- After a 4-month Residency Program, Next Bharat Ventures has announced its first cohort of 13 start-ups selected from a pool of 1500+ applicants
- The impact investment firm has committed an initial funding of total INR 9 Cr to select start-ups from The Why Club and implemented an annually recurring ‘Pay-it-forward’ fellowship for the members
- With a vision to build a self-sustaining, intent-driven community, The Why Club champions ‘Elephant’ entrepreneurs who are focused on creating lasting impact. The members will be provided with access to capital, mentorship, and strategic support.
- Next Bharat Ventures has also announced the opening of applications for the next batch of their Residency Program which is scheduled to commence from May 19th 2025
Next Bharat Ventures, a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, has announced the launch of The Why Club, a community built for and by impact entrepreneurs. This initiative brings together 13 intent-driven start-ups, where 50 percent of the founders are women. These start-ups were selected from the first cohort of Next Bharat’s flagship Residency Program. This marks a significant step in enabling a robust peer-driven ecosystem for impact entrepreneurship in India.
As part of this initiative, Next Bharat Ventures is evaluating the investment readiness of the cohort members and plans to offer select startups additional funding, ranging from INR 1 Cr to INR 5 Cr each, to support their growth and scale their impact. The first cohort is composed entirely of impact entrepreneurs from remote rural areas across Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions. They are committed to addressing critical gaps in rural livelihoods, driving transformation through sustainable agriculture, organic food production, and fair trade practices.
Sharing the vision for the initiative, Vipul Nath Jindal, CEO of Next Bharat Ventures, said,
“We want The Why Club to be the world’s largest self-sustaining, co-dependent community of impact entrepreneurs. We are on a mission to create a separate category of social impact driven entrepreneurship in India, where we have witnessed that founders often face their toughest challenges in isolation—our goal is to ensure that they never feel alone in their journey. With that thought, we are creating a platform where they can work side by side with their peers, exchange knowledge, resources, and inspiration while gaining access to capital and global networks.”
The Why Club offers a structured support system to its members, ensuring they have all the resources needed to scale their impact. This includes the ‘Pay-it-forward-fellowship,’ an annually recurring community-driven funding mechanism designed to help founders sustain their entrepreneurial journeys. Members will also benefit from mentorship by seasoned founders, venture capitalists, and grassroots leaders, along with access to market opportunities and support for strategic business development. Additionally, the club will also actively facilitate India-Japan collaborations to help impact-driven start-ups expand globally.
The investment philosophy of Next Bharat Ventures centres on identifying and supporting intent-driven entrepreneurs who are deeply anchored in the causes they work for. The selection process prioritizes intent, commitment, and long-term impact potential along with conventional business metrics. Stepping away from conventional funding models that are focused on rapid scaling and valuations, Next Bharat Ventures adopts a patient capital investment approach to create ‘Elephant Entrepreneurs’. These entrepreneurs are resilient to economic fluctuations, and prioritise community impact and sustainability over quick returns—focusing on long-term, meaningful change.
With increasing government focus on agritech, rural livelihoods, and sustainable businesses, The Why Club is uniquely positioned to nurture the next wave of impact-driven founders who can contribute to India’s journey towards becoming Viksit Bharat by 2047. This vision was echoed at the Next Billion Forum conducted in December’24, where prominent leaders like Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog; Mr. Toshihiro Suzuki, President of Suzuki Motor Corporation; and Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital, highlighted the critical role of grassroots entrepreneurs in building resilient, self-sustaining communities.
The first cohort of Next Bharat Ventures comprising of the inaugural Why Club members includes:
- Aishwarya Jhawar, Co-Founder of Ekatra
- Selvakumar Varadharajan, Founder & CEO of Vilfresh
The applications for Next Bharat’s second Residency Program are now open for all the early stage passionate impact entrepreneurs.
