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Next Bharat holds “Next Billion Forum 2025”

Next Bharat Ventures IFSC Private Limited (hereinafter, “Next Bharat”), a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation (hereinafter, “Suzuki”) in India, held “Next Billion Forum 2025” in Bengaluru, India on 29 August 2025.
The agenda were as follows:

• ● Discussion on social and economic development in India
• ● Signing of the MOU
• ● Introduction of the social entrepreneurs support program

This forum has the theme of "Bharat 2047" for the India's 100-year anniversary of independence in 2047, aiming to create sustainable business for the “next billion people” regarding development in India and making social impact with leaders of industry, government and academia from India and Japan. This year’s forum was the second since 2024.

Next Bharat was founded in 2024 to help solve social issues in India through business. The fund supports and invests in social entrepreneurs working in the fields of agriculture, financial inclusion, supply chain and mobility in order to connect with “the next billion people” beyond the approximately 0.4 billion people with whom Suzuki has connected in the mobility field.

1. Regarding discussion on social and economic development in India

N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys, Amitabh Kant, former CEO of NITI Aayog and former G20 Sherpa, T. V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital, Dr. Pramod Varma, Chief Architect of Aadhaar^*, Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak AMC, Tsutomu Nakane, Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru, Naomi Ishii, Representative Director and Executive Vice President of Suzuki, Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Vipul Jindal, Managing Director of Next Bharat and approximately 200 people attended the event to hold discussions and networking for India’s social and economic development.

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●Keynote by N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys

He stressed that the key to achieving "Bharat 2047" is the important role of entrepreneurs with values and vision, and mutual learning in deepening cooperation between Japan and India.

●Keynote by Amitabh Kant, former CEO of NITI Aayog and former G20 Sherpa

He praised Next Bharat’s hands-on support and social entrepreneurship support program, and shared examples of entrepreneurs creating social impact in disability employment, agriculture, and traditional crafts.

●Panel discussion

T. V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital, Dr. Pramod Varma, Chief Architect of Aadhaar and Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak AMC took the stage to discuss concrete measures for “Bharat 2047”, including the role of women entrepreneurs, the use of digital public infrastructure and impact investing.

●Speech by Tsutomu Nakane, Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru

He outlined the goal of facilitating India–Japan human capital exchanges involving 500,000 people over the next five years, emphasizing the importance of people-to-people ties in strengthening bilateral relations.

●Speech by Naomi Ishii, Representative Director and Executive Vice President of Suzuki

He reflected on Suzuki’s more than 40 years of operations in India and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to actively support entrepreneurs in rural regions, extending its contribution beyond mobility.

2. Regarding MOU

Next Bharat has signed a MOU with Atypical Advantage (headquarters: Jamshedpur, Managing Director: Vineet Saraiwala), an online platform that connects businesses and individuals to provide employment and income opportunities for people with disabilities, and automotive parts manufacturer UNO Minda Group (Headquarters: Gurugram, Managing Director: Nirmal K. Minda). "Our goal is to help entrepreneurs create value for the ‘next billion people.’ Hosting the ‘Next Billion Forum’ and investing in companies reflects Next Bharat's commitment to this goal." said Vipul Jindal, Managing Director of Next Bharat.

3. Regarding social entrepreneurship support program

Vipul Jindal, Managing Director of Next Bharat reported on the progress of strengthening cooperation with Japan, including the formation of a community of 26 social entrepreneurs through Next Bharat's social entrepreneurship support program and the dispatch of officials from Hamamatsu City, and emphasized the growing momentum of the community for the “next billion people”.

Suzuki will continue to cooperate with Next Bharat and contribute to the sustainable development of India by bringing together the expertise of Japan and India.