Ecommerce platform noon.com buys UAE-based Namshi

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February 14, 2023

Saudi Arabia-based ecommerce platform noon.com has acquired UAE-based Namshi, a fashion shopping platform in the region. With this acquisition, noon will be able to offer a broader range of fashion and lifestyle choices as part of its digital service and product base.

According to a press release shared by Zawya, Namshi will continue to operate as an independent entity and will be able to utilize noon’s fleet, logistics, fulfillment networks, and ecommerce experience as required.

According to Hisham Zarka, co-founder of Namshi and CTO of noon Group, customers and partners can expect better services, choices, and pricing in the future.

Since its launch in 2011, Namshi has offered more than 1,200 fashion brands for apparel. Faraz Khalid, Hisham Zarka, Hosam Arab, Louis Lebbos, and Muhammed Mekki co-founded it.

Mohamed Alabbar and Sam Shirazi Maqam co-founded noon in 2016, an ecommerce platform and marketplace that offers products and services in multiple categories.

Credit Suisse and Clyde & Co. acted as the acquisition’s financial and legal advisors. Gulf International Bank (GIB) arranged the acquisition financing for noon.

InsuranceDekho secures $150mn in maiden funding round

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February 14, 2023

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InsuranceDekho, owned by Girnar Insurance Brokers, has announced raising $150 million in a mix of equity and debt round. According to a statement issued by the company, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and TVS Capital Funds jointly led the Series A equity round.

Investcorp, Avatar Ventures, and LeapFrog Investments are other investors in the round. According to filings filed with the Registrar of Companies, $36.5 million of the round was reported in January 2023.

The company said in the statement that it would use the funds to scale up its product and technology functions, expand into new markets, pursue inorganic growth, strengthen its leadership team, launch new innovative products in the health and life categories, and expand the company’s MSME insurance business.

Ankit Agrawal and Ish Babbar founded InsuranceDekho in 2016 as a part of the CarDekho Group. This auto tech platform allows consumers to compare different insurance policies as per their requirements and buy the most suitable plan for life, property, and casualty insurance. In 2017, IRDAI issued a Direct Insurance Broker licence to its holding entity, GIBPL.

This also marks the 10th investment from TVS Capital Fund’s Rs 2,000 crore third private equity fund. As part of its investing thesis, the fund already backs Go Digit General Insurance and will continue doing so. The fund invests in niche consumer segment bets, business-to-business, and financial services.

“Insurance is largely under-penetrated in India and is still at 4.2% of the GDP. Secondly, we have a strong insurance regulator driving growth in the space. There is a lot of room for growth in the space,” said Praveen Sridhar, Partner at TVS Capital Funds.

“InsuranceDekho is an insurance broking firm which works through an agent model—aggregating these agents. The agency or broker model is a larger market than the digital market, and insurance is a push product. The growth anticipated from Tier II and III cities for insurance will play well into the InsuranceDekho model, which has a large network of agents,” he added.

The penetration will only increase due to the government’s efforts to establish a single platform—Bima Sugam—for many insurance-related services such as policy sale, renewal, and claims settlement, according to Praveen.

With more than 380 insurance products, including 175 for health and life, InsuranceDekho now claims to be directly integrated with 46 insurance companies across India. By March 2023, it plans to reach an annualized premium run rate of Rs 3,500 crore, according to the announcement.

The company competes with other listed insurance intermediaries, including Turtlemint, which Jungle Ventures and PolicyBazaar back.

Arka Investment Advisory closes maiden credit fund at Rs 250 Cr

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February 13, 2023

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Arka Investment Advisory Services Private Limited, a subsidiary of non-banking financial company Arka Financial Holdings, announced the first close of Arka Credit Fund I, a scheme of its maiden credit fund Arka Credit Fund.

Financial Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kirloskar Oil Engines.

The sector-agnostic Category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) has a target corpus of Rs 250 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 50 crore. It has a 4.5-year tenure, and the sponsor (and/or its subsidiaries) has approved an investment of Rs 55 crore in the fund.

“We are planning to make 8-10 investments at a ticket size of Rs 30-50 crore in performing credit space at an IRR of 14-16%. Our maiden offering has a strong backing from our sponsors, and so far, Arka Credit Fund I has received an encouraging response from marquee investors,” said Sonit Singh, Director and Head of Arka Investment Advisory Services.

Arka Credit Fund I aims to provide structured solutions for mid-market corporates and conglomerates to support their business needs. It is backed by a team that manages assets in the performing credit and structured credit space and has a cumulative experience of more than 100+ years.

“With a strong track record of investing in investment grade credit space along with the inherent demand from the market post-pandemic, Arka Group now launches this credit fund to fill the gap which persists in the market,” said Sonit.

Apple supplier plans to more than double its workforce in India to 25,000

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February 13, 2023

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Salcomp, an Apple supplier, announced that it would double its workforce in India to 25,000 over the next three years.

Sasikumar Gendham, managing director of Salcomp Manufacturing India, in a statement to Reuters, said, “China Plus One strategy is at its peak at this moment … The whole supply chain is now kind of looking at an alternative. And India is poised to be one of the best alternatives.”

“It’s time to really diversify and decluster supply chain beyond China,” he added.

Salcomp is one of Apple’s major charger suppliers. Around 12,000 people are employed by Salcomp in Chennai, with 85% being women. It agreed in 2019 to acquire a facility in Chennai, southern India, which formerly belonged to Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia, and it started operations there in 2020.

Currently, iPhones are assembled in India by at least three of Apple’s global suppliers: Foxconn and Pegatron in Tamil Nadu; and Wistron in nearby Karnataka state.

Drone startup Garuda Aerospace secures $22M in Series A round

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February 13, 2023

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Drop startup Garuda Aerospace has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm SphitiCap. Angel investors, HNIs, and other global investors also participated in the round.

The company raised $12 million from SphitiCap in the round.

“Garuda Aerospace has built various types of drones… and their developments in the drone sector are one to watch out for,” said Pallav Kumar Singh, Managing Partner, SphitiCap.

“Given the evolving preferences and horizontal expansion with the usage of drones in several sectors, there is a vision of promising growth beneficial for both companies. With this, drones will be playing a major in nearly every sector in the future,” he said.

The company stated that the funds would be utilized to scale up and expand operations. Part of the funds will be used for R&D, skilling, and training of drone pilots, as well as to help create employment by expanding into Tier II and III cities.

As per the statement, Garuda drones will be upgraded with payload capacities, endurance, sensor quality, and data embedding with additional technology solutions. The startup aims to achieve significant dominance in rural areas, making it easier to manufacture drones to speed up deliveries, reduce costs, and increase accessibility.

In the next 18 months, Garuda Aerospace aims to sell 25,000 drones, and in the next 15 months, it seeks to export 10,000 drones to around 100 countries.

“After my experience at Davos 2023, it was clear that Garuda Aerospace has the potential to scale globally by manufacturing more Make in India drones and will help India to become the drone hub of the world by 2030,” said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace.

In India and across the world, Garuda drones are employed in various industries, including agricultural, mapping, infrastructure, mining, and project inspections.

In 26 different Indian cities, Garuda Aerospace has a team of over 500 pilots and a fleet of 400 drones. Garuda was founded in 2015 with five members and has now scaled to over 200+ teams. It aims to impact one billion lives to become India’s first drone unicorn startup.

Miss Margarita by Arriba opens its doors in North Goa

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February 11, 2023

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In Vagator, North Goa, Miss Margarita by Arriba has opened its doors. One of India’s most popular Mexican restaurants is Miss Margarita, a venture of Agave Hospitality. Miss Margarita is set to become your go-to destination for a taste of rustic Mexico with its innovative new menu, cool yet laid-back ambience, and excellent service. Chef Noah Louis Barnes, Chef-Partner at Miss Margarita by Arriba, has thoughtfully crafted the menu.

The venue radiates a laid-back tropical vibe with the use of colours like coral, cobalt blue, and earth tones. Most of the decor is made by hand using mosaic work and natural lighting, giving you an authentic feeling that drifts towards a Goan vibe. To keep the space as natural as possible, everything has been customized from scratch, including the imported tiles used. Considering the tropical weather, 80% of the space is open seating with rain protection.

According to Noah Barnes, chef and co-founder of Miss Margarita, “We always wanted to take the place Pan India and Goa is a melting pot of cultures and people coming from all parts of the world. Keeping the expansion plans in mind, Goa was the ideal place for launching Miss Margarita next. We have kept the vibe and menu purely tropical and casual. We will soon be launching in other cities as well. Till then we hope that Miss Margarita Goa will be the IT place to visit.”

BIM Ventures invests in Saudi-based WeDeliver

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February 11, 2023

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Saudi Arabia-based WeDeliver raised a pre-Series A round from BIM Ventures at the LEAP tech conference 2023 at Riyadh Front Expo Centre, Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad Ramahi and Mohammad Abu Kwaik founded WeDeliver in 2020 as a B2B logistics and last-mile delivery services provider.

The funds raised will be used to expand the company’s operations in Saudi Arabia and develop specialized fintech-related logistics solutions. In 2023, these solutions are expected to be launched.

BIM Ventures, founded by Mohamed Amine Merah in 2017, was among the Diamond sponsors of LEAP 2023, which began on February 6, 2023. The venture studio mainly focuses on pre-inception ideas, pre-seed, and seed-stage technology-driven startups.

According to a Wamda report, its first fund, BIM Investments I, was launched in January 2020 and had co-built and invested in 20 tech startups.

The fund launched its second venture investment fund, BIM Investments II, worth SAR120 million ($32 million), in June 2022.

TABP Snacks and Beverages raises INR 20-Cr in pre-Series A funding

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February 10, 2023

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A beverage and snack startup from Coimbatore, TABP Snacks and Beverages, has raised INR 20 crore in its pre-Series A fundraise. Along with Arun Mukherjee and angel investors, venture fund LC Nueva AIF led the funding. Koushik Chatterjee, the CFO of Tata Steel, and Aniruddha Sarkar, the chief investment officer of Quest Investment Advisors, among others, are some of the significant angel investors who invested in this round.

TABP Snacks and Beverages is one of India’s fastest-growing startups in the food and beverage space. Within four years of starting operations, TABP will reach INR 100 crore GMV in FY23. Targeting India’s bottom of the pyramid consumers, TABP primarily sells snacks and beverages at INR 5 and INR 10, respectively. TABP operates in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

The funds raised will be used for R&D, expanding production capacity, and expanding into new territories.

Commenting on the fundraise, Prabhu Gandhikumar, founder of TABP, said, “It’s been some really exciting years of growth for TABP. After coming back from COVID-related slowdown, we have shown tremendous growth. In Q3 of 2022-23, we grew 172 percent compared to Q3 of the previous year. We feel we have not even scratched the surface and are just getting started. This year we are planning to expand into the east and west geographies of India.”

Ashish Chand, founding partner LC Nueva AIF, mentioned, “TABP is poised to become a leader in India’s beverage and snack space with its strong growth in tier-2 and 3 markets.”

Certificates verification platform TheRollNumber raises $165K

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February 10, 2023

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TheRollNumber, a blockchain-based certificate verification platform, has raised $165,000 as part of a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

According to a statement, the funds raised will be used to reinforce the technological stack, upgrade the platform, use data stacks more, and expand the team and operations.

Vikram Ramasubramanian, Partner, Inflection Point Ventures, said, “Blockchain technology has disrupted many niche sectors. TheRollNumber is cutting down the hassle of verifying the certificate/documents manually.”

Sai Raghavendra Sharma, Founder, TheRollNumber, said, “TheRollNumber is building a system which not only enables digitization and verification in less than 15 minutes but also let users or Individuals know ‘who, why, when and how are the credentials being utilized’ which helps the problem of identity and credential theft.”

Sharma, a second-time entrepreneur, launched TheRollNumber in December 2020, intending to build a platform for the highly unorganized background verification and credential-issuing market.

The platform provides employers and banks with BAAS (Backend as a Service) and SAAS (Software as a Service) services for credential verification and issuance. According to the statement, it also plans to help users who lack control over their certificates and have to carry all certifications and customizations, including students and employees.

Zuper Resorts launches The Cliff in Panchgani

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February 9, 2023

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Zuper Resorts has launched a new marvel in the region, Panchgani, which offers a refreshing experience for people looking to unwind and relax alongside nature while leaving the bustle of the city behind them. This peaceful environment, aptly called “The Cliff,” is surrounded by cliffs, valleys, waterfalls, and lush greenery that will prevent you from going back to your origins.

These are spacious IoT-featured facilities with 41 rooms and four divisions where technology has been utilized intelligently to help guests stay in the utmost comfort.

Akaal Singh Manchanda, founder and director of operations at Zuper Hotels & Resorts said, “In line with our vision to curate countryside experiences for our guests, we are delighted to introduce The Cliff resort at a peaceful and tranquil location such as Panchgani. Our group is committed to the finest hospitality in an exclusive set-up, and “The Cliff” is just the right extension of our promise. We look forward to welcoming our guests for a quick getaway, retreat, or a special occasion.”

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