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Diageo India, TSL Foundation partner to train 200 young women

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Diageo India (United Spirits Ltd.) partnered with TSL Foundation to train 200 young women through its ‘Learning for Life’ program. The training center in Bhondsi, Gurugram, was inaugurated by Gaurav Singh, Additional CEO of Haryana State CSR Trust, along with members from Diageo India and TSL Foundation.

The employability-linked training program will be conducted with the Government of Haryana to raise awareness, upskill, and empower young women. This initiative aligns with Diageo India’s commitment to promoting Inclusion and Diversity, a crucial part of Diageo’s Society 2030: Spirit of Progress goals.

The two-month training program will include theory classes, on-the-job training, and simulations in a front-office setup at the training center. It will also feature activity-based learning, projects, periodic assessments, guest lectures, and interview preparation sessions for successful placements. Upon completing the program and meeting the assessment criteria, students will receive National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) or equivalent government certification.

Shri Gaurav Singh, Additional CEO of Haryana State CSR Trust, Government of Haryana, said, “This Skill Development Center will be a blessing for our young women, offering essential skills to thrive in major institutions. Many aspiring professionals lack access to foundational training, and this initiative by Diageo India and TSL Foundation bridges that gap. We plan to expand this center, providing invaluable training and placement support from industry leaders like Ramada and Radisson, helping candidates secure positions in top-tier organizations. In the spirit of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao,’ we extend the message to ‘Beti ko Samriddh Banao.’ Your commitment to this journey will unlock immense career opportunities. Thank you to Diageo India and TSL Foundation for launching this vital skill development center for the youth of Haryana.”

Navdeep Singh Mehram, VP- CSR & Sustainability, Diageo India, said, “Our partnership with TSL Foundation is driven by a common goal to create a diverse workforce in the hospitality sector. Together, we aim to empower 200 young women with the skills to become self-reliant, thereby contributing to the economic development of the country. This initiative underscores our commitment to expanding the reach of our ‘Learning for Life’ programme and bolstering livelihood capabilities for individuals from under-represented communities.”

Apoorva Sharma, director- of TSL Foundation, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Diageo India, whose dedication towards inclusive development is exemplary. In collaboration with the Government of Haryana, we will educate and raise awareness on upskilling young women and supporting a thriving hospitality sector. Post completion of the programme, we will offer support for internships and employment opportunities.”

Over the years, Diageo has initiated multiple initiatives across the NCR region, including Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene projects, programs for upskilling persons with disability and promoting responsible consumption.

AI startup Fibr raises $1.8M in funding 

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(L-R) Ankur Goyal and Pritam Roy, cofounders, Fibr

Fibr, an AI-powered personalization platform, raised $1.8 million in a funding round led by Accel. 2am VC and angel investors, including Cred founder Kunal Shah, also participated in the round.

According to top officials, Fibr plans to use the funds to enhance its AI personalization platform, expand its customer base, and hire talent, including engineers, product marketers, and sales and GTM experts.

A personalization platform allows companies to create unique, tailored experiences for website visitors and deliver personalized content and marketing messages based on individual preferences and behavior.

Founded in January 2023 by Ankur Goyal and Pritam Roy, Fibr’s flagship product, Pilot, improves conversions by offering personalized landing pages for ads, emails, SMS, notifications, and other communications.

“Most personalization tools out there are pretty outdated. They’re usually good at one thing – maybe web, ads, or email – but miss the big picture. They’ll throw in some generic pop-ups, stick names in emails, or run basic A/B tests. That’s not real personalization,” Goyal said.

The platform serves lead generation clients in insurance, broadband, home improvement, and consumer services. It currently targets markets in the US, Canada, and India, with plans to expand into Europe.

“For us, the US is the major focus, but we also think that Europe would be a great focus because we are very aligned with general data protection regulation (GDPR),” Goyal said. “I think by the end of this year, we should be 60-70% in the US, 10-20% in India, and maybe starting in Europe.”

The Bengaluru-based company is developing the beta version of its second product, Blocks.

“The second product is AI tools, basically helping marketers scale their content across formats, such as converting a high-performing Facebook ad into a blog, Google ad, or social media post,” Goyal said.

Commenting on the investment, Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel, said, “We believe Fibr’s landing page for every ad proposition could be a gamechanger in the ad ecosystem for consumer companies, especially with customer acquisition cost (CAC) challenges due to privacy policies and cookie deprecation. Fibr’s affordable sachet pricing model, where users only pay for usage, disrupts traditional SaaS pricing, making it accessible for all marketers.” 

Revolutionizing Beauty: Lass Natural introduces clean and sustainable packaging

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18th July 2024 New Delhi: Lass Natural, a pioneer in the organic beauty industry, recently transformed its packaging design, ensuring effective customer communication and enhancing the overall experience. While staying true to its simplicity and sustainability core values, the brand features a pristine white base in its new packaging. The white color emphasizes that the products are free from unnecessary additives and are purely focused on delivering natural goodness.

To complement the white base, the design incorporates vibrant color stripes. These stripes are visually appealing and signify the brand’s dedication to addressing multiple skin and hair problems. Each vibrant color on the packaging represents different active ingredients used in the formulations. In today’s health-conscious world, this will help customers transparently understand the benefits of the products.

Deepak Jain, CEO and Founder of Lass Natural, comments, “Our new packaging is a true reflection of our brand’s ethos – simple, pure, and sustainable. We have always believed in the power of nature and the importance of transparency. Therefore, redesigning our packaging makes our products more attractive and informative, helping our customers make better choices for their skin and hair.”

Lastly, Lass Naturals understands that the first impression matters. Therefore, the new packaging design not only immediately connects with the customers but is also fully recyclable, and this change ensures that the brand’s product stands out in the market, reflecting the quality and care they put into every formulation. 

About Lass Naturals

Lass Natural is the ultimate destination for complete skin, body, and hair care. With over 15 years of expertise in manufacturing, the brand is dedicated to providing the best solutions for all skincare and haircare needs, whether it is acne, dry skin, hair loss, or other concerns. Lass Natural’s comprehensive range of products is designed to address specific needs and deliver visible results.

Resumod enhances staffing solutions with AI-driven resume screening and comprehensive job seeker reports

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Rajat Vashishta, the founder of Resumod

Delhi, 18 | July | 2024 – Resumod, a leading provider of innovative HR solutions, is proud to announce the launch of its AI-driven staffing solution aimed at significantly reducing the time taken for initial resume screening by up to 50%. This new feature is designed to streamline the hiring process for staffing and recruitment companies, allowing HR professionals to quickly and efficiently identify the best candidates for the job. Resumod’s new features simplify recruitment, empowering businesses and job seekers.

This AI system tackles a significant pain point for staffing and recruitment companies – the time-consuming task of initial resume screening. By sorting and filtering resumes based on specific job requirements, it can reduce screening time by up to 50%. This frees HR professionals to focus their expertise on qualified candidates. Moreover, through chatbots, Resumod also felicitates initial screening and labeling of resumes for future use.

For jobseekers, the company empowers them with actionable insights: Recognizing the importance of a strong resume, Resumod offers a new feature that provides a detailed report analyzing a user’s resume against specific job descriptions. This valuable feedback empowers individuals to tailor their resumes for maximum impact, increasing their chances of getting noticed by potential employers.

Beyond software solutions, the firm now offers a new service to jobseekers, an “expert help service,” allowing users to hire experienced resume writers from Resumod’s backend team. This service provides professional resume creation and functions as a learning experience. Job seekers gain valuable insights into how to effectively document their skills and experiences, ultimately making them stronger job applicants. The affordable service is available for a price of INR 449.

Resumod’s comprehensive suite of features positions the company to transform the recruitment landscape. Businesses benefit from faster and more efficient hiring practices, while job seekers gain the tools and resources needed to stand out in a competitive market.

Rajat Vashishta, the founder of Resumod, commented, “Our new features are designed to simplify the recruitment process for businesses and enhance the job-seeking experience for individuals. By reducing the time taken for resume screening and providing detailed feedback, we are making it easier for HR professionals to find the right candidates and for job seekers to present themselves effectively. Resumod has already seen positive feedback and results from its paying customers.”

About the company

Established in April 2018 by Rajat Vashishta, Resumod addresses critical challenges in the Indian job market. Recognizing the financial burden job seekers face in updating their resumes and the widespread lack of awareness about presentation standards, Resumod stands as a solution-driven platform. As of 2023, Resumod boasts nearly 500 daily registrations and over 1500 daily downloads, indicating a growing user base. 

The platform has garnered attention from the media and currently serves over 2 lakh registered users. Resumod’s mission extends to both B2C and B2B models. In B2C, users benefit from an AI-driven interview preparation solution, resume parsing, and job-matching functionality. The company offers 18 resume formats, including a lifetime free option, positioning itself as a versatile and accessible free resume builder. In the B2B domain, Resumod’s solution is employed by universities exclusively for enrolled students, and staffing companies leverage the AI functionality to process and reformat large volumes of resumes efficiently for clients.

Revolutionizing Study Abroad: English App from Studely available for Indian students

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Claire Noguera, CEO, Studely

Bangalore, July 18th, 2024: French Fintech brand Studely has announced the launch of its English-language mobile application in India, marking an essential moment for Indian students. Founded in 2016, Studely is a French Fintech brand that has recently expanded into India and provides comprehensive financial solutions to students wanting to pursue higher education in France and Germany.

Studely provides comprehensive financial and logistical support and services, including assistance with a blocked account – AVI (L’attestation de virement irrevocablé – a document provided by the bank or financial institution that verifies management for visa requirements), facilitation of international payments, housing search support, access to appropriate insurance coverage, and detailed information on scholarship opportunities.

This English-language app is specifically designed to assist Indian students seeking higher education opportunities in France and Germany, with its user-friendly interface and bilingual capabilities allowing users to toggle between English and French. Accessible in India on both iOS and Android platforms, Studely offers customer service in multiple languages, including English, Hindi, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, to ensure comprehensive support. 

Key Features:

● Comprehensive app with consistent service across languages

● Services include blocked accounts – AVI, payment accounts, housing search, insurance, and scholarships

● Seamless integration with the existing Studely app

● Language selection option (French or English) in user profile settings

● Available worldwide on both iOS and Apple App Store

● Multilingual customer support in English, Hindi, Spanish, and Arabic

Solving language barriers, the app aims to help non-french speaking students understand and use the app seamlessly.

Regarding the English app launch in India, Claire Noguera, CEO, Studely said, “Our objective is to facilitate the pursuit of international education for Indian students by eliminating financial and linguistic obstacles. This application represents more than a technological advancement; it signifies a significant step towards making international education more accessible for Indian students. Each feature has been developed meticulously to address the practical challenges faced by Indian students pursuing education in France and Germany. We are headed towards achieving over 1000 downloads in India by the end of 2024.”

About Studely

Founded in 2016 by Duplex E. Kamgang and a team of international students, Studely is a leading French fintech company empowering students from abroad to achieve their educational goals in France and Germany. With a comprehensive suite of financial and logistical services, including bank guarantees, mobile banking accounts, and student accommodation assistance, the firm supports over 25,000 students across 19 countries. Recent expansion into India emphasizes Studely’s commitment to providing end-to-end financial solutions for students seeking international education, redefining the landscape of studying abroad. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.studely.com/en/

AI-powered beauty platform Honestly raises Rs 3.2-Cr in pre-seed funding

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Honestly cofounders Karishma Rathaur and Vivek Madani

Honestly, an AI-powered beauty and personal care (BPC) review platform, raised Rs 3.2 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by Better Capital.

QED Innovations, led by Kunal Shah, and senior leaders from Flipkart, Polygon, and Cred also participated in the round.

The funds will be used to launch the initial product and achieve early product-market fit.

“We are looking at BPC because the problem is grave here. You can’t return products, and the number of attributes along which you need to know whether the product is working or not, and how a person experiences a product, is very different,” cofounder Vivek Madani said.

Founded in April 2024 by Karishma Rathaur and Madani, the platform will enable peer-to-peer connections for sharing product reviews. The AI will analyze product ingredients to help users understand how new products fit into their routines.

The revenue model will focus on business-to-business (B2B), allowing other brands to use the platform’s APIs and integrate widgets into their product pages.

“Once we prove out the business-to-consumer (B2C) user application and we have enough proprietary data then we will give ecommerce platforms APIs to integrate onto their platforms,” he said. 

The firm plans to reach 1 million users in India in the next few years.

“We will either look to go deeper into India or expand globally. For example, the UAE has similar skin tones, and then there is the West Indian diaspora and the UK Indian diaspora,” Madani added.  

According to a study by Redseer Strategy Consultants and Peak XV Partners, India’s beauty and personal care market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 10% between 2022 and 2027, reaching $30 billion.

“While social media has helped educate people about skincare, haircare and makeup, it has also added to the confusion. We’re thrilled to be backed by investors who understand the problem. This investment will enable us to build a strong engineering and marketing founding team over the next few months,” said Rathaur.

Commenting on the investment, Vaibhav Domkundwar of Better Capital said, “A quick skim on beauty Reddits confirms how broken skin care is today, and especially when more and more consumers are proactively looking to take care of their skin.” 

TGI Hotels & Resorts expands presence in Karnataka with launch of Livancia brand in Mysore

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We are thrilled to announce a significant milestone in TGI Hotels & Resorts’ journey by introducing our Livancia brand in Mysore, Karnataka. Scheduled to open early in 2024, this marks a significant step in our expansion, bringing our total properties in Karnataka to ten, with more on the way.

“The Livancia brand curates boutique properties tailored to meet the evolving needs of global travellers, strategically located in metropolitan and tier 2 and 3 cities. At Livancia, we believe in delivering affordable luxury without compromise. We promise to provide top-notch amenities, consistent service excellence, and utmost guest satisfaction,” said Amit Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer of TGI Hotels & Resorts.

Situated at the foot of Chamundi Hill, just a short drive from Mysore Palace and other popular attractions, LIVANCIA HILL SIDE will offer 48 well-appointed rooms and suites, an all-day dining restaurant, a vibrant 250-cover Resto Pub, state-of-the-art Gym, rejuvenating Spa, invigorating Swimming Pool, and two versatile banquet spaces.

We are excited to welcome guests to experience the charm and hospitality of TGI Hotels & Resorts in Mysore,” added Mr. Kumar.

About TGI Hotels & Resorts

One of India’s leading hospitality groups, TGI Hotels & Resorts, offers comfortable, high-quality accommodations across India with 26 hotels. They cater to city and leisure destinations, providing unique experiences, excellent service, and modern amenities. Committed to giving memorable stays, the group is expanding to more travel destinations and setting new standards in the hospitality industry.

Chef Kartik appointed regional chef at Azure Hospitality 

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Kartik, regional chef, Azure Hospitality 

Azure Hospitality has appointed chef Kartik as its regional chef. With a distinguished career and extensive experience, Kartik aims to enhance the culinary experiences across Azure Hospitality’s diverse establishments, according to an official release.

Kartik began his culinary journey with a bachelor’s degree in hotel and hotel administration from IHM Kufri, Shimla, India. His early education at Mount Abu Public School in Delhi ignited his passion for culinary excellence. He started his career as a commis at Trident Bandra Kurla, Mumbai. He quickly advanced to roles such as chef de partie, junior sous chef, and sous chef at prestigious institutions like The Oberoi Hotels & Resorts India and Atmosphere Hotels and Resorts in the Maldives. These roles enriched his expertise in various aspects of the culinary arts.

In his most recent role as executive sous chef at Pahli Hill in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Kartik played a crucial part in the restaurant’s success. He developed a significant a la carte menu, meticulously planned the kitchen setup, and ensured high standards in crockery and cutlery selection. Leading a team of 17, Kartik emphasized continuous training and development, streamlined kitchen operations, and maintained impeccable quality, consistency, and hygiene standards.

Kartik excels in guest service management, creating custom menus for special occasions and earning accolades such as CEO of the Year 2018 and exceptional ratings in appraisals from 2016 to 2020. His collaborations with industry giants like Parvinder Bali, Sweety Singh, and Osama Jalali show his dedication to preserving culinary heritage while advancing Indian cuisine with promotional menus and pop-ups.

As a regional chef, Kartik will manage pan-India operations for specialty Indian restaurants at Azure Hospitality, leading a team of over 300 members. His extensive experience with diverse nationalities and dynamic kitchen environments brings fresh perspectives and innovation. This expertise is set to elevate dining experiences across the portfolio of Azure Hospitality.

Namma Yatri raises $11M in a funding

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Bengaluru-based ride-hailing app Namma Yatri raised Rs 92 crore ($11 million) in a funding round led by Blume Ventures and Antler. Google also participated in this pre-Series A round.

Parent company Moving Tech, a spin-off of Juspay, will use the funds for technology, R&D, and increasing driver earnings.

In April, payments firm Juspay spun off Namma Yatri into a separate entity, Moving Tech. Moving Tech launched Namma Yatri in Bengaluru in 2022. Namma Yatri and its family of apps are fully open-source, with open data metrics, and are also part of the ONDC Network.

Moving Tech operates in eight cities and has facilitated 46 million trips, generating Rs 700 crore in driver earnings without commissions. It has a user base of seven million and 400,000 drivers.

Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S, co-founders of Moving Tech, said in the joint statement that the company is committed to sustainable transportation, “With our people-first approach, our goal is to build empathetic products and technology that are 10 times better. By collaborating with samaaj (community), sarkar (government), and bazaar (business), we aspire to create an impact similar to UPI in India and Linux worldwide. This funding will enable us to innovate and grow further.”

Namma Yatri recently introduced zero-commission auto and cab rentals in Bengaluru and Chennai, with plans to expand to Delhi-NCR. However, starting last September, the platform introduced subscription fees for drivers. This strategy aims to compete with market leaders Ola, Rapido, and Uber. Notably, Rapido and Uber have also launched zero-commission models for auto drivers.

“Moving Tech is at the forefront of transforming mobility with a fresh and innovative model. We were amazed by the simplicity of what the technology and a robust product can do to solve mass mobility. We are glad to partner with an exceptional team and back their grand vision,” said Karthik Reddy, partner at Blume Ventures.

“Namma Yatri’s focus on Digital Public Infrastructure is pioneering. They are building the mobility of the future — one that is inclusive, efficient, and sustainable. We are thrilled to support them,” said Fady Abdel-Nour and Nitin Sharma, partners at Antler.

Stripe valuation hits $70 billion in Sequoia deal 

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Stripe’s valuation has risen to $70 billion because Sequoia Capital is buying shares from investors who want to sell their stake in the fintech company. Stripe helps merchants process customer payments.

Sequoia is offering $27.51 per share, as reported by people familiar with the deal, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. The venture capital firm extended this offer to limited partners in funds from 2009 to 2012, who might be seeking liquidity for their shares. According to Axios, Sequoia purchased up to $861 million in shares on Monday, one source mentioned.

The payment processing firm and Sequoia representatives did not comment on the matter.

Stripe, one of the most valuable private tech companies, was recently valued at $65 billion after a deal allowed current and former employees to sell some of their shares. This valuation increased from $50 billion last March but is still below the $95 billion in 2021 funding.

Founded over a dozen years ago by brothers John and Patrick Collison, Stripe has grown significantly. Its competitors include PayPal Holdings Inc. and Adyen NV.