Untitled design (30) (1)

Big digitisation wave in lending, leads to high demand for CDOs: Venator Search Partners report

Technology, risk, and sales functions in banks and NBFCs witnessing transformation and hence the need for hiring CDOs (Chief Digital Officers), according to a survey conducted by India’s leading banking CXO search firm Venator Search Partners.

More than 60 senior industry professionals from lending institutions including CEO’s, Business Heads, HR Heads from large NBFC’s, Banks & Fintechs were part of the survey. The sample size also included consultants from Big 4 and digital experts.

Over 38% of the respondents believe that risk management, followed by technology at 20%, will undergo significant transformation. The survey attributes the transformation to enhanced credit risk assessment capabilities of big data and AI, leading to more accurate risk profiling and better predictions of loan defaults.

Respondents mentioned that the method for assessing risk has changed. It now stands at 4 or above on a 6-point scale, indicating that traditional credit assessment is no longer used for loan approvals.

Lenders are now using algorithms and machine learning models to automate the evaluation process based on predefined criteria. This enables organisations to quickly determine which customers meet the requirements for pre-approved offers based on their financial behaviours as well as to identify potential customers who are likely to be interested in specific financial products, thereby increasing the relevance and effectiveness.

Digitalisation has also led to the evolution of a traditional business model to a “phygital” one. Survey respondents revealed that the phygital model is expected to remain here for some time.

Most respondents felt that ‘Feet on the Street’ are becoming enablers to close transactions by every passing day. “While the number of leads get generated online, the dropouts are significantly high resulting in poor conversion ratio often. We believe that ‘feet on the street’ can play a critical role to close sales. We see the sales function transforming to becoming more of facilitators as digitisation catches pace,” Deepraditya Datta, Founder, Venator Search Partners.

With the evolution of technology, the Chief Digital Officer or the CDO is the new kid on the block. His job is to revolutionise lending, and his success depends on proving a positive and tangible return on investment.

NEWS-02 (1)

From hardship to success: How Shivkumar Borade built a Tech startup which is valuing 500 Crores

Shivkumar Borade, once a mechanic in a small village garage, stunned everyone when he arrived in grand AUDI SUV. It was hard to fathom that someone who had once lived in a dilapidated house and endured days without food had risen to such heights of success.

Shivkumar’s journey began in small village of Pandharpur, a tehsil of Solapur, Maharashtra. His family lived in a kuccha house that barely provided shelter, with rainwater seeping through the roof during monsoons. His mother was a homemaker, and his father ran a modest garage to support the family. Despite their struggles, Shivkumar was determined to change his circumstances.

“There were times when we couldn’t eat for two days straight. Our house was so run-down that rainwater would leak in through the ceiling,” Shivkumar recalled in an exclusive interview with Empowering Indians.

To support his education, Shivkumar started working at a young age while attending the local government school. He took on various jobs—welding, working in the garage, painting jobs, teaching karate, and even driving a newspaper delivery vehicle from midnight to early morning.

“My family wanted me to find a stable job to escape our struggles. I did find one permanent government job, but I couldn’t continue because deep down, I wanted to run my own business and make a significant impact,” Shivkumar, the co-founder of Mytek shared in the interview with Empowering Indians.

He briefly worked at CSF in Kota before realizing his true calling lay elsewhere.

Shivkumar Borade

 

The Birth of Mytek
Shivkumar ventured into government contracts for construction projects, where he noticed a recurring problem: delays in project completion due to communication gaps between contractors and subcontractors.

“When a government contract is awarded, it typically takes 3-4 months to mobilize resources, involving multiple subcontractors, local resources, manpower, and other factors. This delay often leads to cost overruns, which eat into profits,” Shivkumar explained.

Recognizing the need for a solution, Shivkumar and Ashwajeet Wankhede co-founded Mytek Innovations Pvt. Ltd. in 2020, a tech startup designed to streamline the project management process.
Ashwajeet, coming from a modest upbringing with an MBA in Marketing and HR, brought extensive experience from his work with multinational companies like NIIT, TCS, and UST Global. The two entrepreneurs met through a client and, realizing their complementary skills, decided to collaborate.

Mytek’s Vision and Impact
Mytek Innovations Pvt. Ltd. Is a project management and scheduling platform aimed at bridging the gap between contractors and subcontractors. The platform facilitates seamless collaboration, offering tools for detailed scheduling, resource allocation, and cash flow management.

By creating an ecosystem where clients, subcontractors, suppliers, Mytek management, and business associates are collaborated to achieve the mutual objectives, Mytek is revolutionizing the project execution process.

The startup’s mission is to reduce delays and cost overruns, fostering an environment of innovation, reliability, and excellence in project management.

Today, Mytek manages projects across Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, and Telangana, with a client roster that includes prestigious names like Piramal Pharma, Adani, and various government entities and universities.

“Every week, we receive orders worth ₹250 crore on our platform. We have to be selective about which orders to pursue and which to decline,” Shivkumar revealed in an interview with Empowering Indians.

Shivkumar Borade

Financial Growth and Future Aspirations
Mytek’s journey began with its first major order of Bharatnet-Mahanet, which was executed in 2021 in challenging circumstances and a rough terrain. Since then, the company has seen exponential growth.

In 2020-21, Mytek’s revenue was ₹17 lakhs, which surged to ₹1.5 crores in 2021-22, and further skyrocketed to ₹10.48 crores in 2022-23.

“We are targeting a revenue of ₹300 crores this year (2024-25) and ₹700 crores by 2026-27,” Shivkumar confidently stated in the interview with Startup Pedia.

The company is also exploring fundraising options, with a current valuation estimated at ₹500 crores.

Reflecting on his journey, Shivkumar shared a piece of advice: “Everyone aspires to be rich and successful, but few have the patience and dedication to achieve it. Work hard and stay patient; success will follow,” in the end of the Empowering Indians interview.

Untitled design (29)

Smart Mobility Solutions Provider Six Sense Mobility raises seed round from Piper Serica

Smart mobility company Six Sense Mobility has raised Rs 6 crore in a seed round from Piper Serica VC, a leading angel investment firm based in Mumbai.

The company had previously raised funds from Saurabh Nayyar (Docbel Group).

Founded by Sumit Roy, Kapil Rao, and Narendra Kumar Verma, the Delhi-based deep-tech smart mobility startup plans to use the funds to increase its team size, build production capacity, and for research and development of technologies for vehicle safety

“We are about 1.5 years old but have made great progress in bringing our technology from the R&D phase to commercialization while keeping it entirely indigenous and controlling the entire value chain of the tech, from design and development to manufacturing.We already have multiple clients in the automotive domain, which include 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, and even large commercial vehicles in both EV and IC engine domains,” said Sumit Roy, founder of Six Sense Mobility.

The company plans to scale rapidly in Indian and foreign markets in the next few years as the connected cars market is expected to reach $165 billion by 2029 from about $75 billion.

With the Indian government aggressively implementing new technologies in the mobility and transportation sector, Six Sense Mobility believes it could contribute significantly to these changes. For instance, the new GPS-based tolling system would entirely depend on intelligent technologies like the one Six Sense Mobility offers for it to be successfully implemented.

Six Sense Mobility has crafted its technology for multiple use cases in automotive safety, security, and maintenance. For instance, the company’s crash detection technology can detect collisions and measure their impact. It can dispatch emergency SOS services by triangulating the exact location of the accident, thereby saving precious time and potentially saving lives.

The company’s advanced tracking and immobilization technology communicates with multiple satellites, including the USA-owned GPS satellites, the Chinese BeiDou satellites, the Russian GLONASS satellites, and even the Indigenous NAVIC satellites launched by ISRO. This provides complete and precise tracking capabilities, as well as remote immobilization capabilities, making users’ assets safe and secure.

Its advanced diagnostics and analytics system uses AI and machine learning to diagnose issues with the vehicle remotely with extreme precision and even predict future problems and potential malfunctions.

“Six Sense is one of the few companies in the telematics space that are 5G ready with a very strong customer traction. Satellite based tolling system, connected cars, efficient logistics, pay as you go insurance all require strong telemetry technology and Six Sense devices are already seeing strong adoption across these customers.” 

We at Piper Serica are excited to back this deeptech company having a great founding team and a strong customer traction,” said Ajay Modi, Director, Investments, Piper Serica Angel Fund.

 

WhatsApp Image 2024-08-13 at 12.03.17 PM

40% Increase in D2C Festive Sales as Early Trends Show Strong Start – Gokwik Report

GoKwik, India’s leading eCommerce enabler, anticipates a significant 40% increase in sales during the upcoming festive period driven by a resilient Indian economy, the rise of aspirational Generation Z consumers, and the emergence of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands.

According to data from GoKwik’s network, which includes over 4000 direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, there has been a 38% increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and a 49% rise in orders in July compared to June of this year. This early spike suggests that the festive shopping season has begun earlier than usual and is being driven by online shopping.

This year, with more shoppers adopting a direct-to-consumer (D2C) approach, an increasing number of Gen Z individuals entering the workforce with disposable income, and a growing emphasis on aspirational purchasing of premium products, GoKwik anticipates a 40% increase in orders during the festive season.

Last year, brands on the GoKwik network experienced a 34% uplift in GMV and a 38% increase in orders. The brands continued to showcase a boost in order volume even as major marketplaces were running concurrent sales.
“As we enter the festive season, we are witnessing an early surge in consumer activity, which is a promising sign for the industry,” said Chirag Taneja, Co-Founder and CEO of GoKwik. “The shift towards D2C brands is becoming more pronounced, with consumers valuing the direct connection, personalised experiences, and unique offerings these brands provide.” 
At GoKwik, we are committed to supporting this growth by ensuring that brands can meet the increasing demand while minimising challenges like RTO. We are excited to see how this festive season unfolds and are optimistic about the continued rise of D2C in India’s eCommerce landscape,” he added.

D2C brands now see little to no impact on their sales when major marketplaces run simultaneous sales. Last year, brands in the GoKwik network also witnessed a 52% surge in sales during the significant marketplace sales, suggesting eCommerce brands have now become inert to these sale periods. The market is deepening, and shoppers show a positive sentiment toward D2C brands.
Return to Origin (RTO) rates, a critical metric for eCommerce success, saw a 7% decrease across GoKwik’s network last year. This year, the company expects this improvement to double, driven by brands becoming more vigilant in understanding customer intent and enhancing communication through multiple channels.

Over 900,000 orders were RTOed last year, with the highest rates observed in Manipur (36%), Bihar (28%), and Arunachal Pradesh (28%). Specific pin codes, such as 782122 in Nagaon district, Assam, 321204 in Bharatpur district, Rajasthan, and 852138 in Saharsa district, Bihar, saw the highest RTO rates, with an average of 72% of orders being returned before delivery.
Notably, the most popular price points for COD (Cash on Delivery) orders ranged between ₹900-₹1500 and above, while prepaid orders were concentrated in the ₹400-₹800 range.

This indicates that while Indian consumers are becoming more comfortable with online shopping, caution remains, particularly for high-value items, where COD continues to be a preferred payment method. To address this, D2C brands are focusing on building trust through robust communication channels, product updates, a seamless online shopping experience, and further measures to enhance customer service.

Tier 3 cities emerged as significant contributors during last year’s festive season, accounting for nearly 40% of total orders. This trend will continue this year, with markets and internet penetration deepening in these regions.
Additionally, Average Order Value (AOV) is projected to grow by 12-15% this festive season, driven by bundle offers, a focus on premium products, and increased gifting. Aspirational buying is rising, particularly in Tier 3 cities, where consumers increasingly spend on higher-end products, facilitated by more accessible payment modes such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options and credit facilities.

“India has always shown a consumption trend unique to the peninsula. Despite the global economic slowdown, India continues to show an upward trend in spending owing to increasing disposable income across the country, including tier 3,4 cities and towns. With the heterogeneous market in India, D2C brands cater to every distinct preference and niche, which has further increased consumption. This trend will continue to rise,” Chirag Taneja added.
Last year, the top-performing categories during the festive season were Fashion, Beauty and Personal Care, and Electronics. However, the most significant growth in the number of orders was in beauty accessories (50%) and fashion (36%). The top products purchased during the festive period included candle holders, hair growth serums, watches, and perfumes. The trend is expected to continue.

GoKwik houses over 4000 eCommerce brands in its network including Lenskart, Neemans, Man Matters, Shoppers Stop, etc, ranging from fashion, beauty, health and nutrition, electronics and other key categories of the online shopping space.
Untitled design (28)

Survey Report: Zycus – Procurement Tactics collaborative survey: State of Generative AI in Procurement

It is now possible to achieve 10x efficiency in procurement processes with Source-to-Pay (S2P) solutions company Zycus’ Gen-AI-powered tools help achieve end-to-end automation and more intelligent decision-making, enhance supplier collaboration, and drive significant cost savings.

To understand the industry dynamics Zycus conducted a survey in collaboration with Procurement Tactics, a procurement strategy consultancy.

The report titled: “State of Generative AI in Procurement” provides unprecedented insights into how Generative AI (GenAI) is transforming procurement processes, based on extensive survey data from procurement leaders worldwide.

Key findings of the survey reveal that nearly 70% of the Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) are yet to implement Gen AI in their procurement processes. About 60% of companies currently lack specific policies on Gen AI usage. This highlights the governance challenge and underscores the urgent need for strategic guidance as the adoption accelerates.

The report outlines Gen AI’s transformative potential and details how GenAI is automating routine tasks and enhancing strategic decision-making across the entire procurement lifecycle.

Interestingly, the survey suggests that 50.6% of respondents utilize GenAI in contract management, with prominent use cases related to driving efficiency in administration.

31.5% of the respondents use GenAI to gather insights on creating the most effective negotiation strategies. Only 11.5% of respondents use GenAI to streamline communication with their suppliers, which corresponds to the personalization nature of supplier relationship management

Data quality and security emerge as respondents’ top concerns, emphasizing the need for responsible AI implementation strategies.

“AI is the new UI. How we engage with enterprise software is going through a fundamental transformation – from clicks to converse. Beyond this, GenAI – through AI agents is delivering significant productivity improvements across the entire source to pay cycle. The findings of State of GenAI in procurement showcases immense untapped opportunities.” – Amit Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Zycus

Organizations are encouraged to implement comprehensive risk management strategies, ensuring that advancements in GenAI technology are matched with equally advanced governance and security measures.

This report serves as a wake-up call for the procurement industry. GenAI’s potential is immense, but the adoption gap is equally significant. Organizations that fast-track implementation should act soon to integrate GenAI responsibly, and they will gain a substantial competitive edge.

Untitled design (27)

Plotch.ai becomes first technology platform to process over 10M transactions on ONDC Network using AI

Plotch.ai, a leading AI-powered ONDC rails infrastructure provider, announced that it has reached the 10 million cumulative transactions milestone through its network infrastructure. Founded in 2022 by Craftsvilla founder Manoj Gupta and his wife Monica Gupta, Plotch.ai is an AI enterprise software startup specializing in the ONDC network. It offers technology solutions for both the buyer and seller sides of ONDC.

Backed by prominent venture capital funds such as Antler India and Venture Catalysts, Plotch.ai’s client roster includes industry leaders like Snapdeal, Ola, Meesho, Jagran Media Group, and Bluestar. Plotch has witnessed a 1000x increase in transaction volume over the last two years.

This milestone coincides with ONDC’s recent announcement that, as of June 2024, it had completed 68 million transactions within its network.

Plotch.ai’s technology platform has powered approximately 30% of all retail category transactions in the network. Based on growth patterns observed over the past 12 months, Plotch.ai predicts three billion quarterly transactions in the next three years, with around 750 million of those transactions being powered by their platform.

It is projected that while Food, Grocery, and Fashion currently dominate the retail orders on ONDC, other categories like Home and Electronics are expected to see significant growth in the coming months.

Commenting on this milestone, Manoj Gupta, CEO of Plotch.ai, said, “As pioneers in ONDC digital infrastructure since 2022, we aim for our next milestone of 100 million cumulative transactions through our network. Our north star metric is the number of transactions, and we anticipate reaching 1 billion transactions per month by the end of this decade, given ONDC’s rapid scaling. Additionally, Plotch.ai is strengthening its AI infrastructure atop the ONDC framework through a key strategic partnership with Google Cloud.”

Bikram Singh Bedi, Vice President & Country MD at Google Cloud India, added, “We are excited to have collaborated with Plotch.ai and enabled them to achieve this milestone. With digital commerce scaling rapidly in India, we continue to work with them on scaling their infrastructure using cutting-edge solutions from Google Cloud.”

Mr. T. Koshy, CEO of ONDC, congratulated Plotch.ai on reaching the milestone and said, “Plotch.ai is an important technology enabler in the ONDC ecosystem and has been instrumental in accelerating the journey of numerous network participants. We believe a healthy ecosystem of technology enablers will further accelerate the growth and innovation potential of the ONDC Network.”

Plotch.ai believes AI is crucial in achieving its next milestone of 100 million transactions within the ONDC network. Plotch.ai has chosen Google Cloud’s Vertex AI technologies, including Gemini, to harness this potential as the foundational model for building ONDC-specific AI infrastructure.

Google’s Gemini will also utilize Generative AI to create catalogs, seamlessly helping sellers in product sales. Over the past nine months, Plotch.ai has revamped its software stack architecture to handle large transaction volumes and become more modular using a microservices architecture.

Plotch.ai is already seeing considerable interest from network participants in adopting AI in ONDC. The startup plans to announce numerous AI products and solutions in the upcoming quarter.

Untitled design (26)

MSMEs Can Help Propel India’s $5 Trillion Ambition: The Rizing Equality Entrepreneurship

The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) partnered
with Rizing, a cutting-edge entrepreneurial information network that delves into
business, finance, and technology, to host The Rizing Equality Entrepreneurship Forum –
The Delhi Chapter.

Supported by Blockchain solutions provider Qila and IDBI Bank, this event took place at
the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on the 25th of July 2024.

Following the success of the Rizing Equality Summit 2024 in Mumbai in February 2024,
the Delhi Chapter marks the second event of this series.

Rizing plans to extend this series across India to foster smart and meaningful discussions
nationwide.

The forum gathered a mix of MSME professionals, investors and other stakeholders at the
heart of India’s economy: Delhi.

It served as a platform to highlight the pivotal role of MSMEs/startups as the unsung
heroes and silent engines of growth, innovation and job creation in India.

The event’s agenda featured sessions including an entrepreneurial resilience panel,
Direct-To-Consumer (D2C) strategies, fundraising insights and institutional credit
facilitation for MSEs. The lineup also included workshops on Blockchain, legal issues and
banking solutions.

Prominent speakers like Sandeep Varma of the CGTMSE, Siddharth Ugrankar of Qila and
Suresh S of IDBI Bank, along with leaders from Soonicorn Ventures, Ankur Capital,
Fireside Ventures, Process9, ValuAble, GetVantage and more were present at the event. A
special mentorship pitch session allowed MSMEs/startups to present their business plans

with successful pitches gaining eligibility for collateral-free loan guarantees from the
CGTMSE.

Sandeep Varma, CEO – CGTMSE, emphasizes, “Collateral unavailability has always been a
problem for small-scale entrepreneurs to kickstart their venture and it has increasingly
become a big bottleneck for bankers in providing loans to this segment. With the
backing of the CGTMSE in India, if any loans to MSEs become bad, then as a guarantee,
the CGTMSE would provide 75%-85% coverage of the loan to the lender in lieu of collateral
security”.

Established by the Ministry of MSME, Government of India, and SIDBI, the CGTMSE aims
to catalyze the flow of institutional credit to MSEs, enhancing credit delivery systems and
broadening finance access to include underserved and underprivileged & bolster
availability of finance from conventional lenders to new-gen entrepreneurs.

Since its inception, the CGTMSE is said to have been instrumental in providing guarantee cover to
collateral and/or third-party guarantee-free credit facilities extended by eligible Member
Lending Institutions (MLIs) to MSEs.

Rizing is a new-age and inclusive entrepreneurial information network that aims to be
the true mirror reflecting Indian business, finance and technology in the expanse of not
just Asia, but also, the global stage. Crafted for the intellectually curious, it explores the
tenets that could help India become a $5 trillion economy: capital, innovation, technology,
ESG, sustainability, policy and more.

Qila is a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that aims to help businesses adopt
Blockchain and crypto technologies to secure their business needs by minting
non-fungible tokens for real-world physical or digital assets on a private blockchain
network.

According to Shrija Agrawal, Founder – Rizing, “The Government of India has recognized
that for the country to skyrocket to become a $5 trillion economy by 2027, the MSME
sector is the fiery fuel that can help turbocharge this ambition”.

“The constraints related to finance, networking, skill development and access to
technology seem to, also, impact women entrepreneurs in the MSME space, yet they
constitute about 20% of the total registered MSMEs in India. While that’s a number that can drastically improve, with the CGTMSE, women-owned MSMEs could be further bolstered to contribute to India’s employment and make their mark. And Rizing wants to arm them with meaningful and tangible insights as well to take their business to the next
level”, declares Agrawal.

StepTrade-s-Chanakya-Opportunities-Fund-Leads-Investment-in-Optimised-Solutions-kbilal0-gmail-com-Gmail

StepTrade’s Chanakya Opportunities Fund Leads Investment in Optimised Solutions

Chankya Opportunities Fund I, a SEBI Registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund managed by StepTrade Share Services has made a significant investment in digital transformation and product engineering firm Optimised Solutions Limited. This investment entails a total share allotment of 2,73,224 shares.

Ahmedabad-based Optimised Solutions specialises in providing test, measurement, and automation solutions tailored for aerospace and defence companies. The funds will be used by the company to further its expertise in delivering advanced automation solutions, embedded software solutions, IoT, and digital transformation. Optimised Solutions has been an industry player for over 18 years and plans to file an IPO in the year 2025-2026. Its offerings are designed to meet the industry demands in these high stakes sectors.

This investment strengthens StepTrade’s role in advancing the SME sector. “Through this investment, StepTrade is not only supporting a promising SME but also contributing to the broader growth of the Aerospace and Defence sectors, encouraging the Government preference towards this sector (recent budget allocation of 4.6 lakh crore),” said CA Kresha Gupta, Director and Fund Manager, StepTrade Share Services.

As the Investment Manager of Chanakya Opportunities Fund I, StepTrade manages its own SEBI Registered AIFs in Categories I, II, and III, as well as providing Portfolio Management Services (PMS). The consistent performance of these funds in the market since their inception highlights StepTrade’s robust investment strategy and effective fund management, instilling confidence in its stakeholders and investors.

StepTrade Share Services Private Limited recently received Special Economic Zone (SEZ) approval to set up its Global Fund office at GIFT City, Gandhinagar. The Rs 1000 crore India focused fund is expected to be launched soon after the Scheme approval. This strategic move marks a significant development in the financial landscape, particularly in the domain of SME- Exchange, looking that the fund will have special focus on Small Cap and Micro Cap.

TDF Logo Logo copy (4) (1)

Fintech funding hovers around $400 million in 2024

India’s fintech industry saw a funding inflow of $61 million in July, taking the total investments of the year to $398 million. Funding in July 2023 stood at $51 million. Interestingly, the Wealthtech sector emerged as the highest-funded segment this month, securing funding of $52 million.

The funding of $61 million was spread across ten unique companies. The payments sector followed closely as the second-highest funded segment during the month. Wealth management company Deservraised$32 million, making Mumbai the highest-funded city for the month.Other notable investments during the month, included wealth-tech company Stable money which raised $15 million and payments company Dice, which raised $5 million.

Among the funded companies, several models have been gaining traction, such as new-age algorithmic trading platforms, alternative investment platforms, and goal-based trading platforms. Innovative models like one-stop business banking platforms for cross-border payments have also emerged.

With $398 million invested so far this year, investor interest has primarily focused on the enabler segments. However, the lending segment is also gaining traction. The limited instances of repeat funding, coupled with consistent investments in unique companies each month indicates the brewing innovation within the Indian fintech sector.

“Looking ahead, we anticipate segments like secured lending models, apps for MSMEs, trading and investment platforms and Banking as a service (BaaS) models to attract substantial investment in fintech. Driven by groundbreaking innovations and increasing investor interest, these sectors are experiencing significant growth within the fintech landscape,” said Sameer Singh Jaini, TheDigital Fifth founder.

Within the secured lending space, there is an expectation that digital property valuation startups will grow, andphygital journeys will be transformed into digital journeys, leading to process simplification and streamlining. Startups that provide modular LOS/LMS to support complex secure lending products are likely to thrive and CRM platforms that can handle assisted digital journeys are expected to gain traction.

During 2024, the fintech industry has seen 60 rounds of funding so far. In the year, 59 unique fintech firms were funded and the enablers segment raised a total of $148 million. Sectors like lending and payments raised $122 and $41 million respectively. Bangalore has remained the epicenter of funding in 2024, securing the highest share of fintech funding in India.

Untitled design (24)

VEERA, India’s Homegrown Mobile-Only Internet Browser Doubles Users to 2million within 3 months

Veera, India’s mobile-only reward focussed internet browser, has reached a significant milestone by surpassing two million users within just three months of hitting its first million-user mark. This remarkable growth highlights Veera’s increasing popularity and its commitment to enhancing the digital experience for its users.

Since the launch of its beta version in September 2023 and the production version in February 2024, Veera has introduced an array of new features, including a cricket widget called Cricket Adda, Veera Games, enhanced privacy features, rewards, and most recently it’s content partnership with ABP Live. Recently, Veera unveiled a sleek, modern redesign for their app, making the browsing experience even more intuitive for our customers.

Veera aims to provide India’s over one billion smartphone users with a fast, safe, and private internet experience. The browser’s unique features and user-centric approach have made it a preferred choice among users looking for a seamless browsing experience.

“Surpassing two million users in such a short span is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as the trust and support of our users. We are committed to continuously innovating and providing the best mobile browsing experience possible. We have a number of exciting features coming up this year that will keep evolving the internet experience and make the internet even more bindaas for our customers .” said Arjun Ghose, Founder & CEO of Veera.