Skylark Drones Raises $3 Million In Pre-Series A Funding Round

Skylark Drones, a leading drone platform company, announced today that it has secured USD $3 million in a pre-series A funding round to strengthen its product offerings and fuel international expansion. The funding round was co-led by investors InfoEdge Ventures and IAN Fund with participation from AdvantEdge Founders, Fowler Westrup, Redstart Labs, IKP and Vimson group. This follows the company’s previous seed funding round, which took place in 2018.

Skylark Drones, which has offices in the USA and India, aims to elevate worksite productivity and safety by providing geospatial intelligence to different enterprises in sectors such as mining, solar power, real estate, agriculture and inspection. It provides its clients with the ability to use AI powered technology products such as Spectra and Drone Mission Ops. 

Skylark Drones offers end-to-end solutions with Spectra enabling worksite intelligence and several platform integrations and API access. Drone Mission Ops enables project and fleet management for large enterprises and individual operators to effectively plan and execute drone missions. It also offers Dronepass, a device to enable drone manufacturers to comply with local airspace regulations. These solutions allow customers to tap into the advantages of drone data analytics and use it to plan better, construct faster, and operate in a safer way.

"Our vision is to unlock the economic potential of aerial intelligence." said Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy, CEO & co-founder of Skylark Drones. “We thank the lead investors of this round and believe the participation of Fowler Westrup, a leading agriculture solutions company, and Vimson Group mining conglomerate will help further strengthen the sector focussed solutions we offer our customers.”

The company will primarily use the new funding to enhance the actionable insights from drone data that it provides, in order to aid and simplify superior business decisions and strategy for its clients. The investment will also be used to spur international product expansion and development of its drone data analytics products.

Amit Behl, Partner at Info Edge Venture Fund said, “Aerial intelligence is a theme that has immense potential as it provides significant cost, time and accuracy benefits for large infrastructure companies which face frequent cost and time overruns. Skylark has built an indigenous platform that facilitates quick mobilization of independent drone pilots, enabling them to run drone missions to gather aerial images of large worksites. Skylark’s computer vision software analyses this aerial imagery to offer industry specific insights for its mining, solar and construction clients. Being amongst a limited set of players who have a full-stack offering, we believe that the opportunity for the company is global.”

Further adding, Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner at IAN Fund said, “The global drone software market size is projected to reach USD 9,961.6 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 25.05% between 2020 and 2027. With the rising adoption of advanced technologies such as AI and ML, Skylark Drones’ solutions can unlock potential while increasing productivity and ensuring safety of work-sites. What impressed us most was a strong and unique business model – one that is easily scalable in India and beyond. We are delighted to make this contribution and hope the company marks its presence globally.”

“Drones are becoming the norm for remote worksite monitoring & inspections, and we have seen rapid adoption from marquee enterprises like Tata Steel, Ultratech Cement, Softbank Energy over the past few years. We look forward to serving more enterprises in the next leg of our growth story.”, said Mrinal Pai, co-founder of Skylark Drones.

Kunal Khattar, Managing Partner of AdvantEdge Founders said, “The Skylark team led by Mughilan and Mrinal is one of the best teams out there with global aspirations to build deep tech solutions and services for full stack array of drone applications.  We have been impressed by the technology stack built by the team and strong execution demonstrated while working with the country’s top conglomerates.  We are delighted to participate in this round to partner with them to build in India for the world.”

Since its founding in 2015, Skylark Drones has pioneered a variety of technological advances for the drone software industry. The company leverages drone data and transforms petabytes of aerial information into actionable business insights for clients to help them work more efficiently. 

About Skylark Drones

Skylark Drones is a drone platform company aimed at providing work-site intelligence to enable accurate business decision-making using Drone data. The company is building core infrastructure for the global drone ecosystem to achieve this. Its founders are Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy and Mrinal Pai, both Bengaluru-based engineers who are avid drone-enthusiasts. The platform empowers Fortune 500 companies with drone analytics, service providers with secure execution of flights and manufacturers with regulatory airspace compliance. It has offices in the U.S. and India, and has over 100 enterprise clients, more than 1 million images processed and over 20,000 autonomous flights executed via their platform. More information available at www.skylarkdrones.com

NASSCOM Recognizes QuEST Global’s Sindhu Ramachandran As A Woman Role Model In ER&D

* The award recognizes women in positions of technical leadership who serve as a role model for the entire ER&D ecosystem

QuEST Global, a global product engineering and lifecycle services company, today announced that Sindhu Ramachandran, General Manager with the company, has been recognized as ‘Woman Role Model in ER&D’ in the ESP segment at the NASSCOM Engineering & Innovation Excellence Awards, 2021. The award recognizes women in positions of technical leadership who serve as a role-model for their organization and the entire ER&D ecosystem.

Speaking on the development, Sindhu Ramachandran, said, “I am delighted to be recognized as a Woman Role Model in ER&D by NASSCOM. Apart from recognizing my effort, this award is an endorsement of the best-in-class services we provide to global clients from India as a team. This award reflects NASSCOM’s commitment towards increasing opportunities for women in Engineering and will inspire women to join the sector. I would also like to thank QuEST for giving me opportunities to create impact for customers globally.”

Sindhu completed her B.Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, and M.Tech. from University of Kerala and joined QuEST Global in 2008. She was interested to work in medical image processing, which motivated her to join QuEST Global. She has been working on projects involving the implementation of image processing algorithms and their optimization, medical imaging, and other such areas. Her experience in image processing and computer vision made her transition to the execution of AI projects easier and faster. As the relevance of AI increased, Sindhu successfully was able to marry industrial technologies with AI to add pertinent value to the various customers across industries. She conceptualized and positioned AI technologies as a strategic differentiator with the potential to scale across industries. 

Currently, she leads the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence at QuEST Global. Sindhu makes QuEST an AI-aware organization internally by conceptualizing the competency framework for AI-related technologies and identifying the skills, competencies, and levels of expertise to be mapped to organizational roles.

“ER&D has become one of the fastest-growing segments in India as the country emerges as an engineering and design hub for automobiles, aerospace, consumer electronics, machinery, and semiconductors. Women generally bring diverse sets of experiences and will play a crucial role in the growth of the sector. Women leaders such as Sindhu are setting new benchmarks in the sector. I want to congratulate her and all the other awardees for their contributions to the Indian ER&D industry,” said K S Viswanathan, Vice President, Industry Initiatives, NASSCOM.

“We are very proud of Sindhu’s contributions to the ER&D sector. Her ability to solve complex engineering challenges and drive innovation within the company had led to a positive impact for many of our customers. This recognition acts as an inspiration for more women to join the ER&D sector and take it to new heights. At QuEST, we pride ourselves in being a boundary-less organization and have an innovation-friendly atmosphere that has encouraged many amazing women in engineering to become role models in the last two decades. We will continue to provide a productive workplace to women across engineering streams,” added Shrikant Naik, Global Delivery Head, QuEST Global.

The first edition of NASSCOM Engineering & Innovation Excellence Awards in 2021 recognized and felicitated the stellar performances of the Indian ER&D industry. These awards included key themes such as Futuristic Innovation, Inspirational Leadership, and Technical Prowess to showcase breakthrough solutions, honor disruptive leaders and recognize technical capabilities among Indian enterprises, respectively.

Nykaa Launches The Global Store To Offer International Beauty, Skincare Brands In India

* The platform is exclusively available on the Nykaa mobile app

Nykaa, India’s leading beauty and fashion ecommerce platform has recently launched The Global Store, that aims to bring international beauty brands to Indian consumers through a cross-border e-commerce platform. The Global Store can be easily and exclusively accessed through the Nykaa mobile application.

The brands endeavour to be fully compliant with all Indian e-commerce regulations on imports and will display one all-inclusive price, that is inclusive of all customs, duties and taxes. Customers will be  required to provide KYC details as per the applicable government regulations. Orders will be shipped and delivered within 7 to 20 days from the offshore fulfilment centre, directly to the customers’ doorstep.

Through the Global Store, Nykaa brings a strong network of authorized retailers of international brands to India. In order to deliver its promise of authenticity, Nykaa will accredit only a single vendor to each brand.

The platform offers labels from countries across the world including the US, South Korea, Finland, Australia, and Dubai, among others. These brands have been carefully selected and chosen based on global trends. The focus has been on specific skincare concerns, artisanal beauty, mineral based makeup, plant powered haircare and science based clean beauty.

Some of the prominent brands on The Global Store include the recently launched brand Dr Barbara Sturm (luxury skincare that combines the power of ingredient science and potent plant extracts for a #SturmGlow), Pur Cosmetics (mineral-based makeup and skincare solutions- Cosmetify's Hottest Brands of 2020), Butter London (multiple award winning nail products that are formulated with clean ingredients), Cosmedix Skincare (luxe clean skincare line with celebrity followers like Kim Kardashian, Hailey Beiber, Victoria Beckham, Demi Moore), Erno Laszlo Skincare (clean science luxury skincare, considered to be Marilyn Monroe & Audrey Hepburn's secret beauty weapon), Rahua (high quality haircare products inspired by the Amazonian rainforest), and Rodial (global luxury skincare that offers targeted treatments) among others.

Nykaa Spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to launch the Global Store on Nykaa. While we have witnessed the demand for a diverse range of international brands from consumers over time, these brands have faced multiple challenges in the past to enter the Indian market. This platform aims to effectively bridge the gap between global brands trying to tap the Indian market and customers who desire to shop for the best of the brands. Through The Global Store, Nykaa continues to empower its customers by democratizing the access to a host of international brands by giving choice, authenticity and convenience.“

About Nykaa

Nykaa was founded in 2012 by Indian entrepreneur Falguni Nayar with a vision of providing a carefully curated range of products for every beauty solution. Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka’ meaning one in the spotlight, it rests on three ideals - curation, content and convenience. Nykaa has an omnichannel model with multiple retail stores across India. The Nykaa Guarantee ensures that all products available at Nykaa are 100% authentic sourced directly from the brand or authorized distributors. Since its launch Nykaa has expanded its offering to include fashion with the multi-brand ecommerce platform Nykaa Fashion and grooming and lifestyle products for men with Nykaa Man. Through engaging and educational content and messaging on social media, emails and the Nykaa Network community platform, Nykaa caters to millions of beauty and fashion enthusiasts across India. Additionally, the Nykaa Pro platform caters to all professional beauty needs with special access and offers. 

G R Infraprojects Limited’s IPO Opens From July 07-09, 2021; Priced Band Of Rs. 828 – Rs. 837 Per Equity Share

* Price Band of Rs. 828 – Rs. 837 per equity share of face value of Rs. 5 each (“Equity Shares”)

* Bid/Offer Opening Date – Wednesday, July 07, 2021 and Bid/Offer Closing Date – Friday, July 09, 2021

* Minimum Bid Lot is 17 Equity Shares and in multiples of 17 Equity Shares thereafter

* The Floor Price is 165.60 times the face value of the Equity Share and the Cap Price is 167.40 times the Face Value of the Equity Share

G R Infraprojects Limited (“GRIL” or “Company”), an integrated road engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) company with experience in design and construction of various road/highway projects across 15 States in India and having recently diversified into projects in the railway sector, is proposing to open its initial public offering of Equity Shares (the “Offer”) on Wednesday, July 07, 2021 and close on Friday, July 09, 2021. The price band for the Offer has been determined at Rs. 828 – Rs. 837 per Equity Share. The Company and the Investor Selling Shareholders have, in consultation with the book running lead managers to the Offer (the “BRLMs”), considered participation by Anchor Investors, whose participation shall be one Working Day prior to the bid/offer opening Date, i.e. Tuesday, July 06, 2021.

The Offer will be a complete offer for sale of up to 1,15,08,704 Equity Shares (“Offer for Sale”). The Offer includes an employee reservation portion as well.

The Offer for Sale comprises of up to 11,42,400 Equity Shares by Lokesh Builders Private Limited, up to 127,000 Equity Shares by Jasamrit Premises Private Limited, up to 80,000 Equity Shares by Jasamrit Fashions Private Limited, up to 56,000 Equity Shares by Jasamrit Creations Private Limited, up to 44,000 Equity Shares by Jasamrit Construction Private Limited, up to 64,14,029 Equity Shares by India Business Excellence Fund 1 and up to 31,59,149 Equity Shares by India Business Excellence Fund, and up to 486,126 Equity Shares by Pradeep Kumar Agarwal.

The Offer being only an Offer for Sale, Company will not receive any proceeds from the Offer.

The Offer is being made in terms of Rule 19(2)(b) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, as amended, read with Regulation 31 of the SEBI ICDR Regulations. The Offer is being made in accordance with Regulation 6(1) of the SEBI ICDR Regulations, through the Book Building Process wherein not more than 50% of the Net Offer shall be available for allocation to Qualified Institutional Buyers, not less than 15% of the Net Offer shall be available for allocation to Non-Institutional Bidders and not less than 35% of the Net Offer shall be available for allocation to Retail Individual Bidders.

The Company’s principal business of civil construction comprises EPC and BOT projects in the road sector. The Company has, since 2006, executed over 100 road construction projects. As per the red herring prospectus of the Company dated June 26, 2021 (the “RHP”), out of its BOT projects, it has one operational road project which has been constructed and developed on a BOT (annuity) basis and 14 road projects which have been awarded to the company under the HAM, out of which five projects are currently operational, four projects are under construction and construction is yet to commence on five of these projects. The Company also has experience in constructing state and national highways, bridges, culverts, flyovers, airport runways, tunnels and rail over-bridges and has recently diversified into projects in the railway sector.

HDFC Bank Limited, ICICI Securities Limited, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Limited, SBI Capital Markets Limited, Equirus Capital Private Limited are the BRLMs to the Offer.

Glamly.com Uplifts The Shopping Trend And Brings In Happiness With Its First-Ever ‘The Glam Sale’

* Up to 70% discount and exciting deals that will surely make you smile

An exclusive online clothing shopping website Glamly.com has announced the first-ever sale starting 2nd July 2021 featuring bespoke brands and their collections, namely, Madame, M Secret, and Camla. The first of its kind sale on Glamly.com provide lucrative offers and discounts on men, women and kids fashion wear giving its customers a unique chance to purchase their favourite products at exciting prices. Ahead of the sale event, the website provided an opportunity to avail an additional 10% off by pre-registering on glamly.com giving consumers a unique chance to pre-book some of their favourite products and build their shopping cart. The sale offers a huge up to 70% discount and an additional offer of Rs. 200 for referrals. The referral amount can be claimed at a minimum purchase value of Rs. 1000 or more after the referred customer makes a purchase.

In addition to the offers and discounts, the brand has organised a contest where participants can upload pictures on their social media handle and stand a chance to win a surprise gift. More information on the exciting chance to grab this deal can be found on https://www.glamly.com/

Commenting on the first of its kind sale, Mr Akhil Jain, Executive Director- Madame said, “We are extremely excited to announce the first-ever sale on our exclusive online platform glamly.com. This is an opportunity for us to reach millions of customers across the country and envision this to accelerate our customer base. With our attractive discounts and offers, we aim to help our customers find everything they need and deliver it safely to them.”

Glamly’s range of clothing during the sale for men and women include stylish and comfortable clothing that will help the consumers keep up with the fashion trend. With a no-compromise policy, Glamly.com is designed to provide quality content that not only showcases the latest trends but also display elements of relaxation and fun which help the customer to connect with the brand online too.

Shalvi Govil, Business Manager, E-Commerce division, Madame, added, “It is now a fast-moving trend to host a sale on e-commerce platforms and I am glad that we decided to do it at the right time. Now more than ever, people are more interested in buying things that are available at a discounted price with exciting offers yet not compromising on the quality. Such discounts and offers always attract customers in making a purchase decision. We are confident that this sale will not only be a success but also add in many new customers to our list.”

Madame’s digital presence elevated the business revenue to 8% from the previous 2%. The tier 2 and 3 cities were major contributors to the increase in online sales. The progressive customer traction on the website led to a facelift of the existing platform and its supporting features.

Request you to kindly publish it on your esteem portal. If you would like to interact with the spokesperson of the company, would be glad to arrange an interaction.

WinZO Raises $65 Million In Series C To “Accelerate Growth In The Indian Interactive Entertainment Industry”

* Financing Led by Griffin Gaming Partners, A Leading Fund Focused on the Global Gaming Market 

WinZO, India’s top gaming and entertainment platform, has raised $65 million in a Series C funding round, led by California-based Griffin Gaming Partners, taking the total tally of capital raised by the Company to $90 million. Griffin is making its first ever investment in India in WinZO, India’s largest multiplayer gaming platform. This financing follows only eight months after the company raised its Series B from returning investors Makers Fund, Courtside Ventures, and Steve Pagliuca, Co-Chairman of Bain Capital. Phil Sanderson, Co-Founder of Griffin Gaming Partners, will join WinZO’s board of directors. 

With a focus on competitive multiplayer gaming experiences, WinZO’s mission is to create a culturally relevant mobile games platform with broad-based adoption. WinZO seeks to position itself at the forefront of Indian gaming culture with an expansive influencer network catering to more than 50 million registered users. The platform is currently offered in 12 languages, unlocking demographics that have historically gone underserved. 

WinZO’s Series C raise represents yet another meaningful milestone reached by the company since its establishment in 2018. The company has grown its revenues tenfold over the last 12 months, and has partnered with over 100 leading game developers to realize the full potential of the Indian mobile gaming market through in-game integration of WinZO’s social gaming framework.   

“We are super excited to partner with the Griffin team,” said Paavan Nanda, co-founder, WinZO.“Their incredible experience and precious insights across the global media & entertainment landscape shall be valuable as we continue to disrupt the Indian gaming ecosystem. With this raise, we plan to grow much faster and become an even more lovable product for our consumers. WinZO is poised and strategically well positioned to be one of the first 'Made in India' products that will rule the world in coming years." 

“We are excited to make Griffin Gaming Partners’ first investment in India backing WinZO, the company behind the largest social gaming app in the country,” commented Nick Tuosto, Co-Founder, of Griffin Gaming Partners and Managing Director and Head of Gaming at LionTree. “The company is led by best-in-class management with an extraordinary product vision. We saw in WinZO’s games incredible retention and monetization metrics we believe set the company up for continued explosive growth and are proud to support the team on the journey.”  

“WinZO’s growth is a testament to the value the company is unlocking in the Indian market.” commented Michael Cheung, General Partner, Makers Fund. “We are excited to continue to support WinZO and their leadership team who combine expertise and unique local insights with a strong vision to grow the Indian games and entertainment sector.” 

About WinZO: 

WinZO is the largest social gaming and entertainment platform in India. Launched in early 2018, the Company partners with third party developers to host games on their Android app, where users can enjoy personalized multiplayer gameplay experiences. The platform is available in 12 languages such as English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, and Bhojpuri, with over 50 million registered users. The WinZO platform facilitates over 2.5 billion micro-transactions per month across a portfolio of 70+ games. WinZO is focused on building an enthusiastic community of gamers and gaming influencers in Tier 2 – 5 cities in India. The Company envisions a future where the WinZO platform can deliver a culturally relevant and enjoyable experience in the Indian gaming ecosystem, monetized through a unique micro-transaction model. 

About Griffin Gaming Partners: 

California based Griffin Gaming Partners was founded in 2019 by Nick Tuosto, Managing Director and Head of Gaming at LionTree; Peter Levin, Co-founder of Nerdist Industries and former President of Interactive Ventures, Games, and Digital Strategy at Lionsgate; and Phil Sanderson, a venture capitalist with over two decades of experience in game investing. The firm invests in game companies and related technologies around the world. 

About Makers Fund:                                                     

Makers Fund is a global interactive entertainment venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments. With over 60 portfolio companies to date, Makers is dedicated to furthering growth and innovation in the interactive entertainment industry. Makers Fund provides strong portfolio support and value add with direct access to top talent, advisors, and CEOs of global platforms. 

About Courtside Ventures: 

Courtside Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund, investing across media and gaming, with a particular strategic focus on sports. Built by a team of notable entrepreneurs and investors, they provide strategic support by leveraging industry relationships and domain expertise to help companies gain a competitive advantage. 

Backed by investor Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Rock Ventures, Quicken Loans and majority owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers; WPP, the world's leading advertising firm; and Bruin Sports Capital, Courtside Ventures invests in companies across the US and internationally.  

SIDBI Rolls Out Developmental Measures, Celebrating ‘World MSME Day’ As A ‘Developmental Week’

* Sets up Swavalamban Chair in Government Engineering College, Thrissur 

* Support to CIMSME for setting up Swavalamban Suvidha Kendra 

* Mission 10000 Swavalambis- Dreams2Reality stories of grit 

* Signs MoU with Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship 

* Rapid profiling of 11 states for entrepreneurial opportunities 

* Felicitating Covid responsive entities and associations 

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the principal financial institution engaged in the promotion, financing and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), has rolled out various developmental measures for MSMEs celebrating the World MSME Day of June 27, 2021 in the form of a ‘Developmental Week’. 

Under its project SAHAS, SIDBI has soft launched “Swavalamban Chair for MSME Solutions”, at Government Engineering College, Thrissur. The Chair shall have action research and inducing entrepreneurship culture as its core thrust. It is supported by Swavalamaban Resource Facility which has been set up in partnership with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom. It shall bring product/process solutions to enterprises in the region, support youth under mentorship of professors to map the local pain points, shape their solutions/idea, test, validate and launch their entrepreneurial ventures. The Chair shall also foster inter-college learnings.  

Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann, Chairman and Managing Director of SIDBI said, “Our role is to empower entrepreneurs and encourage entrepreneurship during these challenging times. Keeping this in mind, through the various initiatives, we are planning to support the enterprise development cycle comprising ideation, setting up, revive and thrive as also stepping up. On one hand we are working towards identifying more livelihood entrepreneurs and on the other hand we are taking steps to build their capacity for emerging stronger. With these measures fructifying, we hope to create a society with more job creators rather than job seekers.”  

With an objective to handhold budding entrepreneurs, SIDBI has provided support to Confederation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CIMSME) for setting up ‘Swavalamban Suvidha Kendra’. The Kendra shall address information asymmetry challenges and render responsive solutions to inquisitive youth, serve anxious enterprises facing Covid challenges, assist in Udyam registration and enable Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) to go for digital solutions like Udyamimitra portal, Standupmitra portal, PSB Loans in 59 minutes etc.   

SIDBI has also felicitated Covid responsive MSEs and associations by sponsoring meals on their behalf through Akshay Patra Foundation for Covid impacted population. SIDBI has distributed 2.10 lakh meals during this Covid period.  Also, to showcase the emerging entrepreneurs and job creators, SIDBI has, under its Mission 10000 Swavalambis initiative, documented their stories. These inspirational stories are aimed at shaping dreams of aspirational Bharat and help them walk the job creator journey.  

SIDBI has also entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ‘Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship’ to help MSMEs address their challenges faced during the Covid crisis. The broad themes covered under the MoU include expanding credit access, increasing formalization, building competitive clusters, and improving the legal framework for ease of doing business. 

To identify entrepreneurial opportunities for migrant population impacted by Covid, rapid profiling in 11 states namely, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu has been carried out. In these states, SIDBI has setup Project Management Units based on the recommendations of the UK Sinha Committee on MSMEs. The inputs are expected to facilitate decisions on entrepreneurial ventures at local/regional levels. 

About SIDBI: Since its formation in 1990, SIDBI has been impacting the lives of citizens across various strata of the society through its integrated, innovative and inclusive approach. Be it traditional, domestic small entrepreneurs, bottom-of-the-pyramid entrepreneurs, to high-end knowledge-based entrepreneurs, SIDBI has directly or indirectly touched the lives of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) through various credit and developmental engagements. SIDBI 2.0 carries the vision of inclusive, innovative and impact-oriented engagements.