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Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal addresses ’future dated’ mushrooms found in warehouse: ’Were never going to make it to...’ | Company Business News

LivemintLivemint · 8m ago
Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal addresses ’future dated’ mushrooms found in warehouse: ’Were never going to make it to...’ | Company Business News
Medial

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has addressed concerns about food safety after 90 packets of button mushrooms with a future packaging date were found at Hyperpure's warehouse in Hyderabad. Goyal attributed the issue to a manual typing error by the vendor and assured customers that Zomato maintains strict food safety standards. The incorrectly labeled mushroom packets were identified and rejected during an inward quality check, and the vendor responsible has been removed from Zomato's database. Goyal emphasized the company's commitment to maintaining rigorous guidelines and utilizing technology systems to prevent such errors in the future.

RBI asks Visa, Mastercard to suspend card-based commercial payments

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
RBI asks Visa, Mastercard to suspend card-based commercial payments
Medial

In what appears to be another blow to fintech companies, India’s central bank RBI has reportedly asked Visa and Mastercard to bar card-based commercial payments made by companies. It is worth noting that a few fintech companies, such as Enkash, Karbon, and Paymate, allow payments through cards for purposes like payments to suppliers or vendors. Companies usually make business payments through net banking or RTGS, as pointed out by the Economic Times. The development was first reported by Arti Singh. Visa in a message to its partners said that the company has been directed by the regulator to suspend all Business Payment Service Provider (BPSP) transactions until further notice. “Hence, we kindly ask that all BPSP merchants/merchant is registered by yourselves with Visa be immediately suspended till advised by us to the contrary. For avoidance of doubt, any transaction authorized prior to the communication would be settled in the ordinary course of business. We kindly ask that you send us a confirmation at the earliest that such merchants/merchant IDs have been blocked and transactions ceased. Failure to adhere to these instructions could result in regulatory sanction and non-compliance assessment under the Visa rules,” the message is quoted as saying. As of now, it is not clear why the RBI has made this move. According to the ET report, the central bank has been unhappy with payments to merchants who have not followed KYC norms. The report further pointed out that some of the merchants are not eligible to accept card payments. That said, Indian fintech companies have had a hard time in the last couple of years following the regulatory changes. For instance, a popular BNPL firm Zestmoney shut down its operations last year after the RBI issued a series of guidelines and directives for BNPL firms. One of the first major blows came in June 2022 when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prohibited all non-bank prepaid instrument issuers from loading instruments with credit lines. This essentially meant these firms could no longer extend credit lines through the prepaid payment instruments, which includes cards and wallets. Until then, BNPL firms partnered with the banks to offer self-branded cards and allowed end users to use them for credits as and when required. Just a few months later RBI’s guidelines for the first loan default guarantee (FLDG) dealt another blow to the BNPL firms. Separately, fintech giant Paytm has been facing similar challenges as the RBI barred Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) from accepting fresh deposits and continuing banking services after February 29 due to non-compliance. The move, taken under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, also affected Paytm’s other services such as FASTags. Since the announcement, Paytm’s shares have continued to nosedive on the stock exchange. At the time of writing, its shares further crashed by 9%, slipping under the Rs 350 mark, reaching a 52-week low.

POP helps D2C startups tackle customer acquisition and retention hurdles

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
POP helps D2C startups tackle customer acquisition and retention hurdles
Medial

A group of former Flipkart employees, led by Bhargav Errangi, is working to fix a big hurdle faced by D2C startups – acquiring new customers. Through their platform POP, the Bengaluru-based startup aims to build a vast pool of customers, who are preferably ecommerce savvy and drive sales through a reward currency. Conveniently called POPcoins, the reward currency is driven by the group’s learnings with Flipkart’s popular Supercoins. We spoke to the company founder and CEO Errangi to learn how the platform works, what makes it different from the competition, and future roadmap. Here are the edited excerpts: How does the platform work? Please help simplify the process. POP intends to create a network of e-commerce users which constitutes genZ and late millennials on the back of POPcoins. Brands participating in the POP network will get access to this network and can acquire and retain customers much more efficiently than the current modes of customer acquisition. Moreover, we have a SaaS product that is already being used by 120+ D2C brands. It is a simple Shopify plug-in that can be integrated within the brand website, which enables the brand to issue POPcoins and let customers redeem POPcoins on their purchases. Apart from that, POP will be launching a D2C e-marketplace which will house 500+ D2C brands and also its own UPI handle where users can earn 2% back in POPcoins on every transaction. Both these businesses will be launched within the same app platform, which is ready to be launched in May’24 What makes your platform unique? What sets us apart is the ability to merge two distinct worlds—bottom-up loyalty solutions and top-down co-branded credit cards. POP understands that to attract anchor brands to our network, we must offer a product that they genuinely value. The co-branded credit card approach not only differentiates us from competitors but also creates a symbiotic relationship between banks, anchor brands, and POP. How is it different from the likes of MagicPin? Also, please explain your fintech features. Very different, POP is focused on the D2C market. The redemption options of POPcoins will be focused on D2C brands. Within the world of D2C, POP aims to incentivise customers who are avid shoppers of D2C brands. These are users who think beyond the mainstream brands and want to stand out of the crowd with their lifestyle choices. Whereas Magicpin is a discounted voucher platform where a user can buy vouchers of any brand- offline or online at discounted rates We will have two fintech offerings- UPI and a co-branded credit card. On every UPI transaction, a user gets 2% value back on POPcoins. On every online transaction made on our credit card, the user earns 10% value back on POPcoins Please help us understand the regulatory compliances required for your fintech features, such as co-branded cards. A ‘TPAP’ license is needed to become a UPI payments player, like PhonePe, Gpay, etc. We have obtained one recently. A partnership with a bank is required to launch a co-branded credit card. Our first partnership with a large bank will be rolling out soon. Are you planning to raise fresh funds in the near future? We have already raised a seed round last year. We have enough funds in the bank for now, and we are focusing on the launches right now. Sometime later this year, we plan to raise our series A.

Wow! Momo crosses Rs 400 Cr revenue threshold in FY23

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Wow! Momo crosses Rs 400 Cr revenue threshold in FY23
Medial

Quick service restaurant chain Wow! Momo scaled 3.8X during the last two reported fiscal years as its revenue rose to Rs 413 crore in FY23 from Rs 106 crore in FY21. Despite this spurt in growth, the Kolkata-based company’s losses increased marginally during FY23. Wow! Momo’s revenue from operations surged 87.7% to Rs 413 crore in FY23 from Rs 220 crore in FY22, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies show. Launched in 2008 by Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai, Wow! Momo Foods operates three QSR brands—Wow Momo, Wow China, and Wow Chicken. The firm claims to have 630 outlets across 35 cities and directly employs 6,000 people. The sale of its products was the sole source of revenue for the Tiger Global-backed firm. It also made Rs 3 crore from the interest on deposits and current investments which took its overall income to Rs 416 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023. For the Quick service restaurant, the cost of procurement of materials formed 34% of its total expenditure. This cost increased by 66.7% to Rs 160 crore in FY23. Wow! Momo paid Rs 62 crores of rent during FY23. Its employee benefits, electricity, advertising cum promotional, commissions, and other overheads pushed the firm’s overall expenditure to Rs 471 crore in FY23 from Rs 275 crore in FY22. Check TheKredible for the detailed expense breakup. The impressive scale and controlled expenditure helped Wow! Momo to keep its losses in check which increased only 13.1% to Rs 60.5 crore in FY23 from Rs 53.5 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margins improved to -11% and -1.8% respectively. On a unit level, it spent Rs 1.14 to earn a rupee in FY23. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin -7% -1.8% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.25 ₹1.14 ROCE -15% -11% Wow! Momo has raised over $120 million to date including its $51 million Series D round led by Khazanah. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Tiger Global is the largest external stakeholder followed by LightHouse. The company has current assets of Rs 131 crore including cash and bank balances of Rs 54 crore during the fiscal ended March 2023. As per TheKredible estimates, its enterprise value to revenue multiple is 6.8X. As a bonafide and well recognised fast food brand, Wow! Momo is on record with an aim to reach a topline of Rs 650-700 crore in the just closed fiscal year (FY24). That seems perfectly possible considering its wide distribution and increasing acceptance. The brand deserves credit for sticking it out in a tough situation post 2020, and making it work as a standalone product based offering. While its menu has expanded, the firm remains nimble enough to make quick changes where required. Despite a relatively low franchise fee, the firm seeks better control over locations and quality. Competition, specifically in the momos space remains limited yet, at the mid-range it occupies. Momos continue to enjoy growing acceptance, with many regions to be conquered yet. The firm certainly has a runway long enough to keep pace with the ambitions of its stakeholders.

Indian startups attract $4 Bn in funding during September quarter

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
Indian startups attract $4 Bn in funding during September quarter
Medial

Indian startups have shown impressive resilience in the third quarter of 2024, raising over $4 billion. This funding amount is nearly on par with the previous quarter and exceeds the total from the first quarter of the year. The landscape featured several significant deals, including multiple transactions over $300 million and $200 million, along with pre-IPO rounds and secondary market activity. This robust support, especially from early-stage startups, highlights a strong recovery and continued investor confidence, making it one of the most successful quarters during the ongoing funding winter. According to data compiled by TheKredible, Indian startups raised approximately $4.08 billion in funding during the third quarter of 2024. This amount included 85 growth and late-stage deals totaling $3.3 billion, along with 207 early-stage deals worth $754.26 million. Additionally, there were 58 undisclosed deals during this period. Notably, three new unicorns emerged in Q3: Ather, Rapido, and Moneyview. In total, six startups joined the unicorn club in 2024, all based in Bengaluru. In contrast, only two startups reached unicorn status in 2023, while 26 and 44 unicorns were born in 2022 and 2021, respectively. [Y-o-Y and M-o-M trend] In Q3 2024, Indian startups secured 352 deals totaling $4.08 billion, a slight decrease from the $4.27 billion raised across 363 deals in the previous quarter. Over the last seven quarters, Q3 2024 stands out as the second most funded period. Additionally, on a monthly basis, September achieved the second-highest funding with $1.63 billion, trailing behind the peak of $1.92 billion recorded in June. As of now, Indian startups have raised $11 billion in the first nine months of 2024, matching the total amount raised throughout 2023. [Top 10 growth stage deals in Q3] This growth can be largely attributed to Zepto’s remarkable $340 million funding round, closely followed by DMI Finance, which raised $334 million. Other significant contributors included PhysicsWallah, Rapido, Oyo, and Whatfix, each securing substantial funding. Notably, all top 10 growth-stage startups on the list have raised over $100 million each, including Purplle, Drip Capital, M2P Fintech, and InMobi. [Top 10 early-stage deals in Q3] Renewable energy services company BluePine led the early-stage startups with $28.8 million in funding. Following closely were AI firm Nutrix AI, EV companies Kinetic Green and Simple Energy, healthcare startup Even, fintech startup Centricity, and gen-z focused fast fashion D2C brand Newme, all of which made it into the top five. The complete list is available through TheKredible. [Mergers and Acquisitions] Merger and acquisition activity has surged to new heights. According to data compiled by TheKredible, Q3 saw 54 M&A deals, nearly matching the combined total of 55 deals in Q1 and Q2. The top acquisition in Q3 was OYO’s purchase of G6 Hospitality for $525 million, followed by Zomato’s acquisition of Paytm’s movies and ticketing business for $244 million. OYO also acquired Checkmyguest for $27.4 million. Other notable M&A activities included Nazara acquiring Pokerbaazi and Kiddopia, Redcliffe Labs acquiring Celara Diagnostics, HomeLane taking over Design Cafe, and Radio Mirchi’s parent company ENIL acquiring Gaana. [City and segment-wise deals] Bengaluru once again led the pack, with 122 startups from the city raising over $1.38 billion in funding during Q3, representing 34% of the total funding. Following closely, Delhi-NCR-based startups completed 91 deals amounting to $1.3 billion, accounting for nearly 32% of the total funding, putting them not far behind Bengaluru. Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune were next on the list. Notably, Mumbai-based startups contributed to more than 21% of the total funding in the last quarter. Segment-wise, fintech was at the top with 61 startups raising over $1.15 billion. E-commerce, healthtech, SaaS, and AI startups were next on the list. Amount-wise, automotive tech startups raised more money than SaaS and healthtech. Agritech, foodtech, edtech, and proptech saw their downfall during the first half of 2024. Edtech secured $233 million in funding during the period, with PhysicsWallah alone raising $210 million. Agritech was one of the least funded segments, contributing just 1.39% to the total fundraising, while the electric vehicle (EV) sector accounted for nearly 5% of the total. [Stage-wise deals] In Q3 2024, seed and pre-seed stage startups completed 138 deals totaling over $168 million. Series A and pre-Series A rounds recorded 73 and 37 deals, respectively. Additionally, there were 23 debt funding rounds worth $314 million, contributing 7.72% to the overall total. For more details, check TheKredible. [Layoffs, shutdowns and departures] Layoffs continued to impact the ecosystem in Q3, with 10 companies letting go of more than 1,200 employees. However, this figure is significantly lower than the over 2,200 employees dismissed in Q2. Overall, approximately 4,500 employees received pink slips in the first nine months of 2024. In comparison, this year’s layoffs are notably better than the 24,000 layoffs recorded in 2023 and the 20,000 in 2022. Recent market conditions have led to an increase in business closures. In Q3, eight startups announced their shutdowns, including Koo, Wynk Music, and Greenikk. This figure surpasses the six shutdowns recorded in Q1 and Q2 combined. Meanwhile, the startup ecosystem experienced notable departures of top executives in Q3. According to data, 16 top-level executives, including CEOs, CBOs, CFOs, co-founders, managing directors, and presidents, have resigned. During the period, there were 77 key hirings. The full list can be accessed here. [Trends in Q3 2024] Agritech: Agritech continues to be one of the least funded segments in 2024, with over 30 startups raising only $150 million by September. This trend reflects ongoing challenges, as last year saw just $178 million in agritech funding, a significant drop from $772 million in 2022 and $636 million in 2021. Wealthtech: Wealthtech is witnessing rapid growth, with venture capitalists making significant investments over the past 12 months. According to data intelligence platform TheKredible, Indian wealthtech startups raised over $100 million across five deals in Q3. IPOs from Bengaluru: Following a wave of startup IPOs from Delhi NCR and Mumbai, Bengaluru is making strides in 2024. Ola Electric and Digit Insurance have already been listed, while Ather and Swiggy have submitted their Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). Additionally, co-working space startup IndiQube is also planning to launch its IPO soon. BharatPe settles with Ashneer Grover: Fintech company BharatPe has resolved its long-standing dispute with former co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover. This settlement represents a significant development, particularly given the serious nature of the complaints filed by BharatPe against Grover. Titan Capital launches Indicorns: Titan Capital has introduced Indicorns, a new index that showcases profitable startups generating over Rs 100 crore in revenue. This initiative highlights the growing trend of self-sustaining businesses in India, illustrating that startups can achieve profitability without heavily depending on external funding.

BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues

EntrackrEntrackr · 2m ago
BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues
Medial

BluSmart suspended its operations in April in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, asking its 10,000 driver-partners to return their vehicles. The move has left several drivers scrambling to find new sources of income. Rajesh [name changed], a 35-year-old man in Gurugram, secured a driving job with a heavily VC-funded electric vehicle cab hailing company which once aimed to take on the duopoly of Ola Cabs and Uber in India. An average income of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, Rajesh admits, was not much for his family but managed to pay bills. Though, Rajesh, who also is a father of two young children, put in 10 hours to 12 hours daily - to reach the estimated monthly income. With his company now pausing the services, Rajesh has no source of earning, and does not know how he will pay his kids’ education fees. "... Now, I don’t know how I’ll manage. I missed my kids' school fees this month. My family depends on me, and I’ve never felt so helpless,” a visibly stressed Rajesh told Entrackr. One of the things that is agonising Rajesh the most is the deceptive way his employer pushed them out. “On Wednesday (April 16th), we [drivers] received a message saying the car needed to be submitted to the hub for a breakdown. We thought it was just a minor technical issue. When we got there, they told us it was a failure and we’d be informed later. But there was no word from the company after that. We just had to go home. We were left in complete shock," says Rajesh as his voice strains, reliving the fateful moment. Rajesh says he was among the first lot of employees, when the company had just 50 cars. Like many others, he too bought the company’s promise of stability. “Now, it feels like we’ve been left out to dry,” he said. “I’m considering working with Uber or Ola… I’m looking for something else, maybe a different field altogether. But BluSmart was my livelihood, and I’d go back in a heartbeat if they reopened. It was my only source of income,” he added. Rajesh’s story resonates with another thousands of drivers who are now scrambling to find new sources of income after BluSmart’s sudden suspension of its services. Entrackr has reached out to BluSmart seeking responses on how they plan to compensate the affected drivers. In case they respond, we will incorporate their inputs. Staging the protest On May 4, a group of BluSmart drivers raised their grievances at Jantar Mantar, a historic site for protests. They pressed for demands for alternative income avenues as well as called for crucial policy reforms to prevent similar abrupt dismissals. Additionally, they also sought a government intervention. Tajinder Singh, president of Parivahan Morcha Athavale and also among those spearheading the protest, told Entrackr that women drivers of BluSmart were among those bearing the brunt the most as other taxi companies refused to recruit them. He further said that some drivers were working on a per day basis as and when required but asserted that this was not a long-term solution. “We are demanding compensation for affected BluSmart drivers. We have also sought government intervention so that the drivers can continue to earn their livelihood,” Singh said. Singh also claimed that hundreds of BluSmart employees working at charging hubs were affected by the company’s sudden suspension of its services. A business model that promised to be different than rivals Even as ‘sustainability’ remained the headline grabber, BluSmart also deployed a rather different business model compared to rivals Ola Cabs and Uber. The company used a full-stack B2C model wherein they owned and managed the vehicles whereas Ola and Uber work with independent drivers. The model allowed BluSmart to have a better control on the quality of cars, maintenance, and subsequently better customer service. For drivers, the company offered a fixed salary along with incentives. An assured income was a big factor why a lot of drivers showed interest in joining BluSmart. Ola and Uber, on the other hand, operated on a familiar commission-based system, also common with several gig working-reliant service providers. Singh also highlighted this stark difference between BluSmart and its rivals. He said that the job of driver was to pick and drop the passenger and earn a regular income (per day payout and incentives). They needed to work 10 hours to 12 hours a day. Other things like maintenance and documentation was taken care of by the company, giving drivers a more relaxed environment to operate. Blusmart has raised over $180 million to date, including its $50 million series B round in January this year. Though, it received only Rs 61 crore out of $50 million. That said, a heavily-funded BluSmart juggernaut appeared unstoppable, until it did. Earlier this year, reports emerged that BluSmart delayed salary payments to cash crunch. It had also shut down operations in Dubai and also saw an exodus of top management employees, including CEO, CBO, and CTO. A month later, SEBI published findings of its probe into Gensol Engineering, BluSmart’s partner and EV lessor. The SEBI order highlighted misuse of funds, and also barred promoters Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi from accessing the securities market and holding key positions in Gensol Engineering. What next for BluSmart drivers BluSmart drivers facing joblessness due to the shutdown can go for legal remedy and urgently demand clearance of any unpaid dues and better severance compensation, if not given already. The legal course, which may take a relatively long time, may also help them investigate if BluSmart violated the contract by sudden halting of their services and returning vehicles. Moreover, they can also seek intervention from regulatory boards. Singh, however, did not appear enthusiastic about taking the legal course. “Companies like these make such contracts that they keep them protected in such incidents and don’t have to own any responsibility towards people working so hard for them,” he said [loosely translated from Hindi]. As far as the future of the company goes, it’s hard to predict considering the massive VC money riding on the company. Despite the major dent in public image and also several legal troubles, it’s likely that the company may stay afloat with a rather new management and new board - a few known steps troubled companies often take to course correct. It’s worth noting that quality of drivers and cabs were the top highlight of the platform, and if it resumes, it should continue with that. With the ongoing protests and lack of communication between drivers and management, it seems unlikely that the company will enjoy the same level of trust from its network drivers.

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