Amazon introduces Smart Commerce, aims to transform local stores into digital dukaans

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May 18, 2022

Amazon India announced the launch of Smart Commerce, a new initiative to transform local stores into digital dukaans, during its annual summit Amazon Smbhav, and to accelerate its goal to digitize one crore small enterprises by 2025. Amazon.in is already used by over 1.5 lakh local retailers to sell online.

Stores may now use Smart Commerce to digitize their offline operations, improve in-store shopping experiences for walk-in customers, and develop their online storefronts to service customers directly.

Stores of any size can now take advantage of Amazon’s best shopping innovations, logistics, digital payments, and more to provide a reliable and trustworthy experience to their customers regardless of where they are: in their physical store, directly through their online storefront, or on Amazon.in.

Smart Commerce will also introduce its first set of solutions to assist local businesses in digitizing billing and inventory management and providing customers with a better in-store experience. Following that, capabilities will be released to allow them to construct their online storefront in minutes and service their consumers using a simple voice and chat-based shopping experience.

In a statement, Amit Agarwal, SVP, India and Emerging Markets, Amazon, said, “We are humbled by how neighborhood stores from across India are taking advantage of our Local Shops on Amazon program to go online and grow their business, with over 1.5 lakh stores already selling on Amazon India within two years of launch. Today, we are excited to launch Smart Commerce that will enable any store to truly become a digital dukaan, and serve customers with the best of Amazon no matter where they are – in their physical store, directly through their own online storefront, or on Amazon.in. We are just getting started and remain committed to our pledge to digitize one crore small businesses by 2025.”

Amazon pledged to digitize 10 million MSMEs, generate $10 billion in cumulative exports from India, and create 2 million jobs in India by 2025 at the inaugural Smbhav Summit in January 2020. The Company is on track to meet these commitments and, in certain cases, exceed them. Amazon increased their export goal from $10 billion to $20 billion in the same time frame.

“Over the last two years, we have invested significantly towards the pledges we announced at the inaugural Smbhav Summit in 2020. We are humbled to share that we have already digitized over 4 million small businesses and local stores, are on track to enable $5 billion in cumulative exports and have created over 1.16 million direct and indirect jobs in India including 135K new jobs added in the last one year,” said Manish Tiwary, Country Manager, India Consumer Business, Amazon India, in a statement.

Bhumika group raises ₹100-cr, planning to raise more for Udaipur mall

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May 18, 2022

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Bhumika Group, a real estate developer, based in NCR, has raised close to Rs 100 crore through debt and two Lease Rental Discounting (LRD) transactions, according to Uddhav Poddar, MD of Bhumika Group.

To fund the construction of phase 2 of its 3.5 lakh sq. ft. retail space in Udaipur mall, the company is in talks to raise another Rs 200 crore in debt. The majority of the first phase has already been leased.

The tenants have begun fitting out the mall, which will be the largest in Udaipur in August 2022.

“Keeping in mind the demand for more space, we have advanced the construction of phase 2, which will be of a similar size. In addition to the retail area, there will be a hotel and office tower as well,” Poddar said.

“In the next phase of our mall in Udaipur, we will invest another Rs 400 crore at the group level. We also have a logistic business and the funding will be used to expand that business,” Poddar added.

The group is in talks with the landowner to develop villas and low-rise buildings in Udaipur and Alwar under a joint development agreement.

In Udaipur and Alwar, the residential townships will cover 15-20 acres.

“We are also planning a retail project in Jaipur. Post pandemic, tier 2 cities have emerged as the main destination for retail stores. Many luxury brands are also willing to open stores in these cities,” said Poddar.

“The mall’s utility is demonstrated by the regular attention displayed by prominent brands in it. We’ve always talked about positioning, and this mall will help brands achieve their goals. The goal is to provide the greatest lifestyle for the city’s residents, while also catering to the international tastes of visitors,” Poddar said.

Bhumika Group also has expansion plans in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Ajmer, and Delhi NCR.

Edtech startup SpeEdLabs bags ₹14.31-cr from Mumbai Angels, others

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May 17, 2022

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In a pre-series fundraising round, Mumbai Angels, LetsVenture, Ecosystem Ventures, and SucSeed Ventures invested $14.31 crore in AI-based EdTech platform SpeEdLabs. The funds will be utilized to expand the company’s presence and enhance its infrastructure.

SpeEdLabs has grown 10 times in product revenue in just 8 months and now has over 3000 clients. By June 2022, the startup is on track to generate INR 1.5 crore each month. SpeEdLabs receives over 2 million questions per month from its Question suggestion engine, resulting in more than 10 million analytical data points per month.

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Founder and CEO of Mumbai Angels, said, “The advent of AI enabled Platform-as-a-Services solutions have been revolutionizing the hitherto unorganized after school tuition market. There is a tremendous demand for the non-generic mode of learning given the one size fits all education system prevalent in India today. We are confident that the unique tech driven learning solutions will continue to enrich students’ learnings and fuel future demand for personalized coaching.”

“As the world gradually moves toward a hybrid model of education, it’s high time children/students receive education personalized as per their requirements. Pure Online Tutoring was a forced choice during Covid lockdown, but now the Offline classroom model using technology will be the successful hybrid model. SpeEdLabs platform uses data-driven hyper personalization, dynamic adaptive learning, algo driven automated content management and analytical data visualization to help students achieve their potential as we bring the best of both worlds. We are also delighted to have marquee investors supporting our journey. Currently present in 200+ cities, enabling 100,000+ students and empowering over 5000 teachers, SpeEdLabs will soon be expanding their presence to 800 cities across 23 states in the country,” said Vivek Varshney, Founder of SpeEdLabs.

Smartr Logistics refreshes its brand identity

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May 17, 2022

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The official website and company logo for Smartr Logistics has been launched. The logo expresses the company’s goal of being a “one-stop solution for all logistical concerns,” and also raises the company’s corporate identity.

The company’s objective to emerge as a tech-enabled multi-modal logistics network is reflected in the logo, which echoes the brand name ‘Smartr Logistics.’

In the process, the visual brand identity symbolises the link and outlines the chain of trust and trustworthiness. According to a press statement, it’s a play on the phrase “direct connections, minimal diversions,” emphasising the brand’s direct connectedness with technology.

Smartr has unveiled a new website that reflects its innovative products, unique solutions, the business culture, etc.

Yogesh Dhingra, managing director, founder and chief executive officer of Smartr Logistics, said, “We started Smartr Logistics with an aim to become a top-notch logistical service provider while following fair and transparent trade practices. Our logo signifies our passion and promise to deliver quality services at competitive prices. Our brand is new-age, innovative and solution-oriented and we aspire to reach a larger segment of potential customers and expand our operations nationwide and globally.”

IDBI Bank enters into new loan segments to control slippages

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May 17, 2022

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LIC-backed IDBI Bank is diversifying into new segments such as equipment finance for healthcare professionals, warehousing loans, and trade-bill discounting for AAA-rated corporates, as rising input costs and disproportionate increases in lending rates raise concerns about worsening credit quality in the MSME book.

“On the MSME front, we are looking at risk-mitigated products to help control slippages,” Suresh Khatanhar, DMD, IDBI Bank, said. “We have developed products for doctors, and equipment finance where delinquency levels are relatively low. We are also focused on warehousing loans where we are backed by the pledge of goods. Discounting of bills / TreDs is another strong segment where we have only top-rated customers. We have also built specific products for traders and manufacturers, so these kinds of businesses will be the focus going forward as we build a more granular portfolio.”

The bank already has a bill discounting book of Rs 900 crore. For the current fiscal year, it plans to boost overall credit by 10% to 12%. An increase in areas like steel, infrastructure, and auto, according to Khatanhar, will help ancillary MSMEs in these sectors.

MSME advances accounted for 14% of the entire loan book, which was at approximately Rs 1.45 lakh crore at the end of March 2022.

The bank also intends to expand its co-lending portfolio aggressively. UGro Capital, Adani Capital, and Electronica are among the four NBFCs it has onboarded for co-lending to MSMEs.

“The positive side is we can cherrypick good assets. We are working with our IT department to build straight-through processing so that we can process all these transactions seamlessly,” Khatanhar said. “I see good traction for this segment and we are looking to build a book of Rs 300 crore by the end of the fiscal. If things go as planned we will consider tying up with gold loan and housing finance NBFCs.”

The co-lending concept seeks to provide the best interest rate and reach the borrower. MSMEs benefit from such collaborations since they can get customized solutions faster.

Whiteland Corporation plans to invest ₹3,500-cr for expansion

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May 16, 2022

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Whiteland Corporation, a real estate development company, has acquired additional commercial land in Gurgaon for expansion and is consolidating its land bank to cover over 80-100 acres for over Rs 3,500 crore, according to a top company executive.

“We are gearing up to launch a major integrated residential project of almost Rs 3,500-4000 crore around Diwali this year. We are in talks with global names in the architectural and designing space for creating landmark destinations,” Navdeep Sardana, founder and chairman of the Gurugram-based Whiteland Corporation said.

Sardana said the company expects a five-year turnover of Rs 7,500-8,000 crore.

According to various industry sources, the Indian real estate market, which had a severe drop during the pandemic, is currently reviving in tandem with economic activity. According to a recent analysis by valuation and consulting firm RBSA Advisors, India’s real estate market is predicted to increase by 15% from $60 billion in 2010 to $1,000 billion by 2030, contributing 13% of the country’s GDP.

According to the report, residential prices will begin to rise again as the economy recovers, and affordable housing initiatives will also help the industry grow.

“The organised retail real estate sector is expected to increase by 28% to 82 million square feet by 2023,” the report added.

According to their website, Whiteland Corporation has interests in the commercial, residential, and retail sectors, as well as a customer base of over 25,000 people. The Rs 300-crore SCO, as well as commercial and residential buildings, are among its current projects.

Consumer demand, infrastructural development, and more job creation, according to Knight Frank India, might help real estate companies improve profitability this fiscal year.

According to industry sources, the Delhi-NCR region is one of the fastest expanding real estate markets in the country, with commercial buildings, cheap and high-end residential projects, and high-net-worth investors.

Capgemini to buy Chappuis Halder to extend consulting expertise in financial services

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May 16, 2022

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Capgemini, a technology services company, announced that it had acquired global strategy and management consulting firm Chappuis Halder & Cie (Chappuis Halder) for an undisclosed sum.

Chappuis Halder is a nearly 150 consulting firm headquartered in Luxembourg, Europe, with main operations in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. It is renowned for its financial industry expertise.

The acquisition of Chappuis Halder will help Capgemini strengthen its capacity to advise banking, wealth management, and insurance clients in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, according to the company.

“Chappuis Halder’s addition will contribute further to our in-depth expertise of Financial Services, a key condition to be able to advise and help our clients in the industry with their business transformation,” said Anirban Bose, CEO of Capgemini’s Financial Services Strategic Business Unit.

The transaction is likely to close in the next few months.

Capgemini’s in-demand expert consulting services in environment, social and governance (ESG) and climate risk strategy will also benefit from the acquisition.

“We are looking forward to being part of the Capgemini Group and to bringing our capabilities in helping clients in the financial services sector,” said Stephane Eyraud, CEO and Founder of Chappuis Halder.

Capgemini is a global company with over 340,000 employees in more than 50 countries. In 2021, the company recorded global revenues of 18 billion euros.

Adani to buy Holcim India assets for $10.5 billion

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May 16, 2022

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Gautam Adani’s group announced that it had reached an agreement to buy a majority stake in Holcim Ltd’s Indian businesses for USD 10.5 billion, marking the ports-to-energy conglomerate’s foray into the cement industry.

Ambuja Cements Ltd, as well as related assets, will be acquired by the Adani Group for 63.1 per cent. ACC Ltd, one of Ambuja’s local subsidiaries, is also publicly traded.

“The Adani Family, through an offshore special purpose vehicle, announced that it had entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd’s entire stake in two of India’s leading cement companies – Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd,” the group said in a statement.

Holcim holds 63.19 per cent of Ambuja Cements and 54.53 per cent of ACC through its subsidiaries (of which 50.05 per cent is held through Ambuja Cements).

“The value for the Holcim stake and open offer consideration for Ambuja Cements and ACC is USD 10.5 billion, which makes this the largest-ever acquisition by Adani, and India’s largest-ever M&A transaction in the infrastructure and materials space,” the statement said.

Jan Jenisch, CEO of Holcim Limited said, “…I would like to thank our 10,000 Indian colleagues who have played an essential role in the development of our business over the years with their relentless dedication and expertise. I am confident that the Adani Group is the perfect home for them as well as our customers to continue to thrive.”

With India’s cement consumption at only 242 kg per capita, compared to a global average of 525 kg per capita, the cement business in India has a lot more potential. ACC and Ambuja Cements have a combined installed production capacity of roughly 70 million tonnes per year. With 23 cement facilities, 14 grinding stations, 80 ready-mix concrete plants, and over 50,000 channel partners spread across India, the two enterprises are among India’s most powerful brands.

Poonawalla Fincorp returns to profit

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May 14, 2022

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Poonawalla Fincorp, previously Magma Fincorp, a city-based NBFC, claimed a return to profitability in the fourth quarter of FY22, as well as for the entire fiscal year.

Abhay Bhutada, managing director of PFL, said the company plans to raise roughly Rs 1,000 crore through a preferential issue for its subsidiary Poonawalla Housing Finance.

At the end of March 2022, Poonawalla Fincorp’s total assets under management had grown by roughly 16% yearly to around Rs 16,579 crore.

According to a filing with the BSE, the company’s board suggested a 20% dividend payout for FY22, subject to shareholder approval. PFL, formerly known as Magma Fincorp Ltd, closed 5.9% lower at Rs 216.5 a share.

Swiggy plans to acquire Times Internet-owned Dineout

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May 13, 2022

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Swiggy, a food aggregator, announced that it had reached an agreement to buy Times Internet-owned table booking platform Dineout.

According to Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety, the acquisition will help the company to investigate synergies and create new experiences in a high-use category. It did not reveal the transaction’s financial details.

“Dineout is a well-loved brand that enjoys loyalty from both consumers and restaurants. Times Internet and the founding team should be credited for the transformational impact they have brought about in the dining out experience through their products, technology and vast selection of restaurant partners,” added Majety.

Dineout will continue to operate as an independent app following the acquisition, and its founders Ankit Mehrotra, Nikhil Bakshi, Sahil Jain, and Vivek Kapoor will join Swiggy, according to the release.

“At Dineout, we always wanted to revolutionize the restaurant industry and this acquisition is an accelerating step towards the same goal,” Ankit Mehrotra, co-founder & CEO of Dineout.

Dineout was founded in 2012 and was acquired by Times Internet in 2014 for an estimated ₹60 crore through its TimesCity platform. Dineout presently has over 50,000 restaurant partners spread over 20 cities.

“We are proud of the positive impact that Dineout has created for consumers and restaurants, helping streamline and improve the eating out experience. Swiggy+Dineout is a powerful combination,” said Satyan Gajwani, vice chairman of Times Internet.

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