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PhonePe dominates UPI ecosystem with 49% market share in April

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
PhonePe dominates UPI ecosystem with 49% market share in April
Medial

Digital payments platform PhonePe has continued to be the number one player in the unified payments interface (UPI) ecosystem with a market share of close to 49% in April 2024 across P2M (person to merchant) and P2P (person to person) transactions. PhonePe has maintained the leadership position in the overall UPI transactions for more than 40 months (since November 2020). As per the data issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), PhonePe clocked 6.5 billion transactions via UPI out of the total transactions of 13.3 billion in the last month. This roughly translates to 48.87% market share in the UPI ecosystem which also includes players like Google Pay and Paytm, among many others. UPI transactions declined in volume in April by 1% to 13.3 billion from 13.44 billion in March. The total transaction value in the same period also fell 0.7% to Rs 19.64 trillion from Rs 19.78 trillion in March. While PhonePe and Google Pay registered 6.5 billion and 5 billion transactions respectively in March as well as in April, Paytm’s transactions slipped to 1.11 billion from 1.21 billion during the last two months. As of April, Google Pay and Paytm controlled 37.5% and 8.3% market share in the overall (P2M and P2P transactions) UPI ecosystem. Value wise, PhonePe had close to 51% market share followed by Google Pay and Paytm with 35% and 5% share respectively. For Paytm, this is the third consecutive decline in terms of monthly transactions in 2024. The trend can be seen below: In January, RBI had imposed restrictions on Paytm due to compliance concerns. This appears to be the primary reason behind the fall in UPI transactions for the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led fintech major. The firm also saw a sharp fall in active users after January this year. Entrackr exclusively reported the development in April. Paytm later received permission from NPCI to participate in UPI through the third-party application provider (TPAP) under the multibank model. In April, CRED became the fourth largest UPI-enabled app which processed 138 million transactions. This was followed by Amazon Pay and Fampay with 64.33 and 46.64 million transactions, respectively. Government- promoted BHIM recorded 25 million transactions while WhatsApp reported over 34 million transactions in the last month. Significantly, NPCI is reportedly planning to review its decision to implement a 30% cap on the market share of UPI apps by the end of 2024.

UPI sets new record in May with 14 billion transactions worth over Rs 20 trillion

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
UPI sets new record in May with 14 billion transactions worth over Rs 20 trillion
Medial

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has set another record as it processed more than 14 billion transactions worth Rs 20.45 lakh crore or Rs 20.45 trillion in May, according to data issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). UPI saw a 5% jump in volume and a 4% surge in value of transactions in May compared to April. This is a new high in terms of volume and value for UPI which began its operations in April 2016. Last month, the volume of transactions declined by 1% to 13.3 billion from 13.44 billion in March. The total transaction value in the same period also fell 0.7% to Rs 19.64 trillion from Rs 19.78 trillion. The transaction count is expected to rise in the coming months as NPCI is expanding UPI services to more countries. Besides India, it is also available in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, France, Nepal, UK, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka. Going forward, the Reserve Bank of India along with NPCI have plans to take UPI to 20 countries by FY29. In its annual report, RBI also said that nearly four out of five digital payments in the country were conducted on the UPI in FY24. As of April, PhonePe had 48.87% market share in the UPI ecosystem. This was followed by Google Pay and Paytm which controlled 37.5% and 8.3% market share in UPI respectively. Value wise, PhonePe had close to 51% market share followed by Google Pay and Paytm with 35% and 5% share respectively. The break up data for May is yet to be released by NPCI. NPCI is reportedly considering reviewing its decision to implement a 30% cap on the market share of UPI apps by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, industry stalwarts Adani Group and Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Group are also gearing up to enter the UPI and digital bank ecosystem. As per media reports, Adani Group is considering seeking for a license to operate on the UPI while Jio Financial announced a new app called JioFinance.

Layoffs, departures continue as Indian startups raise $1 Bn in April: Report

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Layoffs, departures continue as Indian startups raise $1 Bn in April: Report
Medial

The year 2024 started on a good note for Indian startups: an average of $1 billion in monthly funding, which is a significant growth when compared to the previous year during which monthly funding went below $500 million three times. In April 2024, however, startups crossed the $1 billion threshold on the back of a couple of pre-IPO funding, a few late-stage rounds, and debt deals. Indian startups raked in more than $1 billion across 124 deals in April, according to data compiled by startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. This included 36 growth-stage deals worth $813 million and 65 early-stage deals amounting to $225.75 million. Moreover, there were 23 undisclosed rounds, primarily early-stage deals. During the recent Startup Mahakumbh festival, Peak XV Partners’ managing director Rajan Anandan said that Indian startups are expected to raise $8 billion to $12 billion this year. He also added that around $20 billion of private capital is lying uninvested and is committed to investment in private firms and startups in India. This estimate appears close considering the current rate of monthly funding. [Month-on-Month and Year-on-Year trend] In April 2024, there was a 14% year-on-year jump in funding from $912 million in the same month last year. Even on a monthly basis, April almost matched March’s $1.18 billion funding. Interestingly, only one startup i.e. PharmEasy managed to raise funding in three digits during the last month. Since January, homegrown startups have raised close to $4 billion, and at this rate, it may cross the $11 billion funding raised in 2023. [Top growth stage deals] Healthcare startup PharmEasy’s $216 million pre-IPO round stood at the top, though its valuation dropped nearly 90% from $5.6 billion to $710 million during the latest fundraise. Financial services firm Northern Arc also announced its $80 million Series C round while Ola Electric raised $50 million in debt even after filing draft IPO papers. Altum Credo, ProcMart, SingleInterface, Infinity Fincorp, CloudExtel, and LetsTransport also featured in the top 10 growth stage deals in April. [Top early-stage deals] Omnichannel fashion startup Lyskraft, founded by Zomato’s co-founder Mohit Gupta and Myntra and Cultfit’s co-founder Mukesh Bansal, scooped up $26 million in a seed funding round and was on the top of the list in early-stage deals in April. Gen AI startup Neysa bagged $20 million whereas spacetech company Dhruva Space and edtech firm Emversity (Beyond Odds) raised $15 million and $11 million, respectively. The rest of the early-stage startups in the top 10 list raised less than $10 million each. The list includes Traya, LightFury Games, GTM Buddy, FincFriends, and Accacia. [City and segment-wise deals] City-wise, expectedly, Bengaluru-based startups are on top with 42 deals, contributing around 26% of the overall funding in April. Delhi-NCR and Mumbai followed with 30 and 26 deals, respectively. However, Mumbai-based startups topped the list in terms of the total amount raised. The list further counts Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, and Ahmedabad among others. Segment-wise, e-commerce startups (including D2C brands) and fintech startups co-led the list with 19 deals each followed by healthtech (16), SaaS (15), EV (5), automotive tech (4), and foodtech (4) startups among others. Visit TheKredible for more details. [Stage-wise deals] Series-wise, 44 startups raised funding in the Seed round followed by 20 Series A deals, 13 Pre-Series A, 11 Series B deals, and 7 Pre-Seed deals. As many as 14 startups raised debt funding worth $199.2 million during the period. [Mergers and acquisitions] Indian startups saw nearly a dozen mergers and acquisitions in April of which most deals were undisclosed. Among the disclosed deals, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) acquired a majority stake in digital infrastructure solutions company iBUS for about $200 million. US-based Aurionpro Solutions also acquired Indian fintech company Arya.ai for $16.5 million. The notable list of M&A also includes the acquisition of Shy Tiger brands by Ghost Kitchens India, Orbit by Postman, Awign by MyNavi, and Magzter by Dailyhunt’s parent company VerSe Innovations. [Layoffs, top-level exits, and shutdown/s] The mass firing in startups continued in April as they laid off nearly 1,500 employees during the month. April surpassed the cumulative layoffs of 1,100 employees during the first quarter of 2024. Troubled edtech company Byju’s remained on top with 500 layoffs, followed by The Good Glamm Group, Healthify, and Scaler with 150 layoffs each. Check the full list here. April also saw high-profile exits from startups including five chief executives. Sujot Malhotra, CEO of Beardo, Surinder Chawla, CEO of Paytm Payments Bank, Arjun Mohan, CEO of Byju’s India, Sukhleen Aneja, CEO of The Good Glamm Group’s D2C Brands Division and Hemanth Bakshi, CEO of Ola Cabs, have quit this month. Besides layoffs and departures, Nintee, a digital health startup launched by Wingify founder Paras Chopra, announced shutting down its operations after a year of launch. During the first three months of 2024, six startups announced their shutting down operations in India. [ESOP buyback] Employees’ stock buyback also continued in April as three growth-stage companies – Pocket FM, XYXX, and The Sleep Company – announced their ESOP buyback program last month. Pocket FM bought back $8.3 million worth of stocks from employees while the rest two did not disclose the transaction details. The March quarter saw four ESOP buybacks including MyGate, Meesho, Classplus, and Imagekit. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Conclusion] While the trajectory of fund raising is positive, its quality might worry some, as it has gone to a firm that was clearly in distress and at a massive haircut (PharmEasy), besides the large, lumpy deal from NIIF. It might also be time to relook debt funding numbers as part of overall startup funding figures, as debt is usually taken by startups that are running operations sustainably from a financial perspective, or where founders do not want to dilute stakes any more. So it’s not quite the risk capital that equity funding is. With a host of IPOs being lined up, we expect the growth trajectory to sustain as pleased investors return to find the next big opportunity.

WeWork India posts Rs 1,314 Cr revenue in FY23; cuts losses by 77%

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
WeWork India posts Rs 1,314 Cr revenue in FY23; cuts losses by 77%
Medial

WeWork India has remained islanded from the turmoil at its US counterpoint, which filed for bankruptcy recently. WeWork India’s scale grew to over Rs 1,300 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023. Significantly, it also narrowed down losses by 77% in the same period. WeWork India is operated by Bengaluru-based real-estate firm Embassy Group, which holds over 70% stake in the Indian avatar of the co-working firm. Embassy also holds the rights to use the WeWork brand name in India. WeWork India’s revenue from operations surged by 67.6% to Rs 1,314 crore in FY23 from Rs 784 crore in FY22, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies show. Income from leasing office spaces was the primary source of revenue for WeWork accounting for 72% of the total revenue, which increased by 47.6% to Rs 942 crore in FY23. The rest of the income came from services fees and other allied services. See TheKredible for the detailed revenue breakup. WeWork India’s chief revenue officer Clifford Lobo told Entrackr that in the past year the firm has seen steady demand for its flexible workspace solutions. Moving over to the cost side, its depreciation and interest expense formed 67% of the overall cost and cumulatively stood at Rs 1,050 crore in FY23. Notably, a significant portion of this amount, Rs 883 crore was associated with leasing costs which the company spread year-on-year in the form of interest leasing and assets utilization. WeWork India’s employee benefits, rent, repair, information technology, management, advertising, and other overheads took its total expenditure up by 6% to Rs 1,570 crore in FY23. Check TheKredible for the complete expense breakup. Expense Breakdown Total ₹ 1480 Cr https://thekredible.com/company/wework/financials View Full Data To access complete data, visithttps://thekredible.com/company/wework/financials Total ₹ 1570 Cr https://thekredible.com/company/wework/financials View Full Data To access complete data, visithttps://thekredible.com/company/wework/financials Employee benefit Employee benefit Power and fuel Power and fuel Rent and repairs Rent and repairs Information technology Information technology Advertising promotional Advertising promotional Common area maintenance charges Common area maintenance charges Interest on lease and borrowing Interest on lease and borrowing Depreciation and amortisation Depreciation and amortisation Others To check complete Expense Breakdown visit thekredible.com View full data The impressive scale and controlled expenditure helped WeWork to reduce its losses by 77.3% to Rs 146 crore in FY23 from 643 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin improved to -41% and 1.4% respectively. On a unit level, it spent Rs 1.19 to earn a rupee in FY23. “…Improving risk management and portfolio strategies has played a crucial role in boosting our margins in the last fiscal,” Lobo explained when asked about the factors driving the better bottom line during FY23. Demand for coworking space is gradually increasing in India, with studies projecting the market to be worth nearly $3 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 7%. Besides WeWork, several companies such as 91 Springboard, Awfis, and Mumbai Coworking are looking to tap into this segment. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin -46% 1.4% Expense/Rupee of ops revenue ₹1.89 ₹1.19 ROCE -232% -41% Among the notable competition, Awfis has been among the frontrunners in the domain. Its revenue from operations surged 2.1X to Rs 545 crore during the fiscal year ending March 2023 as compared to Rs 257 crore in FY22. However, the losses of the firm declined by 18.67% to Rs 46.6 crore in FY23. It also shared quarterly results for April-June 24, wherein the revenue stood at Rs 187.7 crore while losses stood at Rs 8.3 crore. Moreover, Awfis has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Security Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO). At almost $115 million, WeWork India is comfortably the leader of the pack in the segment, and seems well on its way to breakeven. In this case, the parent firm could have learnt a lesson or two from the Indian subsidiary, on cost controls and operations. Having an established real estate player in the commercial segment as partner has helped no doubt as the Embassy group has proven. Going ahead, the firm’s challenge remains controlling significant escalations in rentals for its customers, as the market remains competitive. While WeWork has an advantage with its premium position in most segments, it does face a real challenge from existing as well as upcoming firms. Real estate by its very nature is regional, and the co-working space has also thrown up many competent firms that are strong in just a single city, for instance. To that extent, sharpening the brand’s edge remains key for the future in many ways.

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