Masayoshi son of SoftBank reiterates his support for Indian entrepreneurs and startups
During a media event this week, Softbank’s Masayoshi Son reiterated his commitment to and support for the Indian startup ecosystem. He stated that he believes in India’s future, which is fueled by the passion of young Indian entrepreneurs.
“India will be fantastic.” There will be a prosperous future. Let’s make it happen, I tell young Indians. “I will be there for you,” said the billionaire tech entrepreneur and investor. According to him, he committed to investing $5 billion in India nearly ten years ago but ended up investing more than $15 billion, with $3 billion invested in the last year alone. Investors who purchased shares in Softbank-backed Policybazaar’s initial public offering (IPO) earlier this month saw a 17.35% premium on their investment.
Softbank’s Masayoshi Son reiterated his commitment and support to the Indian startup ecosystem while speaking at a media event this week. He said he believes in the future of India backed by the passion of young Indian entrepreneurs.
“India will be great. There will be a bright future. I tell young Indians, let’s make it happen. I will support you,” said the billionaire technology entrepreneur and investor. According to him, he had committed to investing $5 Bn in India almost ten years ago but ended up investing more than $15 Bn, with $3 Bn being invested in just the last year.
When asked about the role of the investor in the information revolution, Son spoke about how the success of an invention is based on more factors than the qualities of the product itself; the business also needs a viable model and an investor ready to take risk on the product.
He also sought to draw a key difference between investors and capitalists. According to him, investors are those who only care about the money they invest and the returns they receive on it. However, capitalists like him are supposedly more concerned about the technology and businesses that are changing the world and bringing it forward.
Son concluded his interaction with the Bloomberg executive by emphasising his belief in the Indian entrepreneurs, and that the belief will be backed by his investments. He also remarked about how the rise of startups in other developing regions like Africa is helping to slowly erase the digital divide.
Last month, Softbank Group’s Vision Fund had elevated its India head Sumer Juneja to the role of managing partner. Investors Lydia Jett, Vikas Parekh and Dennis Chang were also promoted to managing partner positions.
Juneja, an active investor in Swiggy before SoftBank, had added Meesho and Eruditus among some other key startups to the Vision Fund’s portfolio since he joined in 2018 as a partner and head of India operations.
Juneja has also been credited with setting up the fund’s Indian team and diversifying it across various sectors from ecommerce and ride-hailing startups to edtech and enterprise tech solutions.
Investors who were allotted shares in the IPO of Softbank-backed Policybazaar earlier last month received strong returns from their investments as the shares listed at a 17.35% premium on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
SoftBank-backed fintech giant Paytm concluded its IPO at almost 2x subscription. Other current and exited portfolio companies of SoftBank, that will be listing soon on public markets, include Policybazaar, Lenskart, Delhivery, InMobi, Ola and OYO.
SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son said the Japanese firm has invested about $14 billion over the past decade in India, making it the country’s largest foreign investor.
Speaking at the Infinity Forum – India’s flagship global financial technology summit– Son said that he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi several years ago in Japan and made a commitment to invest $5 billion in India.
“Just this year alone, we have invested $3 billion into India. We are the biggest for ..
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