Recykal Becomes 1st Indian Startup To Be A Member Of World Economic Forum’s ‘The Circulars Accelerator’ Program

Recykal, an end-to-end digital ‘waste-commerce’ solutions provider, has been selected as the first member from India for The Circulars Accelerator Program 2021. The Circulars Accelerator. Led by Accenture, in partnership with Anglo American, Ecolab and Schneider Electric, and in collaboration with UpLink and the World Economic Forum, will connect industry leaders with 17 ground-breaking circular economy entrepreneurs to scale up disruptive, cross-sector value chain innovation at an unprecedented pace.

Recykal’s unique, integrated approach marks India’s first digital waste-commerce (w-commerce) company that connects waste generators with waste processors and recyclers, and brand owners to solve some of the biggest challenges faced by the industry. The company’s digital solutions are ensuring higher rates of waste collection, recycling and unlocking value for stakeholders across the waste value chain thereby paving a way for a circular economy by ensuring more materials are entering the recycling streams and less to landfills. In doing so, Recykal has saved  12.86 million-kWh energy, 57.71 million - litres oil, 18.23 million  cubic feet landfill space, 44.44 million litres water and 28,047 trees.

Speaking on the selection, Abhay Deshpande, founder, Recykal, said, “We are proud to become a member of this prestigious cohort that will be important in the next decade to India. As India becomes one of the world's biggest waste generators, it is crucial that business leaders recognize waste management and recycling as an industry. Effective management of waste will not only bring 650 billion plus GDP savings to our economy by 2030, it will create two million jobs by 2025. Collaborating with The Circulars Accelerator will get us a broader recognition, connectivity and right guidance on further scaling up sustainable solutions to amplify the impact we are creating with our work”.

Embracing a more circular economy is crucial in determining our response to the problem of waste management that we are currently facing. Through its digital platforms namely Marketplace, Smart Centre Solutions and EPR LOOP, Recykal is channeling over 10,000 metric tons of recyclables every month, with plans to scale and influence upwards of 2 million metric tons of plastic annually by 2025. Waste collected from various segments like consumers, businesses, aggregators, informal sector are channelized to recyclers, coprocessors, cement kilns. We have changed the status quo of doing offline transactions and converted them into platform based online transactions for better transparency.

The Circulars Accelerator, an initiative of Accenture in partnership with Ecolab, is the world’s premier platform that recognizes individuals and organizations, which are making an effort and notable contribution to the circular economy in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The first edition of this program is supported by an esteemed panel of global experts and an extensive network of public, private and civil society sector organizations and aims to catalyze circular innovation.

Recykal in the last year has received several recognitions including Grant Thornton Responsible Business Award, NASSCOM EMERGE 50 Awards, FICCI Indian Circular Economy Awards and ASSOCHAM Best Waste Management Digital Technology Player.

About Recykal

Recykal is an end-to-end digital solutions provider, facilitating transactions for all stakeholders across India’s waste management and recycling value chain. Recykal’s unique, integrated approach connects waste generators, processors, recyclers and brand owners to solve some of the biggest challenges faced by the industry including demand-supply mismatch and lack of transparency and traceability. As India’s first digital waste-commerce (w-commerce) company, it enables more efficient and effective dry waste management as well as transparent and traceable material flows and transactions through its digital marketplace, Smart Centre Solutions and EPR Loop solutions. Since 2016, Recykal has responsibly channelled supply and demand for dry waste and recyclable materials, with the aim of having a positive environmental and social impact in India.

BharatPe Raises US$ 108 Mn In Series D At Valuation Of US$ 900 Mn

 ·   Coatue Management’ leads the round with all 7 existing investors participating

·   Total US$ 233 mn raised as equity till date

BharatPe, India’s leading financial services company for merchants, today announced that it has raised US$ 108 mn in Series D equity round, at a valuation of US$ 900 mn. The company further shared that it has raised US$ 90 mn in primary fund raise and also ensured secondary exit for its angel investors and employees for a total amount of US$ 18 mn. The round was led by the company’s existing investor Coatue Management. All 7 existing institutional investors participated in the round - Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo and Sequoia Capital. With this round, the company has raised a total of US$ 268 mn in equity and debt till date.

This was one of the fastest round closures for any startup in India. The Series D round got oversubscribed within last 2 weeks of December 2020. In the Series D round, existing institutional investors of the Company showed their intent to consolidate the cap table and hence, BharatPe gave the opportunity to all angels and ESOP holders to liquidate.

Speaking on this announcement, Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder and CEO, BharatPe, said “We, at BharatPe, do not celebrate fund raises – it is akin to procuring raw material. We are super excited though to have returned INR 125 crores of capital to angels and all ESOP holders, earning them one of the highest returns on investment. The team is committed to make money for all stakeholders – investors, lenders, borrowers, employees and banks. With the balance sheet well capitalized (more than US$ 200M in bank), we are now going to keep our heads down and deliver US$30B TPV and build a loan book of US$ 700mn with small merchants by March 2023.”

Added Ashneer, “2020 has been an unprecedented year for all. However, we at BharatPe have grown exponentially - our payments business has grown 5x and our lending business has grown 10x in the last 12 months. This growth reiterates the trust that the small merchants and kirana store owners have showed in us. This is just the beginning of our journey and we are committed to build India’s largest B2B financial services company that can serve as one-stop destination for small merchants. For BharatPe, merchants will always be at the core of everything we build.”

Last month, the company announced that it had raised Rs. 249 crores (US$ 35 mn) in debt from all 3 renowned venture debt providers – Alteria Capital, InnoVen Capital and Trifecta Capital - in the largest single raise. BharatPe raised Rs. 50 crores in debt from Trifecta Capital, Rs. 90 crores in debt from Alteria Capital, Rs. 60 crores from InnoVen Capital, and Rs. 49 crores from ICICI Bank.

BharatPe is one of the largest B2B fintech lenders in the country, facilitating over Rs. 200 crores of loans to its merchant partners every month through its NBFC partners. It has been outgrowing the market in the payments space. In November 2020, BharatPe toppled GooglePay to take No. 3 position in the UPI P2M category. Additionally, BharatPe has deployed more than 50,000 PoS machines and enables transactions of more than Rs. 900 crores/ month on our PoS machines. Also, the company has been on an expansion spree and currently has presence in 75 cities in the country.

About BharatPe

BharatPe was co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani in 2018 with the vision to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants. BharatPe launched India’s first UPI interoperable QR code, first ZERO MDR payment acceptance service, and first UPI payment backed merchant cash advance service. In 2020, post-Covid, BharatPe also launched India’s only ZERO MDR card acceptance terminals – BharatSwipe. Currently serving over 60 lakh merchants across 75 cities, the company is a leader in UPI offline transactions, having processed 8 crore+ UPI transactions a month (annualized Transaction Processed Value of US$ 7+ Bn). The company has already facilitated disbursement of over Rs. 800 crores to its merchants since launch. BharatPe’s POS business grew to US$ 2bn annualized transaction value in just 5 months post the launch. BharatPe has raised close to US$ 268 million in equity and debt, till date. The company’s list of marquee investors includes Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo and Sequoia Capital.

Believe India Partners With Dream Warrior Pictures For Exclusive Worldwide Music Distribution

Leading independent digital music distribution and artist services company Believecontinues to make in-roads with the business of music distribution in India announced a recent sign up with Dream Warrior Pictures, a leading Indian Film Production company based in Chennai. 

Dream Warrior Pictures is one of the leading media production houses in the South Indian Film fraternity. The National Award-winning production house, which produced Joker (2016) was founded by the brothers, Mr. S.R. Prakash Babu and Mr. S.R. Prabhu banking on their versatile experience in the film industry. While keeping the goal of providing promising, critically acclaimed, and meaningful content, Dream Warrior Pictures so far have produced and distributed 9 films and 1 web-series worldwide, out of which 4 films are stated to release this year. 

For its part, Believe is a world leading digital music company, helping artists and labels to build their audiences and careers, at all stages of their development across all local markets around the world. It is a best-in-class technology organization, providing global distribution and digital marketing services to its partners. Believe has more than 1500 employees in 50 countries. 

Believe India did a recent sign up with South Bay, a digital platform owned by actor, producer, and entrepreneur Rana Daggubati being the exclusive distribution partners, supporting upcoming music labels and taking it to global scale with a mix of best technology and well-trained music experts. 

Mr. S.R. Prabhu – Founder and Partner – Dream Warrior Pictures commented, “Believe’s extensive network of distribution instantly instilled in us the excitement to not just present and distribute our audio content digitally through them, but also to take it across the international markets with ease. We are eagerly looking forward to making the most out of this collaboration.”

Commenting on the partnership, KGV Kiran Kumar – Director – Believe Distribution Services India says, “We are very excited to partner with Dream Warrior Pictures considering it is the first time we have been able to establish working relationship with film production house in Southern market. Believe will not only distribute the audio video content globally but will leverage its innovative marketing and audience growth opportunities with our digital partners worldwide.”

About Believe:

Believe is a world leading digital music company, helping artists and labels to build their audiences and careers, at all stages of their development. It is a best-in-class technology organization, providing global distribution and digital marketing services to its partners, with more than 1,500 professionals and offices in 50 countries. Believe owns several brands, labels and companies including Believe Distribution, TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, All Points. Believe established in India in 2013 and counts more than 180 employees working in offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Chennai.

Bosch Limited Registers 12.1 Percent Profit Before Tax (Before EI) In Q3 FY 2020-21

 * Total revenue from operations has increased by 19.4 percent in Q3 of FY 2020-21 over the same period of previous year.

* Profit after Tax (PAT) stood at 6.1 percent of total revenue from operations. 

* Bosch stays invested in future with strategic investments in e-mobility and connected services.

* At the peak of its transformational journey, Bosch Limited has been recognized as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company for 2021, an accolade that more than 1,000 organizations in India aspire to every year.

Bosch Limited, a leading supplier of technology and services, posted total revenue from operations of INR 3,030 crores in Q3 of FY 2020-21, registering an increase of 19.4 percent over the same period of previous year. The Profit before Tax (PBT) before exceptional item stood at INR 365.7 crores which is an increase of 5.2 percent over the same period of previous year.

Bosch Limited has continued investment in its 3R strategy of restructuring, reskilling, redeployment and other transformational projects. To support this, an additional amount of INR 146.6 crores has been provided and disclosed as an exceptional item for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. This is the last tranche extended under the current 3R strategy. 

After allowing for the exceptional item, profit before tax stood at INR 219 crores and profit after tax at INR 185.7 crores. PAT before exceptional items stood at 9.8 percent of total revenue from operations.

For the nine months period that ended on December 31, 2020, Bosch Limited posted a total revenue from operations of INR 6,500 crores, a decline of 14.5 percent over the same period of previous year. There has been a decrease of 47.4 percent in PBT before exceptional item at INR 670.9 crores and after allowing exceptional item, loss before tax for the nine months period ended December 31, 2020 stood at INR 72.9 crores. PAT stands at INR 0.49 crores.

“The sales figure for the festive season in the last quarter was better than anticipated, especially in the tractor and passenger automotive segments. However, the volatilities in the supply chain continued to disrupt growth. Since late last year, the industry has been hit by a shortage in the supply of semiconductors, which has impacted the company’s imports and automotive production in India. Bosch is currently focusing on maintaining supply chains to the extent possible despite a tense market situation, while discussing the issues directly with its customers and suppliers,” said Soumitra Bhattacharya, the managing director of Bosch Limited and president of the Bosch India Group.

Snapshot of business divisions’ performance in Quarter 3

There was an increase in the sales of the Powertrain Solutions business division in Quarter 3 of FY 2020-21 by 46 percent. The Two-Wheeler and Powersports business continued to witness growth during the quarter. On the other hand, the company’s business in beyond mobility segment posted a decline of 7.7 percent due to lower revenues in solar energy and building technologies. 

The implementation of the approved scrappage policy will undoubtedly improve sales that will benefit the industry and environment.

“The last three years have been tough for the automotive industry. Bosch Limited embarked on a journey to become fit for future with our 3R strategy – Reskilling, Restructuring and Redeployment. At the peak of its transformational journey, Bosch Limited has been recognized as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company for 2021, an accolade that more than 1,000 organizations in India aspire to every year. This is testimony to Bosch Limited’s commitment to creating a credible and fair organization by retaining competence for the future,” Mr. Bhattacharya added.

For the period of nine months that ended on December 31, 2020, the company’s total turnover declined by 15 percent. Sales of Mobility Solutions sector decreased by 13.3 percent whereas business beyond mobility solutions sector witnessed a reduction of 24.4 percent. With the current deployment of COVID-19 vaccinations and the array of reforms announced by the Government of India, the company maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook for the auto sector.

ŠKODA AUTO India Further Expands Its Footprint In Karnataka With PPS Motors

› ŠKODA AUTO’s second state of the art facility with PPS Motors in Bengaluru boasts of a 5,000 sq. ft. modern showroom and 30,000 sq. ft. of premium service space with 60 plus technicians and staff members

› The new facility is the fifth outlet of the Czech marque, in Bengaluru, and aims to enhance the overall purchase and ownership experience for ŠKODA AUTO customers in the region

› Under the ‘INDIA 2.0’ project, ŠKODA AUTO India will double its network penetration, and expand to 50 new cities over the next three years

With the inauguration of the second PPS Motors facility in Bengaluru, ŠKODA AUTO India aims to further strengthen its position in Karnataka and push forward its campaign of establishing a strong foothold in the southern markets of India. The new state of the art dealership facility sports the new Corporate Identity and Design as a part of ŠKODA AUTO’s global redesigning process. The Czech auto manufacturer, under the purview of the ‘INDIA 2.0’ project, will have at least twice as many sales and service touchpoints, as it does today, by 2022. With the presence of 39 facilities in South India, ŠKODA AUTO India has planned to have a total of 7 dealership facilities in Bengaluru under the ‘INDIA 2.0’ project.

The new PPS Motors dealership facility is strategically located in a prime location at Sy No 1 A, Block 20, Jakkur Plantation Village, Yelahanka Hobli, New Airport Road, Bengaluru North 560064 and offers utmost ease and convenience across the region. The Showroom boasts of the latest CI & design language of ŠKODA AUTO and can display 6 cars in an overall area of 5000 Sq. Feet. Also, the new workshop facility is located at Sy No 44, Geddahalli Village, Opposite to Mantri Splendor Apartments, Hennur Road, Bengaluru East – 560077. The workshop is spread across 30,000 Sq Feet with a capacity to service approximately 800 – 1000 cars per month. The State-of-the-art facility is equipped with 23 bays, latest infrastructure & equipment as per ŠKODA Standards for serving the customers. Both the Showroom and Workshop facilities are well located to serve customers of North Bangalore.

Commenting on the inauguration of the new facility, Mr. Zac Hollis, Brand Director, ŠKODA AUTO India said, “To ensure preparedness for INDIA 2.0 launches, we at ŠKODA AUTO India are continually striving to expand our network reach, across the nation, so that more and more customers can experience our products and also enjoy easy access to our customer centric aftersales solutions. Bengaluru is a key market for us in South India, and we are confident that our partnership with PPS Motors will be pivotal for the brand and will further strengthen our foothold in Karnataka.”

Mr. Rajiv Sanghvi, Dealer Principal, PPS Motors Private Limited said, “We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with ŠKODA AUTO India and introduce a new dealership facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka. With the global best practices and processes of ŠKODA AUTO coupled with our understanding of the customer preferences and adapting to them we endeavour to provide Best in Class customer experience..”

MODERN DEALERSHIP FACILITIES WITH STREAMLINED BUSINESS PROCESSES

In line with the ‘INDIA 2.0’ project, the corporate architecture, functional interiors, and rationalized business processes, aim to enhance the overall customer experience. The new architectural concept of the dealership design reflects ŠKODA AUTO’s philosophy expressed in the slogan: “Simply Clever with a Human Touch”.

The new architecture of the dealership facility is characterized by clear and simple shapes, a harmonious colour concept, modular design features, and a modern lighting concept. The new exteriors of the ŠKODA AUTO dealerships will be the brand’s powerful statement during both day and night - clear, transparent, modern, and open.

In addition to sustaining ŠKODA AUTO’s proven strengths, the company is placing an increasing emphasis on enhancing the emotional appeal of the brand. It is conveyed by the sophisticated and logical arrangement of all the key elements, business areas, customer zones, and the use of cutting-edge technology.

The high-quality materials, new design features, effective lighting solutions, architectural graphic elements, and warm wooden tones create an inviting atmosphere. Fresh hues, clarity, openness, and transparency are the highlights of the new interiors of ŠKODA AUTO showrooms.

Singapore Airlines, Scoot And Silkair Operate First Flight With Full Set Of Vaccinated Pilots And Cabin Crew

All three passenger airlines within the SIA Group - Singapore Airlines (SIA), SilkAir and Scoot - will today be among the first carriers in the world to operate flights with a full complement of vaccinated pilots and cabin crew. 

The first services with a full set of vaccinated crew are SIA flight SQ956, which departed Singapore for Jakarta, Indonesia on 11 February 2021 at 0930hrs local time (GMT+8), Scoot’s TR606 which departed for Bangkok, Thailand at 0930hrs, and SilkAir’s MI608 which will depart for Phnom Penh, Cambodia at 1630hrs.  

The Singapore government has prioritised the aviation sector in the country’s vaccination exercise. This reflects the sector’s importance, as well as the SIA Group’s crucial role in Singapore’s economic recovery and the fight against Covid-19. 

Operating crew within the SIA Group have responded very positively to the exercise, with more than 90% of cabin crew and pilots signing up for the vaccine to date.  

Mr Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said, “We are very encouraged by the strong take-up rate for the vaccine from our colleagues. Vaccinations will be key to the reopening of borders and to enhancing travel confidence, in tandem with robust testing regimes and the wide-ranging safe management measures that are in place on the ground and in the air. They offer greater protection for our people and provide an added layer of assurance to our customers.”  

India’s Biggest Fundraising Event Helps NGOs Raise Crores Of Funds

India’s biggest fundraising event, which brings together hundreds of NGOs and their donors competing for rewards and recognition, launched earlier this month.

The 7th edition of the GiveIndia Fundraising Challenge 2021 kicked off on February 1 and nearly 200 nonprofits have already raised over ₹2 crores. This one-of-a-kind online event continues till March 28 and is expected to raise more than ₹15 crores by the time it ends. Nonprofit organisations typically leverage the tax saving made on donations at the end of the financial year to appeal to their donors and compete in the challenge.

Several NGOs use GFC as an opportunity to maximise their fundraising, often raising a significant part of their annual budget. For instance, last year the NGO Team Everest who has so far won every edition of GFC raised ₹2.29 crore which is more than half their yearly spend and a little over a fifth of the ₹10 crores raised by a total of 367 NGOs who participated.  

Team Everest is one of India’s largest youth-run organizations with 8,500+ volunteers, many of who help with the fundraising during GFC. Their flagship program 'I am the Change Scholarship' supports parentless or single-parented students from financially weaker backgrounds to do their undergraduate degree.

GiveIndia, a Bengaluru-based nonprofit organisation, runs the annual challenge to encourage NGOs to learn and adapt newer ways to raise funds and end the financial year with high collections. It comes with incentives in the form of ‘success slabs’ and ‘mega rewards’ to inspire all NGOs more.

This year organisations who raise ₹50+ lakh and ₹1+ crore will get mega rewards of ₹9.5 lakh and ₹20 lakh respectively, and success slab awards start from ₹5.25 lakh to NGOs who raise ₹30+ lakh to ₹7,000 to those to raise ₹50,000 or more. Some of the participating NGOs include ISHA Foundation, Goonj, Vidya Poshak and Cuddles Foundation to name a few.

Over the years, the fundraising challenge has seen a 60% YoY growth in terms of amount raised, 80% increase in participating NGOs, and 40% YoY growth in the number of retail donors, with last year seeing contributions from over 21,000 everyday givers.

“At GiveIndia, we are committed to supporting our NGOs in their fundraising efforts and bridging the gap between donors and trusted nonprofits. We are also committed to building a robust everyday philanthropy ecosystem and the year on year amplification we have seen with GiveIndia Fundraising Challenge tells us we are on the right path! It is a very exciting time on our calendar with all of us at GiveIndia glued to the GFC leaderboard to see how well our partner NGOs are doing,” said Priyanka Prakash, Director, Head of Online Giving, Marketing and Partnerships at GiveIndia.  

Apart from the rewards, through the challenge, GiveIndia brings a range of benefits for NGOs, including the skills to expand and engage with donor networks, communication kits to appeal for donations on social media, emails and messages, webinars to take them through the platform, matching grants, best practices, and the ability to raise Indian and foreign donations.

About GiveIndia

GiveIndia is India’s most trusted giving platform. It exists to alleviate poverty by enabling the world to give. It’s a suite of products & solutions enables all givers - individuals and organisations - to donate conveniently to any cause directly on the platform, at their workplace, or through one of GiveIndia’s partners. Its community of 1.5M+ donors and 150+ partners have supported 1,800+ verified nonprofits, impacting 10M+ lives across India.