Transit-focused payments startup CityCash raises $1 million in seed funding
Published on 12th August, 2020 | 1 min read
Public-transit focussed payments firm CityCash has raised $1 million as a part of its seed round from early stage venture capital firm Orios Venture Partners. National Common Mobility Card is an interoperable transit card project for Indian transportation ecosystem and was launched by the Indian government last year. At present, the startup is focussing on creating an offline tap-and-pay based payments ecosystem for low to middle income Indian consumers who use public transit and make small retail transactions. Earlier, CityCash has raised funds from lending fintech company FinoPaytech, the promoter of Fino Payments Bank. At present, the startup has partnered with Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, and has issued 3 million cards to consumers. “India’s micropayments cannot be carried out online, as they are dependent on network availability, with merchants facing high charges. UPI and card POS machines only operate in online mode, which is not suited for micropayments. These micro SMEs and consumers are also denied formal working capital or loans due to absence of data. CityCash is uniquely positioned to create a transit-led, offline tap-n-pay ecosystem,” said Anup Jain, managing partner at Orios Venture Partners.
Flipkart launches accelerator programme for idea-stage startups
Published on 11th August, 2020 | 1 min read
BENGALURU: Walmart-owned Flipkart has launched an accelerator programme for idea-stage startups in the consumer internet technology space, to help them build market-ready solutions. Startups that are shortlisted for Flipkart Leap will undergo 16-week mentorship training and receive an equity-free grant of $25,000, the homegrown ecommerce company said in a statement. “With innovations and disruptions in the field of technology coming about each day, we want to be at the forefront of driving scalability and helping these startups bring value to the industry as well as Indian consumers,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive officer of Flipkart Group. After completing the programme, the final participants of Flipkart Leap will pitch their successful model to investors, corporates, and other ecosystem players and may also be considered for funding by Flipkart. Last year, the company announced the launch of a venture fund to back early-stage technology startups in the ecommerce, fintech, payments, and other complementary spaces.
Homegrown Chingari raises $1.3 million seed funding
Published on 11th August, 2020 | 1 min read
NEW DELHI: Indian social media platform, Chingari, which rose to fame following the government’s ban on 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, has received seed funding of $1.3 million from AngelList, LogX Ventures, iSeed, Village Global and some others. The company says it will use the funds for hiring, accelerate product development, ramp up its platform and improve consumer engagement. According to the company, it has about 25 million downloads right now and 3 million daily active users. Indian short video apps like Chingari and Mitron have risen to fame following the government’s ban on TikTok. The ban has also started a race amongst Indian platforms to secure new funding and take advantage of the void. As reported earlier by Mint, Indian platform Sharechat is in talks with Microsoft for an investment of $100 million. While Chingari’s funding is good news for the market, it could also be seen as a lack of confidence on Indian platforms from investors.
Balance of payments will be strong this year, says Piyush Goyal
Published on 11th August, 2020 | 1 min read
Clawing back: In July this year, we have reached about 91% of exports witnessed in July 2019, says Mr. Goyal. India’s balance of payments this year is going to be “Very very strong” on the back of significant improvement in exports and a fall in imports, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. “We are in July at about 91% export level of July 2019 figures. Imports are still at about 70-71% level of July 2019. So, broadly, our balance of payments this year is going to be very, very strong, which is why we feel confident that Indian industry will see opportunities for themselves, will see opportunities of growth,” he said at a FICCI webinar. India’s exports fell for the fourth straight month in June as shipments of key segments like petroleum and textiles declined but the country’s trade turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports dropped by a steeper 47.59%. The country posted a trade surplus of $0.79 billion in June. Mr. Goyal said that the government was taking steps to support and promote domestic manufacturing and industry. “We shall ensure that any unfair treatment meted out to Indian industry across the world will be taken up at the highest levels on your behalf,” he said.
IndiGo to raise up to ₹4,000 crore through QIP
Published on 11th August, 2020 | 1 min read
New Delhi: The board of directors of InterGlobe Aviation Limited, which operates the country’s largest domestic airline IndiGo, has approved raising up to ₹4,000 crore through a qualified institutions placement, the company said on Monday. The board of directors “At its meeting held today, i.e., August 10, 2020, has considered and approved the raising of funds for an aggregate amount not exceeding ₹4,000 crores through an issue of equity shares by way of a qualified institutions placement, in accordance with the relevant provisions of applicable law and subject to approval of the Company’s shareholders and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals”, the airline said in a stock exchange notification. 81 crore in the March quarter, from a year-ago profit of ₹596 crore. At the company’s post result call last month, the airline’s chief financial officer Aditya Pande had said the airline’s operations weren’t being able to off-set its fixed costs though the company managed to bring down its daily cash-burn to ₹30 crore from ₹40 crore during the previous quarter. 8 crore comprising 7,527.6 crore of free cash and ₹10,922. 6 crore on 30 June, up 27.8% from the year-ago period.
LeapFrog ramps up India exposure, scouts for deals
Published on 10th August, 2020 | 1 min read
NEW DELHI: LeapFrog Investments, one of the largest impact investors globally, will consider ramping up its exposure to India, a critical geography for the growth-stage investor, as it looks to scout for more deals in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The London-based firm, which has pumped in an estimated $200 million in local ventures, may look to allocate as much as 20% of its third fund – a $750 million investment vehicle – which it launched last year, to India. “We plan to put more capital into India, and increase the amount beyond what we have historically put in. The digital evolution in India has been massively accelerated by the telcos, in particular, Jio. The context of a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, and a highly-accelerated digitisation, along with now Covid-19, has created a vast opportunity to reach out to lower-income people, and the last mile, which is real India,” Kuper told ET over phone. The global impact investment firm has so far exited Shriram CCL, the group’s financial services distribution arm, and Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd. It currently has nine companies in India in its portfolio, including Ascent Meditech, MedGenome, Northern Arc, Dvara, Fincare, Magma and NeoGrowth.
81% SMEs confident of recovery post Covid, 57% have no cash reserve: Survey
Published on 10th August, 2020 | 1 min read
As per the revised criteria, any firm with investment up to Rs 1 crore and turnover under Rs 5 crore is classified as a. Despite several businesses remaining closed during the lockdown, 81 per cent of micro-enterprises polled are confident of a recovery post Covid-19 whereas 57 per cent reported not having any cash reserves to survive, according to a survey. Initial results of a six-month survey that is underway by GAME in association with LEAD at Krea University covering 1,500 micro-enterprises also reveal that 40 per cent tried to borrow money to cover expenses. Only 14 per cent of the overall borrowing was from formal borrowing sources. As per the revised criteria, any firm with investment up to Rs 1 crore and turnover under Rs 5 crore is classified as a “Micro” enterprise. Madan Padaki, co-founder of GAME, said Covid-19 has left a devastating impact on the Indian economy, especially micro-enterprises that comprise around 99 per cent of all firms in India. 70 per cent female business owners suggested inter-house conflicts as the biggest challenge while 53 per cent men responded to the same. Women also faced more unaffordable expenses than men, with 46 per cent suggesting the same, the survey said.
PM Modi launches ₹1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund
Published on 10th August, 2020 | 1 min read
Mr. Modi launched the scheme via videoconferencing and interacted with farmers across the country. He also released the sixth instalment of funds under the PM-KISAN scheme, which amounted to ₹17,000 crore to about 8.5 crore farmers. The first ₹1,000 crore was sanctioned on Sunday to over 2,280 farmer societies under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, which was approved by the Cabinet a month ago, the statement said. “The scheme will support farmers, PACS , FPOs , agri-entrepreneurs, etc. in building community farming assets and post-harvest agriculture infrastructure. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition,” the statement said. During the launch event, Mr. Modi spoke to representatives from three PACS from Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh who are beneficiaries of the scheme. He said the scheme would give farmers and the agriculture sector as a whole a boost and “Increase India’s ability to compete on the global stage”, the statement said. The agriculture fund, a 10-year ₹1 lakh crore scheme starting this financial year, was a “Medium-long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and credit guarantee”, it said.
Asia-Pacific may see $31.4-54.3 bn remittance losses due to COVID-19: Asian Development Bank
Published on 10th August, 2020 | 1 min read
New Delhi: Asia Pacific, which accounts for a third of the global migrant workforce, is likely to face remittance losses of USD 31.4-54.3 billion due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Asian Development Bank said in a report. Job losses stemming from COVID-19 are hurting households around the world, but for Asia and the Pacific’s 91 million migrant workers – a third of the global migrant workforce – the impacts will be particularly severe, the ADB said in August 2020 brief on ‘COVID-19 Impact on International Migration, Remittances, and Recipient Households in Developing Asia. The countries likely to face more severe effects from the pandemic-induced decline in remittance inflows are the ones where remittance shares to gross domestic product and per capita remittances are high. “The remittance flows to developing Asia is to plunge amid the pandemic as during the first months 2020, remittances began to contract in major migrant source countries…While some migrant workers may feel altruistic and send more money to their families in extremely difficult situations, prevailing weak economic forecasts are pointing toward declining remittances.” A study based on microdata from selected economies in South Asia and Southeast Asia suggests that a 10 per cent increase in remittance inflows leads to a 3-4 per cent rise in real GDP per capita, it said.
India got FDI worth $22 billion during pandemic: Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant
Published on 9th August, 2020 | 1 min read
Kant also lauded India’s FDI regime and called it among the most liberal in the world. “Our FDI regime is the most liberal in the world. We have continued to attract huge amount of investments. During the pandemic itself, India attracted over 22 billion worth of direct investments into India. Almost 98% of it comes through automatic route,” said Kant. According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, India’s economy could turn out to be most resilient in South Asia and will continue to attract investments in 2020 even though global FDI is expected to fall. India had jumped to 9th position in the list of countries with top FDI investments in 2019, up from 12th position in 2018. In July, India’s PM Narendra Modi invited foreign investors to invest in India and assured global companies that the government is capable of carrying out deep structural reforms. While India has been getting huge investments from global companies, investments form China has been put under scanner. Under the new rules, notified in April, prior government approval is required for all foreign investments from countries which share a land border with India.
Grofers starts grocery sales with Rs 50 cr support to local partners
Published on 9th August, 2020 | 1 min read
Softbank-backed online grocery seller Grofers on Saturday announced a nine-day sales scheme and Rs 50 crore working capital and advance payments support for partners manufacturing products locally. The company aims to sell 9 crore items produced by its partners including 5.5 crore items that are produced locally, Grofers said in a statement. “Our aim, with the latest edition of GOBD is to help our small scale manufacturing partners, MSMEs to come back on track so that we can together continue serving customers across India,” Grofers CEO and co-founder Albinder Dhindsa said. The company has partnered with 800 micro small and medium enterprises for the GOBD that started on Saturday. The brand, under its proprietary initiative Brandfarm works with small and local businesses. The company has ramped-up its warehouse capacities by adding three new facilities to its network and has hired additional 2,000 warehouse staff to meet heightened demand, the statement said. “The company has deployed more than Rs 50 crore as working capital support and advance payments to support its small manufacturing partners in a single month. The e-grocer over the nine days aims to sell 2.5 crore items and 5.5 crore items manufactured by its partners and Make in India products respectively,” the statement said.
With Instagram Reels' launch, Zuckerberg's personal wealth hits $100 bn
Published on 9th August, 2020 | 1 min read
The personal wealth of Founder and CEO has touched $100 billion after the social network launched a Tik-Tok rival called Reels this week. Amid uncertainties surrounding TikTok’s business in the US, Facebook has introduced Reels that will allow people to create and discover short, entertaining videos. With Reels, one can record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects and new creative tools. Reels can be recorded in a series of clips – one at a time, all at once, or using video uploads from your gallery. Reels was first introduced in Brazil last year as a pilot. Instagram announced the extension of the testing of Reels to India in July, barely a week after India announced the ban of 59 Chinese apps including. On Friday threatened legal action against an executive order that US President Donald Trump issued, prohibiting the China-based company from doing business with the US firms after 45 days.
Amazon, Flipkart set to witness business worth $600 mn during sale events
Published on 9th August, 2020 | 1 min read
E-commerce Amazon and Flipkart are expecting to witness a total business of about $600 million during their ongoing sale events. This is at least 25 per cent higher in terms of sales compared to the business these firms would have generated for such small scale events during pre-Covid times, according to the industry insiders and analysts. Walmart-owned Flipkart is running the 5-day ‘Big Saving Days’ sale till Monday, coinciding with Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day sale which ended on Friday night. “These are not dominant sale events compared to Flipkart’s Big Billion Days and Amazon’s Great Indian Festival, but these are expected to witness a total sales of about $600 million,” said a person familiar with the sale events of Flipkart and Amazon. Amazon India witnessed bumper sales of smartphone handsets during the two-day sale with “Many items getting out of stock,” according to a person familiar with the development. During Amazon’s Prime Day sale, several handsets such as the OnePlus 7 range were sold at a discount of up to Rs 10,000 on Amazon. “Based on consumer feedback, just because the sale was on and many don’t want to visit markets and malls for non-essentials they need, they have ended up placing orders during these sales,” said Taparia.
Byju’s eyes initial public offer, buyouts
Published on 8th August, 2020 | 1 min read
At a time students across the country continue to learn from home, top edtech firm Byju’s has doubled down on its business, raising large chunks of capital and buying code training platform WhiteHat Jr for $300 million.In an interview, Byju Raveendran, CEO, Byju’s, spoke of how the deal will help the company’s planned entry into the code-skilling segment; merger and acquisition plans; and a possible initial public offering.Most of the changes in our traditional school curriculum in the last few decades were focused on passive learning methods, but we believe that the future of learning must be based on active leaning methods.Coding is a subject and a skill that fits well into the active learning methodology, and young kids are always curious in their early schooling days; and somewhere down the line, because of exam or performance fears, they lose curiosity.In the future, we will also look at companies that fit into our long-term vision of helping students get access to different learning formats of online learning.There are not many large edtech companies in India yet and, since the acceptance of online learning is better than before in the country, there is still room for growth in certain edtech segments.