmes, coupled with his deep understanding of policy, implementation, and sustainable infrastructure, makes him an invaluable addition to AWE Funds. His insights and leadership will significantly strengthen our investment approach as we continue to back deeptech founders and technologies, especially those shaping the future of climate and building resilient and sustainable solutions for the future.”
About AWE Funds
AWE Funds is an India-focused early-stage equity fund investing in deep tech and tech led innovation in advanced manufacturing, applied AI, robotics and services companies primarily in ClimateTech & HealthTech sectors and selectively in Future of Work and Fintech sectors. With a strong emphasis on governance, scalability, and sustainable value creation, AWE Funds partners closely with founders to support long-term business building. Led by experienced investors, the fund actively works with portfolio companies to strengthen strategy, operations, and market expansion while enabling globally competitive businesses to emerge from India. AWE Funds team has collectively made 5 investments from its current platform and collectively made 87 investments overall. AWE Funds seeks to invest in an additional 13 to 17 more companies through the current fund.