The new fund will enable Next Bharat to expand its support towards “impact entrepreneurs”, the company said in a statement. Some of the sectors it will focus on include agriculture, financial inclusion, healthcare, and AI for social good.
“Our impact founders are innovators working on grassroots level transformation while ensuring business output, with over 90% of our portfolio companies already heading towards profitability in their early years,” said Vipul Jindal Nath, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Next Bharat Ventures.
Toshihiro Suzuki, representative director & president, Suzuki Motor, said in a statement that through NBV, Suzuki will establish connections with the next billion people beyond the mobility sector.
“Since commencing the production and sale of automobiles in India in 1983, Suzuki has provided mobility solutions, including automobiles and motorcycles, to customers. However, out of India’s population of approximately 1.4 billion people, Suzuki is currently connected with only about 400 million,” he said in a statement.
Through the fund, Suzuki will contribute to ‘Viksit Bharat 2047 (Developed India)’, the government’s vision to drive the mission of making India a developed Nation by 2047, he added.
Through its first ₹340 crore fund, NBV invested in around 20 early-stage startups focused on improving livelihoods across rural India, with cheque sizes ranging from ₹1 crore to ₹8 crore.
Jindal said the VC’s first fund had demonstrated that commercial success and social impact can go hand in hand.
Modelled on startup residency programs such as Antler and Y Combinator (YC), the first cohort of the Next Bharat residency program brought together early-stage impact startups. To date, Next Bharat has supported more than 50 impact startups, investing in over 20 of them through capital, mentorship, and ecosystem support. Several portfolio companies have also initiated business pilots with companies in Japan.
Its portfolio includes companies such as Sistema.bio, which provides biogas and clean energy solutions for smallholder farmers, Hasiru Dala Innovations, a circular economy and waste management enterprise, MeMeraki, an online platform connecting traditional artisans with global consumers, and Atypical Advantage, a startup promoting employment and inclusion for people with disabilities.
