Wyndham signs a new hotel in Jammu—a Ramada Plaza by Wyndham

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December 20, 2022

SS Innovators and Realtors Private Limited, a real estate and road development company based in Jammu, announced the signing of a franchise deal with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts for a new hotel development in Jammu (J&K) under the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham brand.

The hotel is located in Vijaypur along the strategically important Jammu-Pathankot National Highway NH1A and is scheduled to open in 2024. Once completed, the hotel will offer 85 keys, a variety of food and beverage options, and the city’s largest meeting and banqueting space.

“We are excited to franchise our upcoming hotel with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts under their popular Ramada Plaza brand and bring it to the city of Jammu. We are working closely with Wyndham to design and complete the hotel to high international standards and look forward to welcoming guests to experience this wonderful hotel,” said Satish Jamwal, director of SS Innovators and Realtors Private Limited.

“We are delighted to announce the signing of Ramada Plaza by Wyndham in Jammu. This will be our second hotel in the state of Jammu and Kashmir after our recently opened hotel in Katra. The signing reaffirms our commitment to continue to grow in Jammu and Kashmir bringing in the strengths of our brand portfolio for owners and guests. We look forward to our partnership with SS Innovators and Realtors Private Limited,” said Nikhil Sharma, regional director of Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

Paytm joins with HDFC ERGO to offer insurance cover to mobile transactions upto Rs 10,000

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December 19, 2022

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One97 Communications Limited (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, launched ‘Paytm Payment Protect’, a group of insurance plans in collaboration with HDFC ERGO General Insurance to insure transactions made through UPI across all apps and wallets.

Users can protect themselves from fraudulent mobile transactions up to 10,000 with this latest offering, which is available for just ₹30 per year. Higher cover options with an annual cap of Rs.1 lakh are among the future additions to the product.

Commenting on the launch of this unique policy, Bhavesh Gupta, CEO of Lending and Head of Payments at Paytm, said, “We are the pioneers of mobile and QR payments in India, with customer safety being our top priority. We are offering an insurance cover with convenient claims with a vision to safeguard users and fight cyber crimes. Our partnership with HDFC ERGO is aligned with our mission of spreading financial awareness and propelling safer digital payments adoption in the country.”

This product’s launch to the market aims to improve trusted digital payments even more and boost their adoption across the nation. HDFC ERGO will now use Paytm, a mobile payments pioneer with a trusted and extensive reach, to promote its cost-effective and comprehensive insurance plans.

Mr Parthanil Ghosh, President of Retail Business, HDFC ERGO General Insurance, said, “The use of mobile wallets and UPI has increased exponentially, especially after the pandemic. While it brings ease and convenience, it also makes one susceptible to cyber frauds. We are excited to partner with Paytm as this asserts our pledge to provide innovative solutions to mitigate cyber risks in today’s digital era. Our comprehensive insurance offering, coupled with Paytm’s digital access, will boost digital growth and ensure financial inclusion along with protection from cyber frauds across the country.”

Purbanchal Cement lines up Rs 200-Cr for expansion

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December 19, 2022

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Purbanchal Cement, based in Assam, has earmarked Rs 200 crore for expansion and acquisition over the coming years, including foraying into markets outside the northeastern area like West Bengal, a senior official said. The Maithon Group company currently operates a 0.5 million tonne capacity plant near Guwahati.

“We are evaluating between brownfield expansion and acquisition preferably with mine rights in the northern part of Assam,” Purbanchal Cement MD Vedant Agarwal said.

“We have earmarked Rs 200 crore over the next two-three years to fund our expansion. Initially, we are aiming at ramping up our installed capacity to 1 million tonnes,” he said.

The company is looking at potential beyond the northeast, according to Agarwal.

“There are plans to set up a grinding unit in West Bengal to tap the eastern market demand,” he said.

The West Bengal government has been wooing investment from the manufacturing sector by banking on huge coal deposits, according to officials.

Cement makers, however, have recently been adversely affected by high commodity prices and supply constraints.

“As a result of coal shortage, the industry is experiencing severe cost pressure, which has led to price volatility. However, things seem to be improving, albeit slowly,” Agarwal said.

Dharaniswar joins Grand Mercure Bengaluru at Gopalan Mall as talent & culture manager

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December 16, 2022

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Dharaniswar joined Grand Mercure Bengaluru at Gopalan Mall as a talent & culture manager with over 19 years of strong expertise in the hospitality human resource domain. He will lead the 212 key premium five-star hotel’s talent & culture division in his position. As the industry emerges from the pandemic, his main focus will be to recruit, retain, and expand talent.

After completing his bachelor’s degree in hotel management & administration from IHM Kolkata, Dharaniswar started his career in hospitality in 2003. After working for Novotel Imagica Khopoli and Novotel & ibis Bengaluru Outer Ring Road, he joined Accor in 2013 as the learning and development manager at Novotel Ahmedabad. In his previous role, he headed the talent and culture division at the 118-key Novotel Guwahati. Additionally, Dharaniswar has an IGNOU postgraduate diploma in human resource management.

“Dharaniswar is highly motivated individual and comes with a great understanding of both Accor values and the brand ethos. His experience will help in sustaining the warm culture at the Grand Mercure. We are excited to welcome him to the team”, said Sachin Maheshwary, general manager of the hotel, on his appointment.

Fashion tech startup Virgio bags USD 37 million

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December 16, 2022

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Fashion tech startup Virgio said it had raised USD 37 million (about Rs 306 crore) in a funding round led by Prosus Ventures, Accel and Alpha Wave. According to a statement from the company, the capital from the Series A funding round will be utilized for expanding the company’s technology and hiring.

The company is building a platform for fashion technology that will provide designers seamless access to consumer preferences. According to the statement, the vision includes a network of tech-driven factories allowing designers to construct prototypes swiftly, gather consumer feedback, and scale production.

“Traditionally, the fashion industry has operated on depth and discount models. Virgio is pioneering the test and scale method, making runway fashion accessible and affordable for all consumers, while eliminating excess inventory for manufacturers,” Virgio CEO and Founder Amar Nagaram said.

Instagram introduces new feature to help users restore access to accounts

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December 16, 2022

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Instagram has introduced a new “hacked” hub feature that can help with account access problems.

“To support accounts that are experiencing access issues or may have been hacked, we have created a new, comprehensive destination people can rely on to report and resolve account access issues,” the platform said in its blog.

Users can use the feature to solve a variety of account access problems. The new feature may be useful when an account has been hacked, and the user has lost access to two-factor authentication, forgotten their password, or had their account disabled.

The social media company has also launched a new function that allows two of your Instagram friends to confirm your identity so you can get back into your account if it has been disabled.

“We want to ensure people have multiple options to get their accounts back if they lose access,” the blog reads.

With this new feature, Instagram is also opening up access to a feature that can offer users various options to restore access to their account if they lose it.

Instagram has also said that it is testing strategies to help prevent Instagram hacking before it occurs.

“First, we remove accounts that our automated systems find to be malicious, including ones that impersonate others, which goes against our community guidelines. Second, because bad actors often don’t immediately use accounts maliciously, we’re now testing sending warnings if an account that we suspect may be impersonating someone requests to follow you,” the company said in the blog.

In the coming months, it will also issue warnings whenever an account sends a direct message (DM) that appears to be from a business.

Wipro signs digital transformation agreement with Finastra in Middle East

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December 16, 2022

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Wipro has signed a multi-year partnership with fintech firm Finastra for the digital transformation of corporate banks in the Middle East. The agreement will make Wipro the exclusive go-to-market and implementation partner for Finastra’s regional trade finance solutions.

According to a company statement, Wipro will help banks transform and digitize the complete financial process in addition to Finstra’s product portfolio.

Mohamad Hamza, Regional Head of Banking, Financial Services, & Insurance (BFSI) – Middle East, Wipro Limited, said, “Corporate banks are key players in the sector and are significantly transforming the way they operate to cope with the ever-evolving industry. Re-imagining digital services to improve client experiences and rationalizing platform and operations centres to drive efficiencies are key priorities for the sector. This exclusive partnership with Finastra will enable us to help clients transform into truly digital platform players.”

Manish Joshi, Managing Director, Lending, APMEA, Finastra, said, “As an already longstanding and important global partner, we are very pleased to extend our collaboration with Wipro to the Middle East. The broad portfolio of services and deep experience offered by Wipro are a superb compliment to Finastra’s cutting-edge solutions. Leveraging this combination, we look forward to fueling the digital transformation of even more banks and financial institutions in the region to help them and their customers reap the benefits of digitalization.”

Harpreet Arora, Global Head of Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) Domain & Solutions, Wipro Limited, said, “Expanding our exclusive partnership with Finastra for trade transformation to the Middle East enables us to continue driving the digital transformation agenda for corporate banks and financial services companies; hence solidifying our position in the market. Wipro will support Middle Eastern banks in implementing Finastra’s trade finance products, by bringing Wipro’s domain expertise and service delivery capability jointly with Finastra’s product strength.”

Wipro has several decades of strong presence and credibility in the Middle East, one of the six focus regions comprising Wipro’s Asia Pacific, Middle East, India, and Africa (APMEA) Strategic Market Unit. Wipro continues to develop its consulting skills while emphasizing innovation, talent, and ecosystem partnerships to provide experience-led transformation to foster sustainable company growth and provide greater value to customers in this region.

Mamaearth opens 35 exclusive brand outlets in less than 12 months

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December 15, 2022

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Beauty and personal care brand Mamaearth has opened 35 Exclusive Brand Outlets across 15 cities in India. The company, which debuted with Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) in Q32021, claimed that the format had shown consistent growth since its launch, both in scale and revenue.

According to a statement released by the company, the brand is expanding its offline footprint with EBOs across a mix of mall stores and high-street outlets in India. The brand has a revenue of Rs 1,000 crore, with digital contributing most of the revenue.

Commenting on the campaign, Varun Alagh, Co-founder and CEO, said, “Every brand needs to be selling at places where their consumers shop; that’s why we ventured into exclusive brand stores… our exclusive brand outlets are an extension of our omnichannel strategy. EBOs allow us to create a strong visual connection with the consumers and help us bring the brand promise and experience in the physical world.”

Mamaearth has also appointed Ankur Chaudhary to lead the Exclusive Brand Outlet channel. According to the company, he will be able to provide the necessary direction to continue to grow the EBO footprints because of his experience opening and managing more than 250 stores across brands.

Varun said EBO formats present a medium to engage with consumers beyond the products. “In fact, we are hyper customizing this channel, using data from our D2C to create a product assortment conducive to the market, city basis the consumer demands and consumption pattern.”

The brand is determined to use this channel to enhance consumer interaction in offline retail settings and to build deeper brand experiences for consumers. The outlets will help the development of strategic categories like colour cosmetics, which demand a more customized service and experience to facilitate purchase conversion, in addition to being great experience centres.

Bureau appoints Preekshit Gupta as Regional VP of APAC and MEA regions

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December 15, 2022

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Bureau, the leading full-stack identity decisioning platform for financial institutions and fintech companies, announced the appointment of Preekshit Gupta as Regional Vice President for APAC and MEA.

With his appointment, Bureau aims to bolster its presence in India and expand its market outreach overseas. Preekshit brings over 20 years of experience working in several organisations in the identity, fraud, and compliance domains. Before Bureau, Preekshit spearheaded Transunion CIBIL’s product development and go-to-market strategy for the fraud, identity, and digital onboarding verticals. At FIS, RSA Security, and Smokescreen Technologies, Preekshit has held regional leadership positions.

Speaking on his appointment, Bureau’s Founder and CEO Ranjan R Reddy said, “Preekshit’s deep industry experience, and impressive track record, will help Bureau solve the identity verification and fraud challenges that are surging in India and other emerging markets today. He shares a common vision to make cyberspace more secure and equitable by effectively enabling trusted online verifications and transactions.”

Preekshit Gupta, Regional Vice President of APAC & MEA region, said, “I’m honoured and excited to be a part of this ambitious team at Bureau. At a time when consumers and businesses are increasingly transacting in a digital environment, a reliable basis for online trust has never been in greater demand. With Bureau’s impressive business momentum and innovative solutions, we are well poised to accelerate digital transformation and deliver growth without fear of risk for our customers.”

Bureau offers enterprise-grade digital identity verification and fraud protection solutions to digital and regulated institutions. For online businesses, Bureau’s no-code identity decisioning platform enables seamless customer onboarding and fraud-free customer interactions. Bureau was incorporated in 2020 and has offices in Singapore and San Francisco, California. The comprehensive identity and fraud decisioning solutions from the Bureau have earned the trust of more than 100 digital businesses.

Fintech startup Zype raises Rs 146-Cr from Xponentia Capital

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December 14, 2022

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Zype, a fintech startup mentored by industry veteran Vivek Vig, has raised funding from Mumbai-based private equity fund Xponentia Capital.

Zype aims to make credit more accessible to millennials and assist them in creating long-lasting financial habits. Yogi Sadana, the founder and CEO of the startup, is the team leader. He has held several executive positions with Indian and multinational organizations in the past.

Zype stated in a statement that it plans to use the funds to develop its technological infrastructure, expand its team, and customer acquisition.

“I am sold on Zype’s vision and Yogi’s leadership. I believe in the team’s ability to build an iconic company and capture the opportunity that the next decade has to offer,” stated Vivek Vig, mentor and board member.

Speaking on the fundraise, Yogi Sadana said, “We are in the process of building Zype, a customer-first platform where we intend to offer credit products and interactive money management tools. Our passionate young team has been dedicatedly working on the technology platform. We are glad to have the backing of Devinjit Singh and PR Srinivasan of Xponentia Capital, and Vivek Vig, who has a long record of creating value in financial services.”

“We truly look forward to working with Vivek, Yogi, and the team of Zype to create inroads in the fintech ecosystem of India. The future of fintech in India looks robust, and with the Zype management team’s experience in technology, risk management, finance, and payments, we are confident that Zype will play a key role in the fintech industry,” added PR Srinivasan, Managing Partner, Xponentia Capital.

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