NeoGrowth has Been Accelerating Digitization of Small Businesses and Creating Positive Social Impact

Suresh Gupta began selling consumer goods in 2008 with only INR 250. He started with door-to-door sales and 5 years later, he managed to start a grocery store (Sai Shrusthi) in 2013. Retail businesses need to maintain enough cashflow due to their high working capital requirements. As a result, Suresh decided to take a loan from NeoGrowth to meet his liquidity requirements. According to him, the daily repayment option is one of the best features of a loan from NeoGrowth as it is perfectly aligned with his business model. The payment flexibility eased the burden on his monthly outgo. He has further planned to expand his business and open more stores in other areas.

NeoGrowth’s Inception
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), like Sai Shrusthi, are crucial engine for growth of the Indian economy. Nearly 50% of MSMEs still lack access to formal credit, making financial inclusion a core priority. And the major reasons for this huge credit gap are lack of collateral, insufficient or lack of credit history and informal nature of business and lengthy periods of approvals or disbursals for these working capital-intensive businesses. Early into their entrepreneurial venture when they founded the digital payments processing firm, Venture Infotek in the mid-1990s, Mr. Dhruv Khaitan and Mr. Piyush Khaitan, understood the deeper pain points of retailers when it comes to accessing finance. They observed that more than 60% of retailers, even though credit-worthy, were denied finance based on traditional underwriting methods. Thus, going beyond the bipartisan business approach, the Khaitan brothers divested their stake in Venture Infotek in favour of a European MNC in 2010 and soon started a new chapter in the credit space for Indian SME and MSME retailers with NeoGrowth in 2011-12. The company unleashed a revolutionary model for SME and MSME retailers by giving them loans against card swipes using point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

Facts & Figures
 2013 First Loan Disbursed     14,000+ Customers          70% Renewal Rate 1,300 Cr+ AUM
  850+ Employee Strength 600+ Channel Partners   27 Cities        Serving

Product Design & Uniqueness
NeoGrowth’s product design is centred around the business model of the retailers as card swipes give a good sense of the business potential, seasonality changes and customer footfalls for underwriting. Another differentiating factor is that this product has a daily recovery model and is digitally driven. The company can be described as a true ‘Digital Lender’ which provides loans to consumer facing, retail oriented, under-served MSMEs through a pioneering model that enables automated, hassle-free, daily, digital repayments for the customers. As its key product, the company offers an innovative loan product, i.e. loans against future digital sales (credit/debit card, online and digital sales). The product, launched in 2012-13, has since then grown in popularity to give NeoGrowth a nation-wide footprint across 27 cities in India and customers across various industries such as restaurants, food and beverage outlets, apparel, consumer durable and footwear stores, petrol pumps, groceries, pharmacies, etc. NeoGrowth has products tailored for customer type and usage. During the last year, we have strengthened our offerings by launching new products namely Vendor Finance and Purchase Finance. These products provide supply chain finance to businesses who sell to or purchase goods or services from eligible large corporate entities.

Key Financials & Growth Strategy
With an average loan ticket size of INR 12 lakhs (and a maximum loan amount of INR 75 lakhs), the company has so far disbursed over INR 5,600 crore till Feb’20; the loan book as on 29th February 2020 stands at INR 1,373 crore. It has clocked INR 1,000 crore in AUM for FY2019 and has grown by over 60% since then. On an average, it has been growing at 50% year on year. Incredibly, since inception, NeoGrowth has touched the lives of over 70,000 customers. NeoGrowth has grown steadily over the last 7 years and has a proven profitable and sustainable business model. Naturally, the company’s financial performance and asset quality have grown consistently since inception. NeoGrowth is one of the very new NBFCS to post a profit (as early as 2016-17) of INR 5 crore in FY 2016-17. In continuation of its strategy of “Deeper, Wider and Newer”, NeoGrowth is now focusing on deepening its reach in existing cities through the core retail lending product to MSMEs.

Social Impact Mission
Creating a positive social impact through business activities has been one of the paramount objectives for which NeoGrowth was established and the impact is measured by an independent agency annually since past six years. The impact is measured in terms of job creation, lending to first generation entrepreneurs, improving credit scores, lending to growing businesses in Tier-II cities, fostering digitization and furthering financial inclusion. During FY2019, around 35% of the disbursals were towards first time borrowers, 23% towards business owners who did not hold formal education degrees and about 12% of loan advances were towards businesses that were run by women either as sole proprietors, partners or directors.

The high value that NeoGrowth has accreted for its customers can be gauged from the high repeat customer rate, asserting its role in the Indian society as a company with immense social impact and relevance.  “NeoGrowth was established with the objective of creating a positive social impact through its business activities as one of its utmost priorities. And it is really heartening to see how we have come a long way in extending support to boost the financial lives of merchants belonging to the erstwhile underserved MSME segment. I humbly state that NeoGrowth has enabled an improvement in the credit history, financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs and overall business growth, resulting in job creation for many of its customers – hitherto under-served by the traditional banking channels. Besides, we continually stay invested in philanthropic initiatives for causes close to us and in these unprecedented times of COVID-19, we are strongly committed to extend our support to several charitable organisations.” says Dhruv Khaitan, Founder and Chairman of NeoGrowth.

COVID Relief Measures
Committed to creating positive social impact since 2013, NeoGrowth has extended their heartfelt support and commitment towards COVID-19 relief, wherein each employee at NeoGrowth has voluntarily contributed from their salary and incrementally NeoGrowth has contributed to the same as well. The founders are also donating a matching amount and hence we have successfully raised an amount of over INR 50 lakhs. This amount is being donated to around 15 selective charitable organisations and NGOs across India who are doing frontline work in distributing food, medicine and equipment to persons most affected including healthcare workers.

Amongst one of the selected NGOs is SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) who are reaching out to vulnerable communities in the states of Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttarakhand. The relief amount is being utilised to supply hygiene kits and food rations to marginalised families, old age homes and orphanages and providing financial and essential services support to the daily wage earners. Besides, NeoGrowth is also supporting SEEDS in their efforts to support the district administration for complementing and supplementing public health systems as well as helping the Government for establishment of temporary quarantine facilities, where needed. In these regions, besides supporting the elderly and children, SEEDS is taking some burden off frontline health workers by supplementing public health systems, supplying hygiene kits and supporting the establishment of temporary quarantine facilities. Few other notable NGOs supported by NeoGrowth include Goonj, Akshaya Patra Foundation, YUVA (Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action), Uday Foundation For Congenita Defects and Rare Blood Groups Trust, Good Neighbors India, etc.

Measures & Digital Initiatives for Customers
Despite not getting any relief on loan moratorium from lenders, NeoGrowth continues to support its customers in the times of COVID crisis. In continuity to our digital initiatives, we have enabled all modes of digital payments for our customers, so that they do not have to step out of their homes. Our customer support staff is operating at full capacity from their homes even during these times to ensure that our customers queries are well heard of. We understand that during these days of lockdown, our customers are facing challenges in managing their cashflows. In this regard, we have started a communication series for our customers on providing essential tips to them on how they can manage their cashflows more effectively and stay afloat. Besides, we are also allowing for opt-in basis repayments. Through our regular communications to customers, we are also keeping them aware of the various social engineering and phishing cyber-attacks post COVID.

Other Measures for Employees Well-Being
NeoGrowth has been recently recognized as ‘Great Place to Work’ demonstrating high performance and high trust culture at NeoGrowth. During these challenging times, we have taken several measures to ensure safety of our employees, including work from home option for all our workforce, providing regular sanitation and safety tips, advising on practising social distancing and introduced alternate ways of collaborating through digital modes to ensure continuity of business. We are also working with our vendors and partners to ensure compliant and robust business continuity plans are operationalised at their end as well. 

How Tinder Members are Making Connections During Lockdown with Tinder Passport?

Tinder opened up its paid feature Passport for all members; the majority of members are using the feature to Passport between Indian cities

(Note on background: Tinder Passport is typically a paid feature for Tinder Plus & Gold subscribers. Members can search by city or drop a pin on the map and you can begin Liking, matching, and chatting with Tinder members in a destination of their choice. They can navigate between their current location and new destinations. This was made free for all Tinder members.)

With social distancing becoming the norm, meeting people is a no go. That’s why Tinder made its Passport™ feature free through April — Tinder wants to facilitate making new connections and maintaining social interactions during this challenging time. By allowing members to temporarily change their location, Tinder Passport lets them connect with matches all over the world, no matter how far away they are. Because — louder for the people in the back — social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t still connect with people virtually. And based on recent data, Tinder members are most definitely doing just that.

By looking at data from March to April, we learned which cities and countries members are virtually traveling to, and which cities are frequently interacting with each other. The majority of Tinder members are using the feature to change location within the country, with Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Delhi as the top 2 cities Passporting to each other. Tinder’s resident psychologist Sonali Gupta thinks it is very telling that majority location change is between members within India,  “One of the reasons could be that while there is a global pandemic world over, what's different is how countries are dealing with it. When people are reaching out to other people in Indian cities, they could possibly feel that their context and personal reality would be better understood by other Indians. This could be a reflection of realistic expectations - as people see that international travel is unlikely and they stand a greater chance of meeting someone who is based within the country.”

Excuse us while we virtually check out how Mumbai is doing during the lockdown.

Please find below a full factsheet on top cities and countries Indian Tinder Members are Passporting to.

Key:

Top 15 Passporting Pairings means cities Passporting to each other

Top 5 destinations in India means top 5 cities members in India are Passporting to

Top 5 global destinations mean top 5 countries members in India are Passporting to

3.6 Million People Joined Online Meditation Sessions at Sahaja Yoga

Millions of devotees from more than 70 countries will come together for collective online meditation  during May 1st to May 5th celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sahaja Yoga, a unique discovery by H. H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

Subtle System Sahaja Yoga meditation 

Sahaja Yoga is a movement, a practice and a lifestyle. This is well described in ancient texts, prophesized and mentioned by incarnations although it is a lesser-known form of meditation because of its non-glamorous and non-commercial nature. Practitioners are known to experience deeper and holistic transformations from this form of Yoga meditation. The knowledge and practice of Sahaja Yoga, meaning the spontaneous experience of unification of the inner Kundalini power inside the person with the all-pervading power all over the cosmos, was gifted to mankind by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi on 5th May 1970 and called as World Sahastrar Day by the practitioners of Sahaja Yoga.

As said by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi , ‘’You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you. It is everyone's right to achieve this state of ones evolution and everything necessary is already inbuilt. But as I respect your freedom, you have to have the desire to achieve this state, it cannot be forced upon you!” -- H. H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

“We voluntarily visit schools, colleges, corporates, government offices and, medical colleges besides visiting villages and distant rural areas to help people for them to get their Self realisation and learn true process of Meditation absolutely free of cost. Sahaja Yoga techniques even helps the farmers in agriculture. The knowledge is priceless, and our volunteers help people of all faiths across religions, castes, creed and colour in achieving their Self- Realisation,” said Dinesh Rai, Vice Chairman, H. H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Sahaja Yoga Trust (National Trust).

The 50th year celebrations will also be commemorated by continuous online meditation sessions and musical performances from 1st May till 5th May to celebrate the event and help people overcome anxiety and stress in these troubled times.

During lockdown, this free meditation initiative has been taken up by volunteers through various social media platforms like YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Mixlr and National television collectively twice a day. New seekers from across the country started calling for more information on the trust helpline 1800 30 700 800 after free live relay of meditation on the YouTube channel “Pratisthan Pune” and Facebook channel “India Sahaja Yoga”.

“In the last 40 days, we received over 25,000 thousand calls from new seekers that increased five times in the past one week as the word spread. The intent of all such initiative is to share en- masse self -realization free of cost so that people can start attaining complete balance in life,.” Mr Rai said.

Vidyadhan Distributes Daily Essential Kits to Underserved Families in Karnataka Amidst COVID 19

Vidyadhan, a flagship scholarship program under The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives announced the distribution of daily essential kits as part of its COVID-19 relief program.  In the first phase, 10,000 grocery kits are being distributed in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. This will be followed by a similar exercise in other states where Vidyadhan has a presence. The outreach is aimed at extending a helping hand to the needy and the underserved sections of society impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the nationwide lockdown continues to be in force, livelihoods of daily wage workers and those without stable jobs face a higher risk of economic uncertainty. The kits have 18 essential food items such as rice, flour, cooking oil, tea, pulses and sugar among others.

Launching the COVID-19 relief program, Mrs Kumari Shibulal, Founder and Chairperson, The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives said, “We are passing through an unprecedented and unexpectedly difficult time. Times like these test our commitment to the well-being of humanity and call for greater unity and compassion among us. This daily essential kit is a humble attempt to express our support and solidarity.  While Vidyadhan is sponsoring the kits, we are collaborating with various local partners across different states to ensure seamless and effective distribution.”

In Karnataka, the focus groups include migrant labourers, differently-abled people, sex workers, tribal villagers and pregnant women. Vidyadhan has partnered with different NGOs to identify the beneficiaries and distribute 2000 daily essentials kits across Gulbarga, Dharwad, Davangere, Belgaum and Kolar districts. Another 1000 kits will be distributed in the tribal areas and other districts in Karnataka in the coming days.

Talking about the distribution drive, Basavaraj Patil Sedam, former Member of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka and the driving force of the NGO Vikas Academy said, “On account of the critical COVID-19 situation, about 750 bags were sent to Gulbarga district by the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives. We are happy to share that these bags contained about 18 essential food items, which were distributed in different parts of the Gulbarga district including 15 villages in Sedam, Chinchwadi, Chitapura talukas, Gulbarga rural area, Sedam town, Chitapur and 65 educational centres.”

He added, “Non ration-card holders were identified in Taranhalli village in Sedam Taluka the grocery kits were distributed to them along with about 40 widows. I am thankful to the Shibulal Family as previously also, they had made a big contribution for educational and other purposes. For the betterment of this country and its future, I once again thank the Shibulal Family for their philanthropic initiatives.”

Vidyadhan currently operates in 10 states. The present phase of distribution of 10,000 daily essentials kits is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

About The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives:

Born out of a sense of responsibility to society, the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives has been actively supporting those in need through initiatives in education, healthcare and organic farming for the last 20 years, starting from 1999.

The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives started with focus on education, based on the simple belief that the founders – Mrs. Kumari Shibulal and Mr. S.D. Shibulal achieved what they did because of it. Our initiatives such as  Vidyadhan, Ankur, The Samhita Academy, Vidyarakshak, Sikhskalokam, Edumentum, etc. are based on the premise of uplifting the underserved communities and providing them with the opportunity to build a better future.

Mrs Kumari Shibulal is the Founder & Chairperson of the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives. Passionate about doing her bit for the underserved communities, her vision (and that of the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives) is to spread knowledge and create an environment focussed on social change through a solution-oriented approach.

About Vidyadhan:

Vidyadhan is the flagship higher education scholarship program of The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives. We identify students in need of financial assistance after matriculation, to support them through senior school and graduation of their choice. We have given over 17000+ scholarships through this initiative. Many have gone on to become productive citizens after completing the program over the years. 4300 students across 10 states are currently in the program.

To make this program more scalable and self-sustainable, a new model has been introduced called ‘Each One, Teach One’. The primary mission is to enable academically brilliant but financially weak students to achieve their dreams. Launched in May 2015, this initiative provides need-based financial assistance to those pursuing degree courses such as medicine, engineering, nursing, etc.  The Shibulal family has pledged their support to Each One, Teach One’s vision to increase its impact from 17,000 scholarships in 10 States to 100,000 scholarships in all States in the next 5-7 years. Vidyadhan was launched in Karnataka in the year 2014 and currently has around 675 students in the state. 

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pledges Support for Superior Healthcare Services to Counter COVID

In an unwavering endeavor to support the authorities in their battle against COVID 19, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has undertaken a several measures in the areas of health, safety and food in support of Karnataka Government and local administration to safeguard the health and well-being of the care givers.

TKM has pledged to support the authorities with 45 thermal scanners (20 to the Bangalore police and 25 to quarantine hospitals) to enable quicker detection and proactive support to affected individuals. In addition, the company has provided 45,000 hand sanitizers bottles, 100 bedding, consumables for 100 patients, 20 sets of equipment’s such as IV stands and BP monitors and safety gears including 12,000 examination gloves, 70,000 3 ply face masks, 7500 N95 masks to  Health Department, Government of Karnataka, Bangalore police personnel and community.

In order to safeguard the citizens and to stop the virus from spreading further, TKM has also offered fumigation equipment, 10 numbers to Victoria Hospital through BMCRI and 10 numbers to the Town Municipal Corporation, Bidadi, Ramanagara District, Karnataka as per their requirements.

Commenting on these initiatives, Mr. Vikram Gulati, Country Head & Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Public Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility & Corporate Governance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “In such perilous times, when the whole country is battling the repercussions of the COVID 19 pandemic, Toyota, in line with its safety and security philosophy has taken numerous measures to aid the Government and the citizens. We have been continuously monitoring the evolving situation to identify major problem areas wherein we can provide our aid and support to those individuals who are risking their lives to protect us. Our endeavor has always been to be with the people in these uncertain times and to provide relief whenever and wherever we can.

Toyota salutes and supports the police force, healthcare workers and the Government in its initiatives and pledges to be instrumental in this war against the virus. We believe that together we can and together we will be able to overcome this adversity.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, TKM has been monitoring the fast-evolving situation and proactively responding appropriately in accordance with needs of the community & the Government. TKM, along with its multiple stakeholders have responded in multiple ways to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. Recently, TKM contributed to 2 crores to Karnataka Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. 3000 Hazmat suits were handed over to the Government Health Volunteers in Karnataka, 3500 essential kits to daily wage workers while benefitting over 15000+ members, sanitizers & masks to police dept. This was followed by deployment of 14 buses to support the health department in the state. TKM also supported its supplier partner, Stump Schuele & Somappa Springs Pvt Ltd., to ramp up the production of “Face Shields" for healthcare workers from 275 to over 17000 units per day.

In its commitment to support the authorities, TKM has been and will continue to study and observe the evolving situation, determined to devise effective and efficient solutions to arising problems in hopes to aid the nation into a speedy recovery from the inflictions of the COVID 19 pandemic. The company has also aggregated the efforts of its partners and other stakeholders to ensure maximum support to the Government. TKM along with Dealer partners from across all-India network has undertaken several initiatives in the terms of safety and wellbeing of the society by distributing food rations to the needy families benefitting thousands of people. The dealer partners also supported the government by donating  their share of contribution in terms funding, followed by distribution of safety gears such as masks and hand sanitizers. This ensures that the brand unifies its strength and efforts towards the common mission of alleviating the ramifications of the pandemic.

Pune-Based FITTR is Motivating People to Stay Fit Amidst Lockdown with Prize Money of Rs 1 Lakh Each for 5 Winners

Notes

* This year, Fittr expects 15,000 people to participate in Transformation Challenge 10, India’s Biggest Online Transformation Challenge
* Melwyn Pawar, the winner of Transformation Challenge 9, goes home with a brand-new Harley Davidson Street 750

Due to the lockdown, gyms and fitness centers across the country are shut. With the Covid-19 situation being far from resolved, it is feared that this closure will continue for some more time. As people are staying indoors and physical movement is restricted, it becomes all the more important for them to stay fit. To help people in these times and to motivate them to embrace a fitter lifestyle, Pune-based online fitness platform Fittr is back with the 10th edition of its much-awaited Transformation Challenge (TC).

TC 10 launches on May 1st and is a 12-week online challenge that will be hosted on the company’s fitness app (also called FITTR). Registration for the challenge is free and anyone above the age of 18 can participate in it, no matter where they are located.

Speaking about TC 10, Founder Jitendra Chouksey said, “The entire world is facing a major challenge right now in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic. At such a time, it’s important to stay positive and motivated. That’s what Transformation Challenge 10 wants to do: motivate people to rise up to the challenge and make the most of it. We’re all in this together and the best thing we could do is to invest in our own health and fitness.

Transformation Challenge represents the ethos of Fittr. We firmly believe that anyone can get fit, provided you have the proper mindset. Fittr App provides all the free tools that one needs to get healthy and stay fit. In addition, Fittr Coaches are conducting free live online sessions every day and helping people stay fit in these times.”

Apart from the chance to get fit, Fittr has further sweetened the deal for TC 10 participants. Instead of just 1 winner, this time, there will be 5 winners and each winner will take home INR 1 Lac in cash.

Melwyn Pawar, the winner of Transformation Challenge 9, took home a brand-new Harley Davidson Street 750 as the top prize. “It has always been my dream to get shredded and look aesthetic. When TC 9 was announced, I knew this was a golden opportunity to achieve my dream. Those 12 weeks of the challenge were incredible. I received a lot of support from the community and that really pushed me to give my best.”

Fittr was founded in January 2016 by Jitendra Chouksey, a software engineer who transformed himself while working a 12-hour/day IT job. Today, Fittr is the largest online fitness community in the world with over 850,000 members. Fittr has been profitable since inception & has achieved a cumulative revenue of $13 million USD.

Recently, the company was in the news when it announced that it was part of Surge, Sequoia’s rapid scale-up program for startups in India & Southeast Asia. Under the arrangement, Fittr has raised $ 2 million as part of the pre-Series A investment.

Staying at Home is Now More ‘Rewarding’ Across Indian Cities

Staying at home is the best thing you can do right now and InterMiles is rewarding members for it. Members can earn as much as 1800 InterMiles by making the responsible choice to #StayHome.

Here’s how it works: With the InterMiles app running in the background, members shall be credited with 100 Bonus InterMiles for each day that the member doesn’t venture beyond their Home location.

Free medical consultation on MFine

InterMiles members faced with medical queries, can avail access to India’s leading AI-Powered online doctor consultation platform, MFine that connects them to leading doctors across the country. InterMiles members will be able to benefit from free-consultation for their health-related queries starting April 24, 2020.

Free subscription to Magzter GOLD

To keep members engaged through meaningful breaks during the lockdown, while keeping updated with the news InterMiles has leveraged its collaboration with Magzter to offer free and unlimited access to 5,000+ magazines and newspapers until the end of April 2020. Members will be able to gain these benefits through a free subscription to Magzter GOLD.

Pledging support to the PM CARES Fund

InterMiles is empowering members to make a difference in the lives of others. Members can contribute to the PM CARES Fund, for relief efforts against the outbreak via InterMiles. All contributors through InterMiles will receive an 80G certificate for their contribution.

Earn Miles when shopping on Kindle & attending TEDxGateway Webinars

In an ongoing effort to grant members access to some of the best content platforms, InterMiles’ has tied- up with Amazon Kindle. Members will be able to earn 5 Miles for every INR 100 spent to purchase Kindle E-books on Amazon via shop.intermiles.com. On their first purchase, members will be directly given a flat 50 InterMiles.

To keep engaged, informed and entertained, InterMiles is collaborating with TEDx for a 6-part ‘The World has Changed’ webinar series. Under this, InterMiles members can register for the webinar and get rewarded with 500 InterMiles.

Non-Expiry of Miles

To ensure that members gain the utmost value from this programme under these extraordinary circumstances, InterMiles has decided to temporarily suspend expiry of Miles. In accordance with this, members who had Miles expiring in March, April, May or June 2020 will get an extension till 31, July 2020 with a follow-up expiry rule being announced on 31, July 2020.