Next Bharat Ventures says 21 portfolio firms impact 20 lakh lives
Bengaluru, Aug 28 (TNT): Impact-focused fund Next Bharat Ventures (NBV) on Friday said its 21 portfolio companies have collectively impacted 20 lakh people across India’s rural and informal economies, with startups from South India accounting for more than three lakh beneficiaries.
Releasing its Impact Report 2026, NBV said its portfolio had recorded significant commercial growth while addressing challenges related to livelihoods, healthcare, agriculture, education and accessibility.
NBV has committed Rs 20.76 crore in seed funding to build an ecosystem for impact-driven entrepreneurship in India.
The fund has invested Rs 9 crore in Blackfrog Technologies, whose Emvólio vaccine carrier is India’s first patented and WHO-PQS prequalified active-cooled vaccine carrier for last-mile delivery.
The company has reached 2,51,512 beneficiaries in India and has also expanded to Africa, NBV said.
In its third cohort, NBV invested Rs 7.5 crore in eBik, Rs 2 crore in CIBOS, Rs 1.26 crore in Velaan Mart and Rs 1 crore in SGB Agro.
eBik develops electric mobility solutions for gig workers, hawkers and delivery personnel, with its e-cycles and e-karts benefiting around 6,000 people.
CIBOS provides solar-powered cooking solutions for street vendors, while Velaan Mart connects farmers with institutional buyers and SGB Agro develops low-vibration farm equipment to reduce manual labour.
The report said five NBV-backed startups operating in the informal economy had collectively impacted 14,70,610 people and recorded 60.05 per cent revenue growth.
Sixteen startups in the rural economy had impacted 4,98,797 people, with revenue growing 186.13 per cent.
Around 80 per cent of the portfolio companies are on the path to profitability, the report said.
It also reported year-on-year income growth of 75 per cent among farmers and tribal farmers, 93 per cent among artisans and 25 per cent among street vendors.
NBV founder and CEO Vipul Nath Jindal said reaching two million people was an important milestone, but the fund aimed to scale the impact substantially through its second fund.
“With Fund II, we want to back businesses that can improve the livelihoods of India’s Next Billion and address some of the most persistent gaps in access,” Jindal said.
Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said India’s next phase of growth would depend on unlocking the economic potential of the country’s next billion people and commended NBV for supporting entrepreneurs beyond metropolitan centres.
Fujitani Masao, Executive General Manager, New Business, Suzuki Motor Corporation, said Suzuki would continue its support for NBV through Fund II and backed impact-driven entrepreneurs developing solutions to community-level problems.
The report said revenue across NBV’s agriculture portfolio had grown 246.66 per cent, reaching more than 2.14 lakh farmers, customers, producers and livelihood beneficiaries.
Startups working across education, accessibility and healthcare recorded 60 per cent revenue growth and impacted 17,15,372 people, while arts and livelihood ventures reported 24.72 per cent revenue growth and impacted 39,795 people.
Poultry farming startup Graduate Farmer recorded eight-fold revenue growth, with monthly farmer incomes increasing from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000.
Manikstu, a technology-enabled goat farming platform in Odisha, recorded five-fold revenue growth, reaching 25,000 farmers and increasing their annual income from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Haqdarshak has enabled access to welfare schemes for around 14 lakh informal workers, while Atypical Advantage has created livelihood opportunities for 5,000 persons with disabilities, the report said.
Kadam Haat expanded its artisan network from 400 to 6,500, with annual incomes increasing from Rs 7,000 to Rs 55,000. MeMeraki expanded its network to 400 heritage artists, with monthly incomes rising from Rs 25,000 to Rs 32,000.
NBV said Fund II would focus on investments in healthcare and artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on improving livelihoods and addressing last-mile gaps affecting India’s next billion people.
TNT KS
