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XOBOX aims to tackle residential last-mile delivery hurdles

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
XOBOX aims to tackle residential last-mile delivery hurdles
Medial

Last-mile delivery hasn’t been perfect. Not that the likes of Dunzos of this world haven’t tried to address this. Recently, we saw Zomato experimenting with last-mile delivery through a unique concept of ‘walkers’ for corporate parks. Bengaluru-based XOBOX is one of the few startups that is trying to fix the last-mile delivery challenges especially for people living in urban areas. The company handles packages for residents in apartment complexes. Some of the features are securing the packages in smart lockers and dropping them to customers’ doorstep when they are back to their homes, and home delivery of essential items. We spoke to XOBOX founder and CEO Kiran Shivappa about his startup, what distinguishes it from the competition and the roadmap ahead. Here are the edited excerpts: How did you come up with this idea? I live in an apartment complex and even before the Covid deliveries were left scattered in front of the door and stray cats use to destroy especially milk packet which cause everyone to talk about it hours in community Whatsapp group, this made me think to find/adopt a solution to secure the deliveries when residents not able to receive it or may be they are not around. How does the platform work? Please help simplify the process. When we started the service, we started taking the request from residents to handle their packages and we coordinated with delivery guys to take the package, pay them if it is a COD [Cash on Delivery], and secure them in the locker until they come back, then we deliver it to their doorstep. We went one step ahead and made a contract with 3PL [Third-party logistics] and ecommerce companies to take every delivery coming to the society and our dedicated resources would hand them over to the residents, if the resident is not available then secure the package in the locker and hand it over once they come back. What are the key challenges in the industry that have not been addressed yet? And how do you plan to address them? Ecommerce companies have tried many solutions to optimize the last leg of the delivery process and achieved the Kirana model also, but they never got a chance to be inside the society exclusively and take care of the deliveries and achieve the customer delight to bring the most convenience to them in their package receiving time. We have dedicated resources inside each society to carefully handle the package and interact with residents and elderly people and become familiar to them so they feel comfortable to receive us at the doorstep at any time and feel secured as well. Industry major players tried to introduce the lockers but these lockers operate as a complete unmanned and fully automated, for this reason the adaptation was a big challenge and education was also a challenge. We adopted a 70/30 model where, way the lockers were built, operated and how people would feel easy to adopt this because the “30” percentage is the resources we introduced along with “70” percentage technology, our dedicated resource will work with all stake holders in the gated community to educate and make every one understand how to use the service. What are your short-term and long term goals in terms of product and business expansion and diversification? In the short term, we are looking to expand the service to 35 more gated communities in Bengaluru in 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2024 and then go to other cities. As far as long-term plans go, we are going to sign contracts with major ecommerce and 3PL companies to increase the volume in each society and serve the needs of elderly population in the community. We would want to reach 700-1000 gated communities and generate 150-180 cr annually.

Inshorts' Azhar Iqubal launches new venture Fenado AI — a no-code app, website building platform

Economic TimesEconomic Times · 6m ago
Inshorts' Azhar Iqubal launches new venture Fenado AI — a no-code app, website building platform
Medial

Inshorts cofounder Azhar Iqubal has launched Fenado AI, a platform that enables app and website creation without coding knowledge. With Manish Singh Bisht as co-founder, Fenado AI offers end-to-end tech solutions, allowing businesses to specify preferences via chat. The startup aims to democratize tech access, empowering entrepreneurs without tech expertise. Growing rapidly, it plans to assist 10,000 startups globally by 2025. Fenado AI already has over 200 paying customers across the US, Europe, and India. “Now anyone can build an app, website with zero coding knowledge. Fenado AI is your tech team now,” said Azhar Iqubal, co-founder and CEO of Fenado AI. “For decades, many entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas have been held back by a lack of access to affordable and skilled tech talent. Fenado AI changes that and democratizes this segment, by putting the power of creation into the hands of entrepreneurs to build their solutions for the world, without worrying about the complexities of coding and building a tech team. This is about leveling the playing field for startups who don't have prior tech knowledge,” he added. Highlighting the platform’s robust capabilities, Manish Singh Bisht, co-founder and CTO of Fenado AI, said, “AI has proven to be more efficient than 99% of humans in the field of coding. And with this advancement, we at Fenado AI want people to build world-class apps and websites with the help of AI. It ensures the tools are scalable and reliable, with continuous support—crucial for startups navigating their growth journeys. Fenado AI saves time, offers end-to-end tech support and removes the challenges of finding tech talent.” Azhar Iqubal’s entrepreneurial journey has been nothing short of remarkable. Inshorts, which he co-founded in 2013, has become one of India’s most popular news apps, attracting investments worth USD 170 million over the last decade. With Fenado AI, Azhar aims to redefine how AI supports new businesses.

Ecom Express’ revenue goes past Rs 2,500 Cr in FY23; losses surge 4X

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Ecom Express’ revenue goes past Rs 2,500 Cr in FY23; losses surge 4X
Medial

E-commerce-focused logistics company Ecom Express has managed 20% year-on-year growth during the fiscal year ended March 2023. However, the company’s losses skyrocketed four-fold as its shipping and employee benefits costs rose sharply in the same period. Ecom Express’ revenue from operations increased by 21.9% to Rs 2,548 crore in FY23 from Rs 2,090 crore in FY22, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies show. Twelve-year-old Ecom Express is an e-commerce focused logistics solution provider. Income from its courier services formed 90% of the revenue. This income grew 17.5% in FY23 whereas the remaining collections minted from warehousing services. The company also made Rs 34 crore from interest on deposits and current investments tallying its overall income to Rs 2,582 crore in FY23. See TheKredible for the detailed revenue breakup Expenses Breakdown Total ₹ 2,185 Cr Total ₹ 2,856 Cr ”https://thekredible.com/company/ecom-express/financials” View Full Data To access complete data, visit”https://thekredible.com/company/ecom-express/financials” Cost of materials consumed Cost of materials consumed Employee benefit Employee benefit Rent and repairs Rent and repairs Legal professional Legal professional Safety security Safety security Others To check complete Expense Breakdown visit thekredible.com View full data Caveat: We have not included the cost of impairment loss on non-financial assets during the fiscal year ending March 2023. The increased shipping cost and employee benefits made Ecom Express bleed heavily, shooting its losses up by 4X to Rs 375 crore in FY23 from Rs 91 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at -21% and -5.2% respectively. On a unit level, it spent Rs 1.12 to earn a rupee in FY23. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin 4% -5.2% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.05 ₹1.12 ROCE -4% -21% The Warburg Pincus-backed company has raised over Rs 2,000 crore ($240 million) to date. According to the data intelligence platform, TheKredible, Warburg Pincus was the largest external stakeholder with 48.26% followed by Partners Ground and CDC Group. Ecom Express was all set to float its initial public offering (IPO) in early 2022 as it approved a fundraise through a public issue of shares. However, it postponed listing plans in October 2022 and dialed up existing investors to raise $39 million during the same period. Built on a promise of wringing out more efficiencies with use of technology and other steps, the worsening of margins seems to be a one off, as the firm will look to a more balanced output in FY24. It has done well to carve out a share for itself in the logistics space, and the only crimp on the horizon seems to be the deceleration seen in e-commerce sales itself. That will hurt Ecom Express, seeing how deeply the firm is focused on the segment. A year of single digit growth, even with lower profits is not something it will want at this stage, and that might actually force more streamlining than it bargained for.

KreditBee plans ‘Ghar Wapsi’ from Singapore to India

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
KreditBee plans ‘Ghar Wapsi’ from Singapore to India
Medial

Fintech company KreditBee is shifting its domicile to India from Singapore, sources aware of the development told Entrackr. With this move, the firm will join a bunch of fintech companies which are in the process of shifting their base to India from Singapore or the US (mostly Delaware). “Fintech companies including KreditBee want to be headquartered in India because the local ecosystem including public markets have matured in the past few years,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “Moreover, regulators tend to like fintech firms to be based out of the country as diligence and monitoring becomes easy.” KreditBee is registered as Finnove Private Limited in Singapore which has an over 70% holding in the Indian entity of the lending firm. According to sources, KreditBee has been working on a relocation plan for the past few months. “It’s seeking regulators’ inputs and figuring out tax liabilities,” said another source who also wished not to be named. Sources further added that another benefit such companies moving back to India hope to reap is from the rising valuations being offered by domestic public markets to technology firms. KreditBee has declined to comment on the story. Besides KreditBee, Pine Labs, Groww, Razorpay, Meesho and Zepto have been working on reverse flips. Walmart-owned PhonePe was the first to move its domicile to India and its investors paid a hefty Rs 8,000 crore in taxes to the government for this move. The quantum of the tax depends on the company’s valuation and third-party audits. KreditBee was valued at around $700 million during its latest tranche in March. It’s one of the few fintech companies that may turn unicorn in the next funding round. It has raised more than $400 million to date. Sources emphasized that a reverse flip will also smoothen KreditBee’s road to IPO. While the company isn’t in a rush, its founder and CEO Madhusudan Ekambaram anticipates a public listing by 2027. Six-year-old KreditBee facilitates loans up to Rs 4 lakh for a tenure of 2 to 15 months with an interest rate of up to 2.49%. As per the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Premji Invest is the largest external stakeholder with 23.44% followed by Newquest Asia and Alpine Capital. KreditBee posted Rs 64.33 crore profit whereas its revenue from operations grew to Rs 788.66 crore in FY23. Even in the first half of FY24, the company claimed a profit after tax of Rs 95 crore and expected to close the last fiscal with Rs 250-260 crore profit. The company majorly competes with MoneyTap, Fibe (formerly EarlySalary), LazyPay, and Sachin Bansal’s Navi, among others. A return to India, while driven by policy and market compulsions, will not be as simple as it sounds, thanks to the heavy bill it comes with for back taxes effectively. That might necessitate funding support for KreditBee, dispute being profitable, creating its own issues of valuations and change in stake. Going for a debt raise might also be a touch and go affair, considering the relatively higher interest rates now. Thus, figuring out the financials of the move will probably occupy a lot of mindspace for the firm now that it has decided to move. Investors will do well to hope and support any process that ensures a quicker resolution, to ensure the firm stays focused on its core business as well.

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