Next Bharat Ventures – A Suzuki Initiative, launches Rs 340 Crore fund to empower Bharat’s entrepreneurs, solving for the Next Billion Indians.

Next Bharat Ventures IFSC Private limited– a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation announced the launch of a Rs 340 Crore fund, that aims to act as a growth catalyst for the social impact startup ecosystem in India. Next Bharat is a social impact investment fund dedicated to fostering impact entrepreneurs who are creating value for Tier II and below geographies. “Next Bharat” aims to empower India’s next billion by supporting these Impact Entrepreneurs. The primary mission is to cultivate and nurture a deep rooted community of Impact enablers in the country, who are solving social problems with sustainable business.

The company’s flagship initiative, the ‘Next Bharat Residency program’ includes a 4-month immersive residency for early stage entrepreneurs. The applications for the residency program are now open for all the early stage passionate impact entrepreneurs. The application process is inclusive, with an easy application format to ensure broad participation, including WhatsApp-based submissions with a maximum 2 week application review time. The application deadline is set for 31st July 2024, and the program is scheduled to commence on 14th October 2024. The selection criteria focus is on entrepreneurs who are impact-first, have a clear problem-solving approach, and are committed to contributing to the rural community or the Informal sector of India.

People selected for the program will remain part of the Next Bharat community for life, receiving ongoing support and resources even after its conclusion. Its a platform featuring extensive mentorship sessions by industry leaders, providing opportunities for founders to collaborate and connect and form a meaningful support system to help start and run their businesses. Post the residency program, the selected startups will get 1 Crore to 5 Crore Rupee of equity Investments. The objective is to equip these ventures with the essential knowledge, networks, and resources including Risk Capital, to enable them to achieve scale and become small and medium-sized enterprises.

Toshihiro Suzuki, President and CEO of Suzuki Motor Corporation said, “Bharat has about 1.4 billion people, but we have only reached about 0.4 billion with our mobility business. Our goal is to connect with the “Next Billion” people of India, extending beyond mobility and becoming a part of India’s future story.

As part of this mission, we are launching Next Bharat Ventures, Suzuki’s first investment fund in India, which will focus on nurturing and empowering impact entrepreneurs. These impact entrepreneurs, who are passionately solving the problems of India, will also get access to the Suzuki Group network and resources.

Mr. Vipul Nath Jindal, an IIT Hyderabad alumnus, has spearheaded this initiative from day one. With over five years at Suzuki Japan, he has successfully led greenfield projects like the Suzuki Innovation Center in the past.”  

The Suzuki Innovation Center, which was established along with IIT Hyderabad 2.5 years ago, will also now become a part of Next Bharat Ventures as one of its verticles. Suzuki Innovation Center will continue to work on Open-Innovation and Indo-Japan ecosystem building for Social good.

Speaking on the launch of the firm, Vipul Nath Jindal, CEO and Managing Director of Next Bharat, commented, “We are embarking on this journey to cultivate an impact entrepreneurship ecosystem that is profoundly community-oriented. The Next Bharat investment framework focuses on horizontal scaling, aiming to create hundreds of profitable SMEs over a fund cycle, rather than concentrating on creating just two or three unicorns per fund cycle.”

Vipul mentioned, “There are existing stakeholders in the ecosystem who are already enabling these amazing impact entrepreneurs in many ways. Our long-term ambition is to work closely with these stakeholders and bring them together to build compounding synergies within the ecosystem.”