Next Billion Ventures

Managing Partners Ruzgar Barisik and Kentaro Toyoda lead the investment committee, supported by Partners Falgu Shah and Volodymyr Tsapko. The group worked together at the IFC for over a decade before forming Next Billion, and the firm's website notes that Barisik personally led more than $2 billion in IFC transactions across Asia and Africa.

Sourcing relies on the team's long operating history inside the IFC, which built direct relationships with entrepreneurs and regulators across the firm's target regions. A venture-partner network that includes country-level operators in Brazil, Nigeria, and the Middle East extends that reach, aiming to surface growth-stage companies before they run broad auction processes.

The firm's disclosed activity emphasizes direct growth equity investments. Public materials do not reference a fund-of-funds program or LP commitments to external managers; the model centers on taking direct stakes in operating companies.

Next Billion focuses on growth-stage companies — businesses with proven traction, existing revenue, and a clear path to scale. It does not invest in seed or pre-revenue startups. The firm's own language describes its targets as 'proven, tech-driven businesses.'

Public materials do not list an explicit exclusion list, but the stated focus is narrow: financial services, insurance, and healthcare delivered through mobile-first models. Sectors outside the digital- access thesis — such as heavy industry or infrastructure — do not appear in portfolio disclosures.