Tag: Entrepreneurship

Skill Titans Season 1: An exclusive student entrepreneurship TV show

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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• Avnish Anand: CEO of Caratlane, blending innovation and elegance in the jewelry industry
• Apurv Mishra: Consultant, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
• Sumeet Mehta: The Founder of Lead School, dedicated to transforming education and empowering young minds
• Dr. Seema Negi: Director & Founder Principal at Sanjeevani World School and a life coach
• Shreyaan Daga: Co-Founder of OLL, played a pivotal role in making Skill Titans a dynamic platform for young minds

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Silver lining of the startup world’s excesses is that…’ what Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath said

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath is excited that many in India are aspiring to become entrepreneurs now. With more and more people building for India, India, the country will be on the way to becoming a $5 trillion+, Kamath said in reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.

Kamath expressed that being an entrepreneur is becoming more aspirational amid the huge success of start-ups in the country. Currently, India has about 105 unicorns (start-up companies valued at over $1 billion).

“The silver lining of the startup world’s excesses is that, for the first time in India, there are so many aspiring to be entrepreneurs. Almost like how people want IIT, IIM, Civil Services, etc. More people building for India, in India is the only way we can get to $5 trillion+,” Kamath wrote on LinkedIn.

ALSO READ: Zerodha crosses 1-crore customer base — how Nithin Kamath reacted

Kamath had earlier emphasised that despite the start-up boom making it seem easy to build a business, it is actually a tough job to do. Creating a business with a positive cash flow can only be considered a success, according to Kamath.

“Today entrepreneurs are almost looked at like heroes and everyone wants to be on the other side, it’s important to realise that the other side is really hard,” Kamath recently said in an interview with Moneycontrol.

ALSO READ: Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath has figured why the financial year starts in April

Experts, however, have warned about a funding crunch which can slow down the expansion of start-ups. Indian start-ups must focus on surviving the next 12-18 months as the funding crunch will hit home in early 2023, Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said last week during a panel discussion at The Economic Times Start-up Awards.

Venture funding has been hit hard across stages in India and around the world due to several global factors. As per Venture Intelligence, start-ups saw funding of $2.7 billion in the September quarter this year, as against close to $12 billion in the same period last year, Economic Times reported.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra wins CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2022 — Check full list of winners here

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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CNN-News18 today presented the 12th edition of its flagship Indian of the Year (IOTY) awards to achievers who have brought pride to the country through their tenacity and dedication, honouring the top performers who have excelled in their areas in the last one year.

The initiative celebrated breakthroughs in categories that have come to define the Indian spirit — sports, entertainment, politics, entrepreneurship, social reform, and climate change — through this programme. The Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar, served as the chief guest at the ceremony.

Here is the complete list of the winners from all the categories.

Entertainment

Nominations: Alia Bhatt, Allu Arjun, Kartik Aaryan, Team RRR, Vivek Agnihotri

Winner: Allu Arjun

South superstar Allu Arjun has been named Indian of the Year 2022 in the category of ‘entertainment.’  He was honoured for his gripping performance in Pushpa: The Rise, his 2021 feature, which gained him international acclaim and played an important role in bringing moviegoers back to theatres in 2021, grossing more than Rs 350 crore globally.

His breakthrough comes at a time when South Indian film is gaining popularity nationwide. Union Minister Smriti Irani was on stage with him to present the trophy.

Allu said as he accepted his award, “I’ve been working for 20 years and have earned several awards in the south, but today is the first time I’ve received an award from the north. It’s my first, and being in the country’s capital while getting it makes it much more memorable.”

“India Jhukega Nahi,” said Pushpa Star #AlluArjun as he received the #IndianOfTheYear award in the Entertainment category

Union Minister Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) presented the award

LIVE: https://t.co/hEUYGE2Ulw pic.twitter.com/vMESBCyuQD

— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 12, 2022

Climate Warrior

Nominations: Jadav Payeng, Jamuna Tudu, Marimuthu Yoganathan, Prasiddhi Singh, Sumaira Abdulali

Winner: Marimuthu Yoganathan

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat presented the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2022 award in climate warrior category to Marimuthu Yoganathan.

#IndianOfTheYear 2022: The award in #ClimateWarrior category goes to: #MarimuthuYoganathan, a bus conductor who has planted 3.5 lakh saplings!@gssjodhpur, Union Minister of Jal Shakti presents the award

Watch Live Here: 👇
YT: https://t.co/yaa6k6dYrk | @Zakka_Jacob pic.twitter.com/Hc2aMAjeaf

— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 12, 2022

Yoganathan, a bus conductor, also popular as the Tree Man of Tamil Nadu, has planted over three lakh saplings in the last three decades at his own expense. He distributes the saplings free of cost to passengers travelling in his bus. He has also visited countless schools, colleges and industries to raise awareness about protecting the environment.

While delivering this award, Shekhawa drew parallel between Yoganathan and South actor Rajnikanth, who also began his career as a bus conductor, and said, “He (Yoganathan) is the Rajnikanth of the climate crusaders.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Top startups founders and stakeholders launch Artha School of Entrepreneurship for early-stage entrepreneurs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Top founders and stakesholders in the Indian startup ecosystem have launched a non-profit Artha School of Entrepreneurship to help new-age entrepreneurs scale their ventures.

The initative will be spearheaded by TN Hari, former HR head at BigBasket and ex-Lenskart CHRO Suruchi Maitra.

“India’s quest for equitable growth will never be fulfilled unless founders from all socioeconomic backgrounds realize their full potential. The Artha Scale Program has been carefully designed to create impact on a bigger canvas,” said Hari.

Meanwhile, Maitra added, “In the decades to come, India’s quest for prosperity and inclusive development will be addressed at the confluence of technology, entrepreneurial energy, and patient capital. In the process, many large companies would take shape.”

Also read: Sequoia’s Surge reveals 15 Indian & Southeast Asian startups that are in its 7th cohort

The other members of the founding team include, Helion Ventures co-founder Ashish Gupta, entrepreneur and angel investor Pavan Vaish, ISB founding dean and Ashoka University founder Pramath Raj Sinha, Helion Ventures and the Fundamentum Partnership founder Sanjeev Aggarwal.

“Eighty percent or more of the scaling problems entrepreneurs grapple with everyday have been solved before. Reinventing the wheel through trial and error slows down, and often derails, the journey,” commented Aggarwal.

As per a statement, the founding team has a track record of scaling startups and have participated in creating 12 unicorns and 10 successful exits including 3 IPOs.

The program has been designed for founders of early-stage startups that have achieved some level of product-market fit and are poised for scale. The objective is to make the art and science of scaling accessible to these founders, the statement added.

Also read: These women entrepreneurs are changing the market with their apps

As part of the program, the participants will have access to online content, in multiple formats, relating to all elements of scaling and get mentorship from a set of successful founders and startup executives. 

“Starting-up is not easily coachable but Scaling-up certainly is. Entrepreneurs have an unmistakable bias for learning from individuals who have been through their journeys successfully, and a program like this can enable India become not just a land of Unicorns but a land of high growth and sustainable companies,” said Vaish.

The non-profit will also partner with startup incubator T-Hub in Hyderabad and KSN Global in Kochi. As per the company, discussions are also underway to partner with ecosystem enablers in other states.

The firm added that the first set of workshops have already taken place in Kochi and more have been scheduled in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and would soon be extended to Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai.

Also read: Fundamentum Partnership launches Fund 2, raising $227 million; and 10 years of Unitus Ventures

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Twin Health raises $140M in Series C funding from Sequoia India; aims to reverse and prevent chronic metabolic diseases

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Twin Health, a US and India-based healthtech startup has raised $140 million in Series C funding led by Sequoia Capital India, ICONIQ Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Corner Ventures, LTS Investments, Helena and Sofina.

Founded in 2018, Twin Health combines IoT sensors, machine learning, and medical science to improve metabolic health.

India has over 70 million people suffering from Type 2 Diabetes, the second highest in the world. By 2045, this is expected to grow to 134 million people, the company said in a statement.

Twin Health is trying to solve this complexity through its precision health technology – Whole Body Digital Twin.

The Whole Body Digital Twin using AI provides guidance for nutrition, sleep, activity and meditative breathing to patients and their doctors to safely reverse and prevent a variety of chronic metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver disease.

“Our Whole Body Digital Twin lives alongside you – giving you a simple, clear view into your beautifully complex biology, continuously learning about your metabolism and telling you what you can do to improve your health in the moment,” said Jahangir Mohammed, Founder and CEO of Twin Health.

As per the company, using the Twin service, several Indian diabetologists, endocrinologists and MD physicians have been able to deliver precise care to reverse type 2 diabetes. In clinical trials, over 90 percent achieved type 2 diabetes reversal and 92 percent eliminated all diabetes medication within 90 days of joining the Twin service, the company claimed. So far, thousands of patients have successfully reversed type 2 diabetes using Twin’s service, the company added.

“Complications from Diabetes cause one in 20 deaths in India. Existing treatments do not solve the root cause of the disease, and the incidence of diabetes continues to grow throughout India.  We are on a mission to change this at Twin,” said Dr. Maluk Mohamed, Co-founder & Head of Global Research.

According to the company, Twin Health’s clinical research team is also conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) for reversing chronic metabolic disease using digital twin technology.

A report by American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes journal, patients had an average reduction of 3.1 (average baseline 8.7) in HbA1c, a common measure of blood sugar levels, with over 90 percent achieving type 2 diabetes reversal (HbA1c less than 6.5), and 92 percent eliminating all diabetes medications including insulin.

Twin Health also collaborates with IIT Madras in technology development and health research validation.

Prof. Ashok Jhunjunwala, founder of the IIT Madras Research Park, said “India is the diabetic capital of the world. While medicines like insulin are widely used to control blood sugar, the patient never fully recovers. The body deteriorates over the years. Twin Health has come with a very innovative technique to reverse diabetes. Through sensors, Artificial Intelligence and detailed data-analytics, each person can ‘carefully listen to one’s body’ and understand their metabolic reactions through their very own digital twin. We have seen enough Random Control Trial data to assure ourselves that it works.”

Digital twins in healthcare are still very much an opportunity that is further away. In India specifically the digitization of health records is very low. Even though the pandemic is raising awareness, the first set of enablers are going to be around digital tools and technologies that capture the patient record and make it available to the patient.

Twin Health will use the fresh influx of funding to scale its invention to reverse and prevent chronic metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

View: Bridging the gender gap with financial literacy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Women running their own businesses face multiple challenges, the biggest of which is the difficulty in accessing finance. While public sector banks (PSBs) have financial schemes to bolster women-led businesses, creating awareness and access to these is essential.

Over the last decade or so, a fair amount of work has been done on gender diversity. Organisations like the global non-profit, Catalyst have helped in creating awareness about the gender pay gap and are working towards bridging it. Despite that, a huge gap remains in women’s share in entrepreneurial finance.

Only seven of a hundred entrepreneurs in India are women. And nearly half of them, get into business out of necessity rather than aspiration. A report by the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE) pointed out.

The MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) 2019 ranks India as one of the lowest countries for providing a congenial environment for women entrepreneurs. India ranks at 52nd position among the 58 countries studied globally.

Only 33  percent of the early-stage entrepreneurs in India are women, as per the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2014.

What is preventing growth of women entrepreneurs in India?

Many women owning small and medium enterprises (SME) point to the lack of access to capital as the biggest constraint in running businesses. Some other factors include low awareness and access to schemes. These factors inhibit women entrepreneurs from being able to scale up and expand their businesses.

The persisting gender bias in society is another major impediment. Women-owned small businesses are perceived as risky. Women’s lack of access to the movable and immovable property as collateral prevents banks from establishing the creditworthiness of women-owned businesses. And nearly 80 percent of banks have identified challenges in this area.

Banks do not go out of their way to promote the existing options. And they do not wish to disrupt the existing ecosystem full of women who have the potential to run a Michelin star restaurant but remain proud home-kitchen chefs within the constraints of their homes.

A lot of the schemes launched in the past are centred around offers from select public sector banks. And with no one monitoring these schemes, there is no tangible incentive for banks to encourage women to avail these schemes. And thus the financial literacy of women remain limited.

Public sector banks, on account of their deep penetration in local areas, account for the bulk of formal credit supply to MSMEs. But women entrepreneurs get only 5.2  percent of the total credit outstanding that all PSBs provided to MSMEs, as per a recent IFC report.

According to the report, 80 percent of women entrepreneurs said personal resources were their most preferred option for finance. Almost 55 percent said they took loans from moneylenders. It said financial institutions and business associations (through linkages to credit) were their last options.

Among these, 77 percent took loans to finance fixed capital requirements. Only 14 percent of women-owned enterprises availed bank loans to meet growth requirements.

This is significantly lower than male-owned enterprises where 66.7  percent availed credit for business expansion and growth. This difference highlights the apparent bias banks have towards women-owned/run enterprises and the lack of financial literacy among women.

India is the third-largest startup hub in the world and yet women-led ventures remain sub-scale. Active monitoring and support to build a better financial ecosystem for women entrepreneurs can play a significant role in advancing the economic growth of the country.

Over the last few years, the government has made efforts by launching multiple schemes through public sector banks. For instance, the Stand-Up India scheme facilitates loans between Rs 10-100 lakh.

Loans under this are offered by multiple PSBs like SBI/Union Bank/PNB etc. These loans are focused on greenfield projects in manufacturing/trading/service with a minimum of one woman/SC/ST entrepreneur.

The IFC report mentions women entrepreneurs have consistently performed better than their male counterparts. And their businesses showed greater profit margins than those of men – 31  percent, on average, as compared to about 19  percent.

The report adds women in PSBs accounted for 4 percent of NPAs, lower than the overall NPAs registered at 6.2 percent. Moreover, women are seen to be more loyal customers, as they have fewer banking relationships as compared to their male counterparts.

All this shows banks should galvanize action to have a higher diversity ratio in their lending books. Sadly, the same study also estimates 90 percent of women entrepreneurs surveyed had not availed of finance from formal institutional channels.

In volume terms, an estimated 70  percent of the financing demand remained unmet. This translates to a financing gap of over Rs 1 lakh crore, a huge market opportunity for formal financial institutions for quality lending.

A society in which women cannot realise their full potential loses out on the significant potential for innovation and growth. A recent study by International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that in India, measures to close the gender gap could lead to a 6.8 percent gain in GDP. To move to the next level of growth, let’s bridge the gender gap on priority.

– Akanksha Bahl is the leader of the lending sub-committee at WICCI Banking and Credit Council. Views expressed are personal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The potential of digitization in rural India – A case for women entrepreneurship amidst COVID-19

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the economy, affecting both male and female-owned enterprises. According to the Sixth Economic Census, only 13.8 percent of Indian establishments are owned by women, a majority of which are micro-enterprises.

Micro-enterprises are self-financed firms that predominantly function in sectors such as handicrafts, tourism, and the beauty industry.

These sectors have been severely affected by the pandemic, thereby devasting and affecting women-led enterprises disproportionately. Male employment has fallen by 30 percent versus its pre-lockdown level, while female employment witnessed a decline by 43 percent.

The condition of women-led enterprises has further deteriorated due to the lack of awareness around government support schemes, benefits, and financial knowledge such as loans, concessions in interest moratorium, etc.

COVID-19 has exacerbated the struggle for women-owned establishments, and they continue to struggle to identify ways to recover losses and sustain themselves.

Deeply rooted socio-cultural norms that are an integral part of the societal fabric, act as barriers in the setting up of enterprises by women entrepreneurs in India.

The pandemic has further threatened the growth and survival of women-led businesses with the disruption of supply chains, closure of markets, and diminishing avenues for revenue generation.

Access to finance, always a challenge for women, has become even more inaccessible in the face of the pandemic, with cash inflow tapering down.

According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, in spite of women having to pay higher loan repayment rates, they still face greater difficulties in obtaining credit, often due to discriminatory attitudes of lending bodies. Financial institutions in the country are structurally designed to facilitate the aspirations of men.

In India, where land and finances are mostly in the name of male members of the household, access to credit is a big challenge for women who have no collateral in their names that can be used to avail of institutional loans.

Additionally, women-led micro and small businesses are viewed as high-risk ventures, as they include smaller companies working in lower-margin markets, and hence are more prone to facing instability than micro-businesses led by men.

Women entrepreneurs are thus faced with structural and systemic constraints, in addition to cultural norms and restrictions that greatly reduces their ability to take risks.

According to the Landscape Study on Women Entrepreneurship by EdelGive Foundation, based on a sample size of 1200 women across 13 states, arranging finances turns out to be the single largest challenge faced by most women. It is followed by balancing business and home responsibilities, hinting at limited financial support from their families.

Unpaid work across the globe is gendered in nature, with the burden of such activities being disproportionately borne by women. In India, women spend an average of 351.9 minutes per day on unpaid work, as compared to an average of 51.8 minutes per day by men.

The pandemic further catalyzes these challenges, through increased responsibilities for women at home in the absence of other family members who are venturing out to school or work, thus adding to their workload and hours of unpaid labour.

To overcome these deeply embedded socio-economic and financial challenges that women face, tailor-made schemes and government benefits such as lower interest rates, customised lending and self-help- groups, have made it possible for women entrepreneurs to start and sustain their enterprises.

Furthermore, COVID-19 has also shed light on the importance of digitization of businesses that has been proving to be a cost-effective opportunity for women-led enterprises to work digitally, instead of investing in land and resources.

With the increasing need for businesses to depend on virtual solutions to flourish and sustain economic growth, the need for women-owned enterprises to quickly digitize all processes to safeguard their workplace from disruptions and shocks has also emerged as prudent.

The smartphone is recognised as the most useful tool of digital technology, with rural India witnessing an increase in smartphone penetration rising from 9 percent in 2015, to 25 percent in 2018.

The increase in rural internet users has seen a year-on-year growth of 35 percent in 2018, as opposed to 7 percent growth in urban India during the same period. It alludes to the increased dependence on smartphones being used as a tool to further knowledge sharing, social media, and even leverage businesses where applicable.

The use of digital technology in rural and semi-rural India has seen a rise in the face of COVID-19, with women leveraging digital tools to market, network and sell their products.

Many stakeholders across the ecosystem have in fact made digital upskilling projects available to women, with organisations like Maan Deshi Foundation and SEWA leading the way.

While the response to these upskilling initiatives has been positive with many women availing of them, there have also been instances where women – of their own volition – have engaged on social platforms to upskill themselves.

In fact, during the survey conducted as part of our UdyamStree campaign, we came across 23-year-old Titli, a resident of a small village in West Bengal, who proactively chose to upskill herself using the sole digital tool that she had access to – a smartphone.

When COVID-19 cost both Titli and her husband their livelihoods, she decided that setting up an individual enterprise would be the most prudent way to ensure income generation for her household.

Quickly identifying sanitization as the need of the hour, Titli went on to access YouTube to educate herself on the process of manufacturing hygiene/sanitization solutions.

After availing of the help of her uncle who had prior knowledge of the manufacturing processes for the same, she then sought assistance from a self-help group in the area to raise an initial capital of Rs. 5,000, which was given to her as a loan for setting up the business. Today, Titli successfully runs a black phenyl business that has ensured avenues of income for the entire household.

Many women across semi-rural and rural India have in their efforts to sustain their families, gone on to set up enterprises by availing of help from micro-lending groups and SHGs. They have quickly realised that business models that leverage digital mediums are the way forward, for both the success and survival of their enterprises.

However, the mere identification of the opportunities that digital platforms provide is not enough, support and assistance across the ecosystem are needed for them to succeed.

Assistance to hone the entrepreneurial spirit of women, facilitation of a level playing field, and access to the internet can pave the way for the creation of successful, financially independent, and resilient women entrepreneurs. It is only through the creation of an enabling environment that women entrepreneurs can succeed.

–Vidya Shah is the Executive Chairperson at EdelGive Foundation. Views are personal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Chiratae Ventures’ new startup accelerator promises seed funds at ‘supersonic’ speed

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chiratae Ventures has announced its accelerator program – Chiratae Sonic, which seeks to fast-track fundraising for early-stage startups in India. Under the initiative, startup founders would secure seed funds within 48 hours if the required investment is less than or equal to $500,000.

Chiratae Ventures has created a template form and a dedicated website for the Chiratae Sonic Program to quicken the application process, which will accept entries for the next 30 days under the first phase of the seed initiative.

“One of the biggest challenges an early-stage entrepreneur faces is the tedious and time-consuming process behind raising capital. We believe innovation needs to be at the core of why and how founders interact with investors. By solving and simplifying the ‘how’ of that conversation, Chiratae Sonic strives to empower founders to focus on innovation above all,” said Sudhir Sethi, Founder & Chairman, Chiratae Ventures.

It is the 8th seed investment program rolled out by Chiratae Ventures. The focus remains on investing in startups with technology at the core, said in a statement.

Currently, Chiratae Ventures handles close to $900 million worth of assets under management. So far, it has invested in at least 99 startups across consumer tech, enterprise Tech/SaaS, fintech, health tech, deep-tech, edTech and Agri-tech.

Bounce, Cure.fit, FirstCry, Flipkart, Myntra (acquired by Flipkart), Lenskart, Manthan, NestAway, PolicyBazaar, Rentomojo and Uniphore are some of the companies in Chiratae’s portfolio.

So far, it has exited 37 startups with 2 IPOs, including Newgen Software technologies, which went public in January 2018.

Chiratae Ventures recently made a stellar exit after one of its portfolio companies PlaySimple – a game development startup – was acquired for $360 million by the Sweden-based Modern Times Group. Chiratae Ventures, along with Elevation Capital, had seeded PlaySimple with a $4 million investment in 2016.

In its latest search-and-fund drive for the next crop of new-age startups in India, Chiratae Ventures also promises to provide access to the expertise and insights of its Global Advisory Board and India Advisory Council. Chiratae Venture’s Global Advisory Board includes Tata Group’s Ratan Tata and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also a key collaborator in the Chiratae Sonic program. It will offer credits up to $100,000 per eligible startup through the AWS Activate program. That includes resources like AWS credits, business mentorship and technical support to help early-stage founders build and scale startups.

Also Read | Scripbox opens direct route for users to invest in US stocks in partnership with Stockal

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Businesses don’t want character certificates, businesses want a fair return on capital

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Prime Minister’s call not to vilify businessmen has been received as a welcome break from the past. Just a day later, renowned management expert Ram Charan, who is guru to many top-class CEOs like Jack Welsh, spoke at our “India Risk Management Awards” and said that India’s risk premium is high because foreigners look at the way India doesn’t allow return on the cost of capital in key sectors like power, telecom, airlines and some others.

This note argues that:

• India has a tradition of not vilifying but respecting entrepreneurs
• Businessmen don’t want character certificates; they want a policy regime that allows upholds the right of contract and the rule of law so that businesses can earn a fair return on capital
• And finally, being pro-business shouldn’t mean being pro some businessmen.

The charge that businesses are vilified in India is a misrepresentation. Indian civilization historically and the modern Indian nation-state have both been pro-entrepreneurs. The Gujarati and Marwari communities and likewise the Reddys and Kammas of Andhra or the Chettiars of Tamil Nadu have all been admired through the ages for their business acumen. Cut to modern India, the house of Tatas has often been honoured for pioneering many businesses in India. Indian news media have repeatedly fallen over each other to give awards to scions from traditional business families like Birlas,  Ambanis,  Mittals and Bajajs .

Technocrat-entrepreneurs like Narayan Murthy,  Nandan Nilekani, Azim Premji, Deepak Parekh, Uday Kotak, Aditya Puri are all revered icons, second only to cricketers. Indeed as Morgan Stanley EM strategist Ruchir Sharma writes, the construction of a palatial building like Antilla in the heart of Mumbai is in sharp contrast to Mexican businessmen who normally build their homes outside the city behind barbed wires and travel after dark with a bevy of bodyguards.

Indeed I have hardly come across businessmen in India who complain of vilification. Rather, as Dr Charan says businessmen complain that politicians, bureaucrats and judges don’t ensure the sanctity of contracts on which they base their calculations of the cost of and return on capital.

Let us take the three sectors that Dr Charan referred to. First, power. Earlier this month Gujarat’s state-owned power distributor, GUVNL, summarily cancelled a solar power contract signed last year with ReNew Power, Tata Power and few others, for Rs 2.78 per unit, only because this year it could get a project signed for Rs 1.99 per unit. Such going back on contracts is unfair because companies would have already raised loans and equity assuming a certain return and hence the entire chain of lenders and investors can be out of pocket. This is hardly the first such instance.

Two years ago it was the state of Andhra and before that UP. The bigger problem power generating companies have faced for the past 2 decades is huge over dues from discoms. Most state discoms are deep in the red due to high power thefts or because state governments who subsidise the power don’t pay the subsidy amount on time. Power companies in India are victims of serial defaults in law enforcement.

Likewise telecom. Indian bureaucrats, public auditors like the CAG and finance ministries start on the assumption that natural resources like spectrum should be charged a back-breaking price for the good of the nation. Several countries like the US give spectrum free so that businesses flourish and the country is able to earn taxes due to higher growth.  To be sure there was corruption afoot in the issue of the 2G spectrum. But the handling of the case resulted in wiping out all but 3 companies and in over one lakh crore of bad loans to banks and it is this shabby legal-political process that scares businesses and adds to the India risk premium.

Airlines tend to be tough businesses everywhere, but in India, with its high tariffs on ATF and equally punishing charges for landing, parking and ground handling imposed by Airports Authority make the business fragile if not unviable. Vijay Mallya has been vilified no end, but even his worst critics will agree he lost more of his personal wealth investing in Kingfisher Airline than he gained. That it is very tough to run an airline in India is proven by Jet and Indian Airlines flopping without any Mallya piloting them.

India is faring poorly in sectors that depend on the government. Hence the PM’s call to be pro-business needs to be taken most seriously by his own ministers and bureaucrats and by the judiciary. They need to ensure that policies are made and administered, as Dr Charan says, in such a way that businesses are allowed to earn a fair return on the cost of capital.

Finally,  while we welcome the cry not to vilify business, it cannot mean turning a blind eye to policies benefitting cronies. Take for instance the production linked incentive (PLI) policy. It is based on choosing winners in every sector and subsidising them to become world-class. But the manner of choosing the winners must be fair and open to scrutiny.  Encouraging business cannot mean vilifying those who demand fairness in the process.

Views are personal

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View: Govt must encourage entrepreneurship for marginalized sections of society for inclusive growth

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Last week, Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 was unveiled by the Government of India to boost employment. One of the focus areas of this new policy is to bring normalcy in the lives of rural people and generate maximum opportunities to make them Atmanirbhar or self-reliant.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the marginalized sections, especially women and children, has been particularly intense in India. In addition, the current economic meltdown is leading to massive psycho-social impact among these sections. It is time to aggressively address these gaps and uplift the vulnerable population of the country in a more sustainable way by making them self-reliant.

Economic development is relative to the depth of entrepreneurship in a country. For inclusive growth, entrepreneurship development amongst the marginalised communities is a must. It has been observed that entrepreneurship development plays a pivotal role in spurring self-employment opportunities and promoting industrial growth. Effective implementation of development programmes for the marginalised section is the need of the hour.

As per a study conducted by PRATHAM for NITI Aayog, there is a growing aspiration among people (around 70 percent) living in rural or semi-urban areas to become self-employed entrepreneurs.

The latest path to serve the nation and contribute to rebuilding it individually is to be more self-reliant. However, the new self-reliant India will not only involve entrepreneurs selling ‘Made in India’ products but will also require people, on a large scale to ensure successful execution.

Therefore, entrepreneurship must be encouraged in areas with tougher living conditions so that marginalised sections of the Indian society could utilize new opportunities being created for MSMEs.

Micro-entrepreneurship is being increasingly recognized as one of the prominent means for poverty alleviation and income generation in India, especially in rural areas.

A resolute mindset coupled with the spirit of innovation in times of crisis is imperative for entrepreneurs, especially micro-enterprises, who are usually constrained for resources and can be easily uprooted. Thus, it is important to impart skill-based training to make them knowledge-driven and help them establish businesses so that this leads, in turn, leads to the creation of more employment opportunities locally.

With support from state and local administration, marginalised groups can also be encouraged to innovate and adapt to the changes around us, such as the pandemic.

Factors that create an entrepreneur are influenced by various aspects, including gender, age and socioeconomic conditions. However, the parameters of assessing risk and reward are noticeably different for male and female entrepreneurs.

Women entrepreneurs generally face additional risks of social taboo and avoidance while pursuing their business ideas. According to AWE report released in October 2020, entrepreneurship is also a metric of female participation, or microbusiness owners – “solopreneurs”.

Empirical evidence and statistics say that women make better entrepreneurs and are successful in imparting effective leadership to teams and companies. It is thus important to ensure that women step forth, acknowledge their skills, receive training and flourish as entrepreneurs.

Various training programs to encourage and promote micro-entrepreneurship at the grassroots level, especially among rural women should be instituted and encouraged by both public and private entities.

The marginalised section of the Indian society also includes members of the SC/ST community who often have limited access to skills and education, and require encouragement to bring forth their latent potential. Training, education and counseling can create an ideal environment for achievement-oriented and enterprising people.

To create avenues for this aspirational section, National SC/ST Hub, Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India has mounted capacity building programmes to hone soft skills and also entrepreneurial capabilities so that new and existing entrepreneurs, especially from the SC/ST community, set up their enterprises and make them sustainable.

The pandemic has pressed the fast-forward button, thereby accelerating a sudden technology adaptation. It has also exposed the digital vulnerabilities of various communities and networks, such as artisans, in this precarious time.

Artisans and micro-entrepreneurs need to be given online training programmes to leverage the tools of the digital era to sell their products. Apart from inputs in the domains of modernizing designs, market access and credit linkages, micro-entrepreneurs today need to be conversant about presenting their products through physical as well as virtual platforms.

Empowered and driven by technological advancements and the spirit of resilience, India now needs to fast pace its entrepreneurial drive with inclusivity and diversity.

—Dr Raman Gujral is a faculty member & director of the Department of Projects-Corporate at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII). Views expressed are personal.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow