Netafim-Backed NAFA Raises “USD 50 Mn Via Equity And ECB”

Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency Pvt. Ltd. (NAFA), an agri-focused NBFC and a subsidiary of Netafim Singapore, has raised USD 40 million via external commercial borrowing (ECB) from the Phoenix Group and Cogito Capital, both Israel based investors. The raised funds will be utilized effectively for business expansion, enhanced offerings, and to expand horizons in the agri-rural domain. The company would successfully improve its margins as it intends to service the high-cost old debt and bring down the overall cost of funds.  

The deal also marks fresh equity infusion into NAFA, which recently raised USD 9.4 million of Tier I Capital from Netafim Singapore and offered exit to the initial equity partners Atmaram Properties & Granite Hill Fund as they had reached their investment horizon. This is the maiden investment for both Phoenix Group and Cogito Capital in India and NAFA, through acquiring stake in Netafim Singapore.  

Since acquiring NBFC license from RBI in 2013, NAFA has established its presence in 08 states and disbursed total loans worth Rs. 1000+ crores to 10,000+ customers. Among these, more than 60% of farmers are small farmers & marginal farmers. The company now aspires to expand this network and diversify to allied activities for customers’ long-term credit needs. 

While commenting on the development Lauri A. Hanover, CFO, Netafim said, “In the aftermath of Covid, India is gearing up for self-reliance with emphasis on the agri-rural economy and its rapid modernization. While the sector is still highly fragmented, the demand for credit in agriculture is largely unmet through formal financial institutions. Being the innovator of drip irrigation and the world leader in precision irrigation serving customers for more than 57 years across the globe, the equity infusion in NAFA is aligned with our core of supporting customers in adopting precision irrigation and automation solutions in agriculture. This equity infusion will help NAFA strengthen its capital adequacy and further expand its market presence. We are delighted to partner with The Phoenix Group and Cogito Capital in their maiden investment in India and NAFA.” 

Prabhat Chaturvedi, CEO, Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency Pvt. Ltd. elaborated on the company’s plans and said, “Indian agriculture, in general, is characterized by low and uncertain returns as they are more prone to natural calamities and varied risks, resulting in constant demand for agri-financing support. The advent of intensive and climate-resilient agricultural technologies has further amplified the need for good financing schemes. Despite the presence of multiple financial mediums, there aren’t enough credit products catering to the niche demands of the farmers, leading to a huge credit gap. In India, there is a need for diversified credit schemes, along with adequate handholding, to provide financial guidance to farmers on investing in agriculture and allied activities. 

NAFA has been serving this sector efficiently during the past decade, understanding their needs and providing them with the right financial assistance. With this investment, NAFA will further enhance its credit lending portfolio and expand horizons within the agri-rural domain beyond micro-irrigation. We are bullish about our growth and are excited to cater to the capital needs of the agriculture and allied sector. The said capital would help us strengthen our market position and reach the communities in a much broader way.” 

Guy Zukin – Managing Partner, Cogito Capital said, “Cogito is excited to be teaming up with Netafim (the global irrigation leader and pioneer), and Phoenix Insurance (one of Israel’s leading insurance companies), in providing growth capital to NAFA. We are looking forward to co-operating with our partners in supporting NAFA’s continued journey in realizing the potential in the Indian agricultural NBFC market. This investment matches Cogito’s strategy of making investments alongside strong partners, focusing on high growth and adjusted risk opportunities.”  

Ofer Aviran, Head of Direct and Infrastructure Investments of Phoenix Group commented, "We are very proud to partner with Netafim and Cogito in investing in NAFA.  Netafim's prominent presence in emerging markets, and their professionalism in such an important field of agricultural infrastructure development and food production constitute fertile ground for continued cooperation for the benefit of all parties. I would like to thank Lauri Hanover, Netafim's CFO, for without her vision, this complex investment would not have come to fruition".   

About Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency Pvt. Ltd. (NAFA): 

Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency Pvt. Ltd. (NAFA) is a non-banking finance company (NBFC) offering various customized financial solutions to farmers and various stakeholders in the value chain of Micro Irrigation. NAFA is a subsidiary of Netafim Ltd, Israel and a sister concern of Netafim Irrigation India Pvt. Ltd. (NIIPL). NAFA’s commercial operations commenced in April 2013 and since then aims to achieve realistic, long-lasting and sustainable results by offering easy access to adequate and timely credit. NAFA has a presence across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The company has disbursed total loans worth Rs. 1000+ crores to 10,000+ customers as of date.  

About Netafim Ltd.: 

Netafim Ltd., part of the Orbia community of companies, is the world's largest irrigation company and the global leader in precision irrigation solutions committed to fighting scarcity of food, water, and land, for a sustainable future. With 33 subsidiaries and 17 manufacturing plants worldwide, Netafim offers innovative, tailor-made irrigation and fertigation solutions to millions of farmers from smallholders to large-scale agricultural producers, in over 110 countries. 

About the Phoenix Group: 

The Phoenix Group is a leader in Israeli multi-line insurance, asset management, and financial services. The group offers a broad set of activities and solutions across businesses and client segments. Managing over $60 billion in assets, the Phoenix accesses Israel’s vibrant and innovative economic activity through a robust investment portfolio, creating value for both clients and shareholders. 

About Cogito Capital: 

Cogito Capital is a US$ 250 millions AUM (Asset Under Management), Israeli debt and equity investment fund, providing capital to companies and ventures, in Israel and abroad. Cogito’s investors include Israel’s leading institutional investors. 

Castrol India Announces A Strong Financial Delivery In 1Q, 2021

Sandeep Sangwan, managing director, Castrol India Limited reported a strong financial delivery in 1Q 2021 building on a resilient second half performance for FY 2020. We delivered robust revenue and profit growth with 1Q revenue from operations @ INR 1139 crores (66% higher) and 1Q Profit Before Tax @ INR 332 crores (96% higher) versus 1Q 2020 which saw the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant business slow down beginning March 2020. 

Focused investments, interventions and actions taken in the second half of 2020 towards brand building with increased marketing and advertising spends, new product introductions as well as corrective pricing have yielded a positive impact on overall topline growth. This has been aided by improving demand trends especially in tractor and SUV sales in 1Q 2021.

Strengthening our network and expanding our footprint, as well as building our participation in digital market platforms, we entered into a strategic collaboration with ki Mobility Solutions Private Limited to supply lubricant products to ki Mobility workshops in India and also be available on goBumpr, their digital platform.

Our cost efficiency programmes and judicious working capital management efforts led to healthy cash from operations @ INR 269 crores in the quarter, which is equivalent to 1.1 times of Profit After Tax.

While we continue to focus on fundamental building blocks to deliver sustainable profitable growth keeping safety of our teams as our top priority, our plants continued to operate safely deploying Covid-19 safety processes and guidelines as laid out by local governments. Our Patalganga plant won recognition from the National Safety Council for the second consecutive year for its strong safety performance.

The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India is resulting in a market slowdown in various parts of the country. In addition, supply disruptions on account of base oil and raw materials availability, logistics challenges and rupee depreciation are likely to adversely impact demand and supply. The management is keeping a close watch on the situation and responding with appropriate actions as needed.  

About Castrol India: Castrol, is one of the world’s leading lubricant brands and has a proud heritage of innovation and fueling the dreams of pioneers. Castrol India Limited is one of India’s leading lubricants companies with iconic brands such as Castrol CRB, Castrol GTX, and power brands like Castrol Activ, Castrol MAGNATEC and Castrol VECTON being the brand of choice for millions of consumers and customers across the country. The company also has a presence in select segments like High Performance Lubricants and metalworking fluids used in a wide variety of industries such as automotive manufacturing, mining, machinery and wind energy.

Castrol India has a large manufacturing and distribution network in India with three blending plants and a distribution network of 350 distributors who reach consumers and customers through over 100,000 retail outlets. In addition, Castrol sub-distributors reach additional outlets in rural markets while the company also directly services over 3,000 key institutional accounts.

Along with providing world class products and services, Castrol India focuses on and prioritizes safety, compliance and quality.

Dnata Enhances Global Leadership Team With Key Appointments

Dnata has enhanced its global leadership team, announcing key senior management appointments that will help the company decisively adapt to changing global trends, drive synergies and efficiencies across its operations, and continue to deliver excellent services and value to customers.

John Bevan has been appointed divisional senior vice president for Travel and will oversee all aspects of dnata’s travel business, managing a portfolio of over 30 reputable B2B and consumer brands across more than 20 countries. He has been with dnata for over three years, most recently leading dnata Travel Europe as CEO. Before joining dnata, he held a number of senior positions within the travel industry in the United Kingdom and United States. His appointment is effective June 1, 2021.

Stewart Angus has been appointed divisional senior vice president for Airport Operations. Angus has been managing dnata’s international ground handling and cargo business since 2004. In his new role, he will also lead the company’s extensive airport operations at the two Dubai airports in the United Arab Emirates, ensuring world-class quality and safety for airline customers in a total of 14 countries.

Robin Padgett, who has been leading dnata’s global catering operations for seven years, will also expand his responsibilities and become divisional senior vice president for Catering and Retail. The expansion of his role is in line with the company’s strategy to promote buy on board and further diversity of its catering operations. He will manage a team of dedicated culinary and retail professionals delivering superior, innovative products and services to customers across various industries in 12 countries.

All of dnata’s three divisional SVPs will report to Steve Allen, executive vice president.

Steve Allen said: “I’m pleased to announce enhancements to our global leadership team. The appointment of John to the management team and the expansion of our experienced leaders’ roles will help us emerge from the current, challenging environment as a fitter, leaner business that consistently provides service excellence to customers across the globe. With our highly-trained, customer-oriented team we will continue to work hard and enhance our operations to be the world’s most admired air and travel services provider.”

A trusted partner of over 300 airline customers, dnata provides quality and safe ground handling, cargo, catering and travel services in 35 countries. In the financial year 2019-20 dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled 681,000 aircraft, moved 2.9 million tonnes of cargo, uplifted more than 93 million meals and recorded a total transaction value of travel services of $3 billion.

Kovai.co Awarded “Bootstrapped SaaS Startup Of The Year” At The Inaugural Edition Of SaaSBoomi Annual Awards

Kovai.co – a premier enterprise software and B2B SaaS company from Coimbatore was recently named “Bootstrapped SaaS startup of the year” by SaaSBoomi at the inaugural edition of “SaaSBoomi Awards” - to honor leading Indian SaaS companies and their founders. This award showcases how Kovai.co grew organically, innovating new products in the SaaS space for enterprise customers.  

SaaSBoomi awards - is a first-of-its-kind annual awards ceremony that facilitates a platform to recognize and laud the most deserving SaaS startups in India. For the current edition, eight different award categories were introduced - including SaaS startup of the year, Breakout SaaS startup of the year, and more. Each company's self-nominated applications were reviewed by the SaaSBoomi jury, and the top-5 finalists were selected. Later, through a voting mechanism – winners were selected and announced. 

Commenting on the award, Saravana Kumar, Founder and CEO of Kovai.co said, “We are happy and thrilled to have SaaSBoomi recognize us as the Bootstrapped startup of the year. Our team’s commitment to lead the SaaS space and our focus to make Coimbatore the next-big SaaS-Hub in the country - is what motivated us to rise to the COVID-19 and many other operational challenges of 2020. And to me, this speak volumes to the quality of our team and our culture.”

Saravana Kumar further credited the company’s multiple products, employees, and dedicated product team for SaaSBoomi’s recognition. Kovai.co’s ability to meet the demands of our 1500+ customers, who are looking for robust enterprise software for Microsoft BizTalk, Azure Serverless, and Knowledge management solutions for their day-to-day operations, is what makes the company grow exponentially.

Since 2020, Kovai.co is scaling up its operations globally, the company acquired Cerebrata to accelerate customer acquisition for one of its product categories last year and is aiming to double its revenue by 2022.

About Kovai.co

Kovai.co is a premier enterprise software company offering multiple products at scale both in the enterprise arena and in the B2B SaaS space. Based out of Coimbatore, India and London, UK, Kovai.co is a technology partner of choice for many of the world’s leading enterprises to manage and monitor their Microsoft BizTalk and Azure Serverless environments. Kovai.co’s product team consists of thinkers and innovators who are re-defining the way robust Enterprise Software and SaaS products are built.

FSS Enhances Merchant Hub To Boost Business Efficiencies And Performance

FSS (Financial Software and Systems), a globally leading provider of integrated payment products and India’s largest payment processor, announced new enhancements to FSS Merchant Hub to maximize the value of the acquirer ecosystem for merchants through support for new transactional journeys and superior merchant service. 

FSS Merchant Hub is a unique merchant support system designed for today’s omnichannel payments landscape. An integrated platform that consolidates critical business functions -- merchant onboarding, pricing, commissions and fee management, accounting, clearing and settlement across POS, internet, and mobile channels, FSS Merchant streamlines operations and boosts business efficiencies. 

The enhancements introduced by FSS Merchant Hub enable acquirers to:

Maximize transactions flowing on their network via multiple interchange support.

Enhance settlement processes to support new payments flows – contactless (tap and pay) transactions. 

Simplify definition and computing of merchant incentives, improving the overall management of incentive programs. 

Commenting on the enhancements, N. Sathish, Dy CPO, FSS Retail Payments, stated: “An agile operational backbone - adaptable to market and regulatory forces - is vital for ensuring the visible front-end aspects of the acquiring business run smoothly. The current enhancements introduced in FSS Merchant Hub will help acquirers keep pace with evolving transactional needs, boost merchant service levels and propel growth.”

The rapid adoption of new payment methods necessitates that acquirers support multiple interchange schemes. The coverage for additional payment schemes - Diners Club International, China Union Pay, JCB, Amex as well as Bahrain BENEFIT allows acquirers to extend a range of retail payment options that seamlessly integrate with core payment systems for settlement. The complete transaction billing, clearing and settlement is compliant with respective scheme rules and local regulations.  Further merchants have on-demand access to relevant clearing and settlement reports for each scheme.   

The clearing and settlement processes have been enhanced to support contactless transactions for supported card schemes. Tap and Pay transactions typically have a low-ticket size, and merchant fees and service charges are proportional to the typical value of the transaction. Merchant Hub can identify and pass the information on contactless transactions to card schemes for streamlined accounting, settlement, and reporting.  

FSS Merchant supports end-to-end incentives management -- definition, payout computation and clearing. Acquirers can define incentives for cardholders, merchants and merchants acquiring entities – sales managers, agents, regional sales managers – along with multiple variables – merchant type, transaction type, real-time or batch mode, periodicity, transaction currency, per-transaction cost, minimum and maximum incentive amount. 

To reduce the overall cost of ownership, FSS Merchant is now compatible with PostgreSQL. FSS Merchant is deployed at leading Tier One acquiring banks and merchant processors to manage operations globally and currently supports one million merchants. FSS supports in-premise, as well as pay-as-you, grow models bundled with a managed services approach.

About FSS

Financial Software and Systems (FSS) is a leader in payments technology and transaction processing. The company offers an integrated portfolio of software products, hosted payment services and software solutions built over three decades of experience. FSS, end-to-end payments products suite, powers retail delivery channels including ATM, POS, Internet and Mobile as well as critical back-end functions including cards management, reconciliation, settlement, merchant management and device monitoring. Headquartered in Chennai, India, FSS services leading global banks, financial institutions, processors, central regulators and governments across North America, UK/Europe, ME/Africa, and APAC and has 2,500 experts on-board. 

Axis Direct Launches A Revolutionary Mobile Application – ‘Axis Direct RING’ In Indian Market

* Find an investing opportunity every 60 seconds with Axis Direct RING

* Equipped with Screeners- An intelligent tool that scans over 25,000 contracts and 5,000 securities to identify the right investment opportunities

* Live streaming charts- 100+ advanced technical indicators, drawing tools, and customizable templates

* Transact cross-assets - Stocks, futures, options, commodities, IPOs, Mutual Funds and more

* Research ideas from expert analysts

* Personalized dashboards- Quick-to-access dashboards to track Profit & Loss, Orders, Trades, Funds available, all at one go

* Smart global search - Search all investment products using the smart search feature, be it stocks, futures, options, currency, commodities or mutual funds

* Learn on the go - Self-learning modules via free reading content and videos

Axis Direct - the flagship brand of Axis Securities, a fully-owned subsidiary of Axis Bank, announced the launch of a revolutionary mobile app- ‘Axis Direct RING’ to make investment in stock markets simple, fast, and rewarding. Axis Direct RING scans the market meticulously to help investors find investment opportunities every 60 seconds. This next-generation mobile app is engineered to empower investors and traders to make informed decisions. Equipped with the latest technology, Axis Direct RING delivers all the control, pace, and flexibility to trade faster and smarter.

Axis Direct RING is armed with an intelligent tool - Screeners, which scans over 25,000 contracts and 5,000 securities in real time, based on multiple parameters like volume, price action, open interest, technical and fundamental analysis to identify investment opportunities. Through this app, customers now have a single platform to seamlessly access all the market instruments, such as equity, F&O, currency, commodity, and mutual funds, across exchanges. The trading app provides a better user experience in terms of navigation and a lesser number of clicks required to place an order.

Speaking at the launch, B Gopkumar, MD & CEO, Axis Securities said, “As a trusted brokerage house, we aim to empower our customers to make the most of the markets with innovative, technology-driven solutions. The launch of Axis Direct RING is another step in our endeavour to enhance the experience of our customers. This powerful mobile app offers a super-fast trading interface and real-time access to stock prices with instant execution of trades. With its unique features and a simple user interface, we are confident that Axis Direct RING will support our investors and traders to ace the game even in a volatile market environment.”

Axis Direct RING provides a detailed overview of all the major Indian stock markets and exchanges (NSE, BSE, and MCX), and offers a wide range of trading tools, such as screeners, intuitive charts, detailed quotes, price alert notifications, research calls, and updates. The app is designed keeping in mind the investment needs of beginners as well as professional investors. By providing real-time market status, price on the go, and detailed stock analysis, this app ensures that Axis Direct customers never miss a market opportunity.

NoBrokerHOOD Organizes Vaccination Camps For Society Residents In Fight Against Covid-19

* Organizes vaccination camps in societies across Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi-NCR

With over 3.5 lakh new cases being recorded daily from across the country, the citizens are battling with the second wave of the Covid-19. Reinforcing its commitment to the community, NoBrokerHOOD – the visitor, society, and payments management app by NoBroker.com – has announced that it will be organizing vaccination drives across societies in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Delhi-NCR. Vaccination at doorstep started with two societies in Bangalore on April 24, 2021 and will continue through the coming months.

Social responsibility is a deeply ingrained principle that guides NoBrokerHOOD’s mission of elevating the residential experience of its users and those around them. The app has added a bundle of security features over the last 8 months to help residents mitigate the risk of infection through contactless entries, contactless payments, contactless chats and forums and a lot more. As a result the app experienced a massive growth over the last year. Accordingly, its latest initiative aims to ramp up the scale of vaccinations being administered against COVID-19 amidst a time of reduced movement. 

The vaccines will be administered by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved labs with trained medical professionals at the helm while observing high standards of safety and covid protocol at no extra cost. It intends to help society residents get a quick and convenient access to vaccination without visiting  hospitals as a lot of people have been hesitant to go to hospitals considering them to be a hub of infection.

Commenting on this, Akhil Gupta, cofounder and Chief Technology Officer of NoBroker.com said, “NoBrokerHOOD was developed with the idea of elevating the lifestyle of society residents, through a cross between world-class technology, customer-centric thought and service enablement. In the wake of a pandemic, to cater to society residents’ emerging needs, this vaccination drive also aims to make it safe and convenient for society residents to get the vaccination without stepping out and at the same time reduce the burden on medical staff that is already overburdened with the pandemic. The surge in the app’s adoption during the viral outbreak last year gives us a path to use technology for a greater purpose in the 'new normal.”

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak, NoBrokerHOOD has made it safer for residents in housing societies to function as a part of the community through its society management application. When the first lockdowns were implemented, the app launched a grocery store overnight to help people procure daily essentials. The society management app also offers a Touchless Entry feature that uses facial recognition technology to enable secure and risk-free movement of staff and residents in and out of the building. Other features include an Aarogya Setu-integrated health tracker, which gives micro-level information on visitors coming into a society from containment zones.

A year into the pandemic and the fear surrounding COVID-19 has still not subsided and with the new wave has actually increased it. Previously, NobrokerHOOD rolled out a campaign to do Covid testing for societies integrated with the society management platform. With the availability of a door-to-door vaccine program, there is hope that more people will be administered the vaccine in a shorter period of time, helping ease out the helplessness being experienced in the healthcare sector.

About NoBrokerHOOD

NoBroker launched NoBrokerHood, a smart visitor and residential community management system that makes life more convenient and secure for residents of housing societies and townships. NoBrokerHood acquired Society Connect in February 2020 to integrate the financial module with its services on one single platform and make society living easy and hassle-free.

NoBroker.com is tech-based brokerage-free real estate platform that makes real estate transactions seamless and efficient. It is removing information asymmetry in the real estate sector in India with the use of cutting-edge technology and innovation. It participates in the entire user journey starting from the house search to packers & movers, home loans, home painting and cleaning services, legal services, etc. With more than 1.25 crore registered users across Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR, it is the world’s largest P2P real estate platform. Founded by Akhil Gupta from IIT- Bombay, Amit Kumar Agarwal from IIT- Kanpur and IIM- Ahmedabad and Saurabh Garg from IIT - Bombay and IIM – Ahmedabad, NoBroker.com is steadily working towards streamlining India’s largely unorganized real estate industry. The platform has raised a total funding on $151 million from marquee investors such as General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Elevation Capital, Beenext and KTB Ventures.