Former Design Student of LISAA School Gives Free Masks to Needy

Global crises like pandemics are devastating, but they also spur unity and innovation. Various industries are coming together to fight against the  deadly virus COVID-19. Fashion design students are doing their fair share  by using their talents to design and sew face masks.

The World Health Organisation maintains that only those who are sick (coughing and sneezing) or taking care of a sick person should wear them, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised using “cloth face coverings” even if you are not sick.

Since DIY cloth masks can do the job,  Ila Tempus, one of the former fashion design students of LISAA School of Design in Bengaluru have taken initiative to make masks for the public. Illa has been crafting hundreds of face masks .

She provides free masks to local workers who can't afford it, for every three masks that are bought by people who can afford it.

Ila Tempus said, “We wanted to help people in any way possible. We partnered with our tailoring head and decided on creating 100% cotton 2-ply reusable tailored masks which were recommended by various health departments around the world. We made sure to keep a sterile environment and have a series of procedures in place to avoid the virus and create the products safely. Medical shops were running out of masks, and we knew we had to develop the next best thing. “

“There was less than 28% waste generated while the masks were being made, this 28% will be further recycled into new fabrics after the lockdown ends,” she further added.

SMEs/ MSMEs and Rural Agriculture Reforms Needed to Uplift the Economic Slowdown

India's unemployment rate hit 26% and 14 crore people lost employment as per CMIE data released recently. This is the single largest blow to the economy, thanks to prolonged lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, and greatest and gravest threat to the demographic dividend that is (was) our strongest point. Against this background, if any sector can help mitigate it to a great extent, it is the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) along with the agriculture sector. 

In context to the same, Mr. Sandip Chhettri, COO, TradeIndia says, "MSMEs contribute to 29 per cent of GDP in the country and employs over 12 crore people. MSME businesses are usually a month-to-month operation, with little reserves for the future. A disruption like this might just mean restarting everything. The biggest worry is, of course, a liquidity crunch, followed by a disrupted supply chain, labour availability and regulatory issues that have affected the MSME sector.Government must look at providing loans to cover wages, suspension of contributions to employee’s provident fund and Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for six months. And must clawback of GST that has already been paid.  They also much look at  creating liquidity by clearing dues from government departments, public sector undertakings, GST refunds and fast-track the process of tax refunds MSME must be given easier access to bank loans, especially at low rates, with help from the state and central governments"

Similarly, Mr. Amith Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, AgriBazaar shares, "The government’s push to bring maximum farmers online for their agri-purchase and crop selling is a decisive move. Any government policy like agri-produce insurance that guarantees the farmer that his crop will get purchased by the government at a fair price will be in line with India’s ensuring its long-term food sufficiency policy. In the ensuing season, farmers should get liberal financial assistance to purchase seeds, fertilizers and other agri-inputs so that they don’t waste one entire crop-cycle.Second, though a bold move, the government should ensure agri-tech start-ups enjoy ‘zero Income tax’ status similar to agriculture income. By recognizing agri-tech start-ups in the same line as agriculture, the government will spur deep investments and innovation in this sector. Today, the only solution to India’s agri woes is localized technology interventions that are relevant for the small farm owner or agri-landholder. Farm sector should be treated as a priority sector not only by banks but across regulators like credit rating agencies."

He further adds, "Once agri-start-ups start to benefit from the government similar to agriculture income, it will open up serious investment opportunities. The larger goal of food security, self-reliance in crop production and minimizing our food import bill will get automatically addressed through this measure. In a post COVID19 world, agri-tech should be used to restart the agri-economy in a fast-track manner"

TechGig Collaborates with Google Cloud to Launch Cloud DevJam

Today, TechGig in collaboration with Google Cloud launched the Cloud DevJam, an interactive upskilling online program designed to help Indian IT professionals enhance their cloud-based skills and apply knowledge to advance their professional careers. The program has been designed to enable developers to build their skills while at home during the current scenario.

Cloud DevJam program participants can build their expertise around an array of Google cloud Platform (GCP) skills including Core Infrastructure, Data & Machine Learning, Application Development and more. With live interactive sessions led by Google Cloud experts, developers can apply and test their knowledge through multiple choice question tests, hands-on labs, hackathons, and other skill-tests. Every participant of the program will also have the opportunity to validate their knowledge by applying and completing their Google Cloud certification. With points to be earned with each activity, developers can earn the recognition of ‘Cloud DevJam Champions’ at the end of the program.

Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “The COVID-19 outbreak, and the social lockdown, has made it critically important for everyone to remain updated with the newer technologies. Today, the digital frontier - led by the cloud-based technologies - is driving most initiatives in all the sectors. I am glad that at such juncture, TechGig - in collaboration with Google Cloud - is launching ‘Cloud DevJam’, a unique opportunity for the technologists to explore, learn and upskill on the Google Cloud Platform. This program has been curated to help the developers learn and understand the fundamentals of Google Cloud and advance their skills in the process. I welcome all the IT professionals to participate in the ‘Cloud DevJam’ hackathons and skill-based contests and showcase their innovative ideas”.

Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Google Cloud India said, “One thing that recent events has made clearer than ever is the importance for organisations and tech talent to be digital-first and cloud-ready. The Cloud DevJam is unique because it’s been conceptualized to enable developers to build their knowledge while at home, and companies will need to call on their skills in the immediate and long term to ensure business agility, resilience and overall competitiveness.”

Getting started
Interested participants can visit Cloud DevJam (https://www.techgig.com/googlecloud) to register and join the learning journey that best suits them.

Hyundai Motor, Mobis Implement & Emphasize on Customer & Employee Safety as Top Priority with Dealers

Key Points

* Issued Detailed Guidelines for Showroom & Workshop Environment, Dealership Employees, Contactless Sales, Delivery and Service to ensure safety of Customers and Dealership Staff
* Hygiene and Sanitization check list of ‘High Touch Points’ at all Dealerships and service workshops
* Hyundai Motor India and Mobis India Limited, Part of Hyundai Motor Group will dispatch 6.8 lakh masks (3-Ply, N-90 & N-95) as well as 20,000 half litre & 1.5 lakh 100 ml cases of Sanitizers for consumers, sales, service and backend staff at all Dealerships

Hyundai Motor India Ltd., country’s first Smart Mobility Solutions Provider and the largest exporter since inception, has set Customer and Employee Safety as Top Priority with the announcement of a comprehensive list of measures, aimed at ensuring Dealership Preparedness to meet the highest levels of sanitation and hygiene across all its Showrooms and Workshops.

Commenting on the development, Mr SS Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said, “The Safety and Well Being of our Customers and Employees is Paramount. With the evolving situation, we must adapt ourselves for the future. Under the umbrella of the ‘Hyundai Cares’ initiative, we are geared up to meet these challenges with sufficient measures that will Enhance Customer Confidence while also ensuring a Safe Showroom & Workshop Environment for Customers and Employees. Our carefully thought out initiatives will encompass all ownership aspects of Hyundai Cars for New & Existing Customers.”

Under the ambit of the ‘Hyundai Cares’ initiative, HMI has laid down guidelines to be followed at its Dealerships across India that encompass all facets of customer interactions from their arrival to departure at Showrooms and Workshops. This will include Display car & Test Drive car preparedness, Customer Lounge & Washrooms sanitization (showroom & workshop), Delivery process of New car & Serviced car, Contactless Demonstration and servicing. To ensure the safety of facilities are not compromised, scheduled sanitization drives are planned and for various customer touch points, regular sanitization contingencies have been established along with thermal screening of employees and visitors.

HMI is simultaneously conducting large scale trainings to ensure all Employees / stakeholders are well informed and work towards the maintenance of a Healthy Dealership Ambience for Customers and fellow employees. To assist Dealerships, Hyundai Motor India and Mobis India Limited, Part of Hyundai Motor Group will dispatch 6.8 lakh masks (3-Ply, N-90 & N-95) as well as 20,000 half litre and 1.5 lakh 100 ml cases of Sanitizers for consumers, sales, service and backend staff for their own and others safety. Hyundai has maintained its lead by achieving rank No. 1 in the 2019 JD Power Sales Satisfaction Index and Customer Satisfaction Index. We will continue to exceed customer expectations by offering peace of mind with the thorough guidelines & protocols in place.

Customers can also opt for remote car demonstrations through online video conferencing application with Sales Consultants at Dealerships. Further, with Hyundai’s Click-to-Buy Integrated end-to-end online car sales website, customers can buy a brand new Hyundai Car online with minimal physical contact, minimal paperwork and home delivery options. For customer convenience, they can opt to have a Sales Consultant assist them in the process at any point in the entire online purchase journey.

Hyundai is also offering customers its 360 Digital Service & Contact-less Service Experience, through which customers can book a service appointment online through the Hyundai Care app, WhatsApp, Hyundai Website or a call to Dealers. Further, customers will receive digital updates through WhatsApp and can also make online payments. Customers will receive enhanced convenience with extended working hours, can avail courtesy car facility and also have their cars picked up and delivered at their doorstep (6 High Touch Points to be sanitized at the time of pick-up and delivery). 

Rooter Raises Pre-Series A Round of $1.7 Mn Led by Paytm, leAD Sports, Rockstud Capital and Founder Bank Capital

India’s biggest sports community platform, Rooter, has raised a Pre-series A round of $1.7 mn. The key investors in this round include India's leading financial services platform Paytm, leAD Sports- Adidas Family backed Fund, Rockstud Capital, and Founder Bank Capital- early stage arm of RB Investments. Anthill Ventures, Venture Catalysts, and a few more current angel investors also participated in the round.

Rooter is also entering into a strategic partnership with Paytm First Games where both companies will collaborate to grow the Cricket, Fantasy Sports, Esports and Gaming ecosystem by creating seamless integration across gaming and content.

The fresh round of funding will be used to grow Rooter’s user base over the next one year and capitalizing on the company’s upcoming Esports & gaming content and communities. This will add a new dimension to the unique positioning of Rooter which already has a very high engagement around its sports content. The new content strategy will also allow Rooter to launch user monetization channels, in addition to current advertising monetization, with gifting economy working very well for many content-based startups in the country.

Rooter, which literally means a Sports Fan, was founded by Piyush and Dipesh Agarwal in 2016. Its core objective is to connect fans with each other, thereby building a strong community. The platform was largely built around Live Sports Gaming during its early days before it pivoted to content in 2019. Today, it has cemented its stance as the only Indian Sports Platform, which comprises sports content developed by users and professionals with a user base of more than 8 million.

Rooter is also the only Indian Sports start-up to ever get selected by leAD Sports Accelerator amongst more than 220 companies that applied from India so far. The brand completed the program in 2018 and later secured its first funding from leAD in 2019. Rooter has raised over a million dollars in funding so far through Venture Catalysts, Bollywood actor Boman Irani, Anthill ventures, and other marquee investors.

Commenting on the development, Piyush, Founder and CEO of Rooter, said, “We started Rooter with the objective of creating a sports fan community and we are glad our pivot to content has found a strong product-market fit. Our engagement metrics and user growth have been excellent in the last two quarters. We are excited to onboard Paytm, who aside from their investment, will also integrate Rooter into Paytm and Paytm First Games while we will work with them to be the biggest source of user content in sports and gaming. We also welcome Rockstud Capital and Founder Bank Capital as investors in Rooter.”

Sudhanshu Gupta, COO Paytm First Games said, "We continue to grow our content offerings through gaming and the addition of Rooter's communities and user-generated content will further enhance the use cases available on our platform. In the coming months, we will add more interactive content around Fantasy sports, Esports, and games while bringing benefits of the Paytm ecosystem to Rooter."

Rockstud Capital Investment Fund is a SEBI-registered Cat-II AIF that invests in listed equities as well as startups at Pre-Series A stage. Their investments include Everest Fleet, Cubical Labs & Noida-based Smartvizx. New Delhi based Ahlawat and Associates are the legal counsel for Rooter on this deal.

Aiisma App Introduces Contact Tracing for Non-Smartphone Users

Aiisma, India’s first-ever consumer to business data marketplace backed by frontier technology has introduced the contact tracing feature. The tracking feature keeps the person’s details anonymous, thus ensuring the privacy of data and identity. The anonymous feature will release a trigger function that will alert any Aiisma user who might have come into close contact with the infected person and maybe potentially infected. The aim is to create a digital fence of sorts against COVID19 and help authorities and citizens overcome it.

It's the only app in India to utilise the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) feature for contact tracing in rural areas. It’s for non-smartphone users who have previous versions of phones which were not 3G, 4G or 5G connected.  This India based app has come up with a way of contact tracing in rural India, where almost 70% of the country’s population lives.

This can be the primary way of tracking those in rural areas where the penetration of smartphones is not that high. The infrastructure in the back-end of the app and mobile remains the same. Instead of having an app installed in their smartphone, they are selecting one option propagated to them by their service providers. Even basic handsets share the location information via cell towers with the telecom service provider. But this app would use the USSD feature when the person gives consent for this information to be shared with the Aiisma ecosystem which ensures anonymity and privacy.

App Link - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.frelancer.aiisma

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.