NEW DELHI: Billionaire investor Masayoshi Son on Friday said he believes in the bright future of India and passion of its young entrepreneurs, and noted that the SoftBank Group has already invested USD 14 billion into the country in the past 10 years, as the biggest foreign investor here.
Speaking at the InFinity Forum, Son, chief executive of Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank, said the Group has infused USD 3 billion into the country this year alone, underlining a firm commitment to the market.
"We provided about 10 per cent of the funding of all of the 'Unicorns' in India...I believe in the future of India. I believe in the passion of young entrepreneurs in India," he said. The term 'Unicorn' refers to companies with valuation of over a billion dollars.
Son said that India "will be great" with a "bright future". "I say to young people in India, let us make it happen. I will support," Son said. The companies that Softbank has invested in have created one million new jobs in India, he said.
Son recalled his meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi several years ago, during Tokyo visit. "I think I gave him the biggest commitment that I would invest USD 5 billion in India. Now, after 10 years, we have already invested USD 14 billion in India...we are the biggest foreign investor into India," Son said.
SoftBank has been aggressively investing in India in the past few years, backing companies including Paytm, Ola and Delhivery. It has also invested in Flipkart and Meesho. Son further said the digital technologies have enabled enterpreneurs to overcome "boundaries" of digital divide, and take good ideas and solutions to global audiences.
It has also enabled access to funding, worldwide. "It is no longer the boundary...the digital divide if you have the ideas, the solutions...education can be done online, distribution, e-commerce, fintech, all those things are available worldwide...truly worldwide," he said.
He said that the digital divide exists only for the people who don't want to go beyond their set boundaries.