IT/ITes to hire over 1 million by end-2023, says industry body

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May 13, 2022

According to the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), which represents more than 100 recruitment and flexi staffing companies, the domestic IT and ITes industry is expected to hire 800,000 to one million individuals by the end of 2023.

The tech hiring frenzy will continue, and attrition will take at least a year to lessen as the urge to poach from competitors eases.

“The sector is adding 400,000-500,000 a year and we do not see demand easing soon,” said ISF president Lohit Bhatia.

Approximately 4.5 million people work in the IT industry. No tech firms are expected to amend their non-compete agreements, according to the industry association, which sees a substantial section of the workforce with 0-8 years of experience.

“I don’t think any organization would completely open the no-compete clause and allow people to walk away with data and customer information,” Bhatia said.

The ISF’s remarks follow an appeal by a Pune-based labour union to the Union Labour Ministry, requesting that Infosys remove its non-compete clause. Employees cannot work for a competitor on identical projects, clients, or regions, according to the clause, which is customary in the sector.

The spotlight on these clauses comes at a time when the tech industry is experiencing unprecedented levels of attrition. In the March quarter, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and HCL Technologies had record high attrition rates. During the quarter, Infosys experienced a 27.7% attrition rate, while TCS experienced a 17.4% attrition rate. Wipro had a 23.8 per cent attrition rate, whereas HCL had a 21.9 per cent attrition rate.

However, ISF’s Bhatia said that the attrition numbers will come down in a year. “Attrition is hovering around 25%. It will ease in a year once tech firms with their hybrid policies hire from smaller towns. This will ease pressure to recruit from rivals in cities,” he said.

BharatX receives $4.5mn in a seed round from YC, others

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May 12, 2022

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BharatX, a consumer credit venture, has raised $4.5 million from Y Combinator, 8i Ventures, Multiply Ventures, Soma Capital, and other investors in a seed round. The round included existing investor Java Capital.

According to a press release, the funds raised will be used to develop and extend the team, improve and develop the product further, and expand the market.

Arash Ferdowsi, Harshil Mathur, Shashank Kumar, Varun Alagh, Kunal Shah, Ankur Aggarwal, and Vikas Choudhury were among the marquee angels who took part in the round.

BharatX offers embedded credit by working with brands and websites to integrate a credit feature within their apps. It uses its APIs and SDK to run white-labeled Buy Now Pay Later and other financial products on over 50 consumer-facing platforms.

BharatX has worked with over 50 brands in India since its debut in 2019 and claims to have grown in volume by more than 10X in the last four months.

Mehul Jindal, Co-Founder and CEO of BharatX, says, “Our B2B2C business model enables us to not only win trust of users via the brand power of players we work with, but also enable us to reach to millions of users at Scale with almost Zero Cost.. And with this new round of support from our investors, we’re looking to scale up faster and more aggressively in the near future.”

CGH Earth to look at establishing circuit in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to recreate the Kerala model

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May 12, 2022

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CGH Earth’s managing director, Michael Dominic, believes that the company’s success in Kerala stems from their presence in key tourist destinations throughout the state, which enabled them to provide significant itineraries of connected hotels to their international customers visiting Kerala.

As a result, their top objective and agenda is to find properties in states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where they now have a moderate presence, so that they may establish similar itineraries around a circuit there.

“Having isolated properties in a few places would not help. We have to connect them through connected itineraries,” he said.

Dominic stated that they would consider buying buildings or collaborating with owners through various revenue sharing or lease business models to fill in the gaps in states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. CGH Earth has two properties in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, as well as one in Karnataka.

“It is easy to cater to international customers if you have itineraries connecting a circuit,” he said.

He added that, in order to focus on growth and expansion, the hotel company recently separated its portfolio into two independent divisions: Wellness Hotels and Leisure Hotels. While Ayurveda and Wellness tourism will gain popularity in Kerala in the future years, Dominic stated that CGH will remain a player in the high-end Wellness category rather than diluting their offerings.

Stashfin launches a credit line card for women

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May 11, 2022

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Stashfin, a neobanking platform, has launched LiveBoundless, a credit line card designed just for women. The platform introduces the LiveBoundless card, which promises to provide women greater financial freedom after launching new value propositions on its Credit Line Card.

Stashfin’s LiveBoundless card, one of India’s neo-banking leaders, offers specialised cashback incentives, welcome credits, Free ATM Withdrawals, and deals. A variety of other value-added services are available, including 1% cashback on all purchases, bonuses worth Rs 5,000 in the first year, and a free credit period for certain clients. The card is a virtual and physical medium for purchasing, travel, and dining, differentiating it from existing market competitors.

Credit card usage in India has increased considerably in recent years. According to Statista, the Indian credit card market volume was 37.5 million in FY2018 and is expected to reach 57.7 million by FY2020. A similar upward trend was seen in FY 2021 when the number of people hit 62 million.

Shruti Aggarwal, Co-Founder, Stashfin, said, “We are delighted to announce our new offering #LiveBoundless Card specially designed for women. At Stashfin, we’ve dedicatedly worked towards the financial awareness and independence of our customers – who are the backbone of our company. What separates Stashfin’s latest card from other credit line cards is that it offers greater flexibility to customers, enhanced rewards programme, and the fact that it positions itself as a card that supports women’s financial inclusion.”

“Women have always been at the forefront when it comes to managing finances. Owning a credit line card will not only aid their financial inclusion but will also allow them to make greater financial decisions with convenience and flexibility. Even the name #LiveBoundless is to tell the women that we need to live our lives with zero bounds and absolute freedom. We are extremely proud that with this card, we’ll be able to empower the lives of many women,” Shruti added.

Delhivery bags ₹2,347-cr from 64 anchor investors ahead of IPO

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May 11, 2022

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Delhivery, a logistics and supply chain startup, has collected Rs 2,347 crore from 64 anchor investors ahead of its IPO, which will open for subscription on Wednesday, May 11.

According to investment bankers, anchor investors received over 48 million shares at Rs 487 each, which was the upper end of the price band for the IPO.

According to banking sources, Tiger Global, Bay Capital, Steadview, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, Schroders, Amansa, Aberdeen Standard Life, GIC, Government Pension Fund Global, and Invesco HK were among the international investors who participated in the anchor share allotment.

Seven domestic mutual funds, including HDFC, SBI, ICICI Prudential, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, Nippon, and Mirae, received approximately 14.59 million shares.

The subscription period for Delhivery’s Rs 5,235 crore public issue will end on Friday, May 13. The offer’s price range has been set at Rs 462 to Rs 487 per share. Bids for a minimum of 30 shares and multiples of 30 shares after that are accepted.

The offer includes a fresh issue of shares worth up to Rs 4,000 crore and an offer for sale by some existing business shareholders worth up to Rs 1,235 crore.

Some domestic brokerages have advised investors to subscribe to the Delhivery IPO.

“We believe Delhivery’s asset light business model and its cutting‐edge engineering and automation capabilities and its new age technologies will help the company leverage its operating efficiencies and improve profitability in the coming years,” Yes Securities said in a note.

Delhivery would invest Rs 2,000 crore in organic growth efforts from the proceeds of the offering, including scaling up existing business lines, establishing new adjacent business lines, extending network infrastructure, and upgrading and refining our proprietary logistics operating system. It will also spend Rs 1,000 crore on acquisitions and other strategic initiatives to fund inorganic growth possibilities.

CASHe enters into wealthtech space with Sqrrl acquisition

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May 10, 2022

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CASHe, an AI-driven credit-led wellness platform, made its debut in wealth management with the all-cash acquisition of Sqrrl, a Gurgaon-based wealthtech platform.

The acquisition comes after CASHe’s Singapore-based holding company, TSLC Pte Ltd, raised Rs. 140 crores in equity capital. The transaction will be financed primarily with excess capital, demonstrating the company’s excellent financial condition.

According to the firm, CASHe has continually developed new product offerings in response to increased consumer needs over the past year and has entered the lucrative millennial and GenZ-focused WealthTech space.

“The strategic buy-out broadens CASHe’s millennial-focused credit-led product and services suite to now cover their investment and wealth management needs as well. The acquisition further accelerates the company’s strategic vision 3.0 of building a full-stack wellness platform for this cohort of the population. Over 20 million users of CASHe can now access a digitally enabled, mobile-first, byte-sized investing platform that will help them kick-start their investment journey with as little as ₹100,” the company said.

V. Raman Kumar, founder chairman, CASHe, said, “The acquisition of Sqrrl is an important milestone for CASHe’s vision 3.0 roadmap as it sets the stage for the next phase of our growth through our foray into the WealthTech space. By integrating CASHe’s millennial-focused credit-led services with the digital-first wealth and investment management offerings of Sqrrl, we aim to seamlessly fulfill the diverse credit and investment needs of the new-age Indian by offering multi-product access and next-gen financial wellness solutions. With CASHe’s product offerings accessible to over 20 million users in the country and growing rapidly, this acquisition will aid in extending our reach to the next billion young Indians by offering them an all-new byte-sized investing ecosystem covering a much larger geographical footprint.”

Samant Sikka, the co-founder of Sqrrl, said, “This move will help the business scale up further by offering Sqrrl’s investment products to CASHe’s massive customer base with just a few clicks. We will continue to focus on our strategy centred around stable and sustainable growth in the wealth management business with the largest footprint of customers and thereby creating a true one-of-a-kind company.”

With over 20 million users and one million new users every month, CASHe is one of India’s fastest-growing credit-based wellness platforms. The strategic purchase would effectively harness the combined synergies of both platforms to establish a completely embedded industry-first lendtech, investtech, and insuretech platform for digitally native Indians. The co-founders of Sqrrl will continue to lead CASHe’s wealth management business following the acquisition.

Salesforce sees India as a ‘huge white space’ for growth

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May 10, 2022

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Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company, sees India as a “huge white space” with plenty of room for expansion, and the company has been ramping up its employee count to capitalize on the opportunity, according to Arun Parameswaran, SVP and Managing Director – Sales & Distribution, Salesforce India.

He stated that the company is committed to India’s growth story, stating that the company has grown from 2500 employees in 2020 to over 6500 now. “And I don’t think you’re going to see the pace of hiring slowing for any of the functions in Salesforce India,” he said.

Parameswaran also mentioned how India is responsible for much of Salesforce’s net zero cloud innovation. According to him, the net zero cloud assists customers in tracking their carbon emissions, taking decisive action on climate change, and providing insights into what they need to do to become a net zero company.

“A significant chunk of innovation for the net zero cloud has actually come out of India,” he said. “In fact, a very significant chunk of our employee base is actually involved in delivering cutting edge and next generation innovation for the company. This is just one example. Very large teams are focused on delivering industry clouds out of India.”

According to the company’s Global Digital Skills Index report, India ranks first in being digitally aware and prepared. However, he added that while India topped the rankings and the report is a promising indicator of the country’s capabilities, and the skill gap remains substantial.

“If we don’t fix the skill gap, it’s going to have an impact on the GDP,” he said. “We (India) are the digital transformation factory for the rest of the world, but skills are the biggest challenge. The second biggest challenge is the customer’s digital maturity, in terms of understanding what it will take to make a transformation. It requires a mindset and culture change.”

According to Parameswaran, the company is making numerous efforts to bridge the skill gap. Salesforce’s startup programme, he added, helps companies build on the platform and scale it globally. In addition, the AppExchange programme enables anyone to build apps on the Salesforce platform and then sell those applications in a global marketplace. “Through AppExchange and the startup programme, we’re taking a lot of these Indian companies into that global sphere, which earlier they would not have easy access to,” he said.

From a company standpoint, he stated that Salesforce reached a key milestone of $6 billion in cash flow last year and that the aim for the fiscal year 2026 is to reach $50 billion.

“We will continue to grow at 20% year on year globally,” Parameswaran said. “That is a secular growth story that doesn’t exist anywhere in this space. Most of our so-called competition is growing at single digits, we’re saying that we’re committed to this 20% profitable growth. We’re not just growing the top line, but also growing the bottom line in a very profitable way.”

OYO buys Europe-based Direct Booker

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May 9, 2022

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According to an OYO release, the firm continued to expand as a preferred full-stack vacation homes provider by acquiring Direct Booker, a Europe-based company with over 3200 homes, 2 million customers, and a transaction value of approximately USD 5.5 million.

Direct Booker, founded in 2010 by Nikola Grubelic and Nino Dubretic, is a market-leading player in the vacation home management category in Dubrovnik, Croatia’s most popular tourist destination.

In Europe, OYO already owns and operates Belvilla (Belvilla by OYO), DanCenter, and Traum Ferienwohnungen. The acquisition of Direct Booker will help OYO expand its presence in Europe, particularly in Croatia, where it currently has almost 1800 holiday homes on its Belvilla platform and over 7000 homes on its Traum Ferienwohnungen platform, according to the press release.

OYO had recently stated its intention to actively seek ‘tuck-in’ acquisitions as a strategic growth lever, particularly in the European market. OYO already has a significant presence in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, and Austria.

Explaining the rationale behind the acquisition, Ankit Tandon, global chief business officer, OYO, who led this acquisition, said, “Homes continue to be an important strategic segment for OYO. With our leading Operating System, Dynamic Pricing capability and other data science enabled features, we have been able to add value to our over 140,000 home storefronts globally and I am excited to welcome Nino, Nikola and the team at Direct Booker under the OYO umbrella. I am sure OYO’s cutting edge technology, distribution systems and data sciences will add more value to their current 3,200 homes and enhance our collective growth in Europe. We continue to focus on going deep in Europe and delivering the best vacation home experiences to our customers.”

Expressing his enthusiasm for being a part of OYO, Nino Dubretic, CEO & co-founder of Direct Booker, commented, “We are happy to join forces with a global travel tech company like OYO. We strongly believe that by merging our technologies and expertise, this partnership will positively impact the Croatian tourism economy, further driving demand through OYO’s existing platforms spread across Europe. Being a part of OYO’s network will also increase visibility for the homes listed on our platform, especially across Scandinavian, Benelux and surrounding countries. The next couple of months will be truly exciting as we work towards building our business together.”

HDFC Bank introduces quick car financing option ‘Xpress Car Loan’

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May 9, 2022

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Customers and non-customers can now apply for car loans through HDFC Bank’s ‘Xpress Car Loans’. In addition, the bank has formed partnerships with automobile dealers across the country.

The facility, which takes 30 minutes to complete, is presently available for four-wheeler loans and will be accessible for two-wheeler loans soon. The loan amount will be credited to the dealers’ account in less than half an hour.

“Now we are stepping up by launching end-to-end digital car loan solution for existing as well as new customers. It will be available across all our branches, dealerships and eventually on third-party aggregator platforms.” said Mr. Arvind Kapil – Country Head, Retail Assets, HDFC Bank.

The bank anticipates that 20-30% of its customer base will use this facility for loans up to Rs 20 lakh.

Third Wave Coffee is in talks with Westbridge to raise new capital

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May 9, 2022

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Third Wave Coffee, a Bengaluru-based coffee chain popular among the city’s startup community, is in advanced talks to raise $20-25 million in institutional capital led by WestBridge Capital, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Some of the round’s early individual investors will exit through a secondary share sale. According to those familiar with the situation, the business will be valued at $80-100 million if the purchase is finalized.

“WestBridge is leading the round which will include secondaries as Third Wave had raised capital initially through smaller cheques from many individuals and several of them are being given exits,” a person aware of the matter said. The quick service restaurant (QSR)-format coffee chain firm had raised $6 million in December 2021.

According to the people mentioned above, in addition to WestBridge Capital, existing backer Sujeet Kumar, cofounder of Udaan, is investing more in this round.

Sushant Goel, Ayush Bathwal, and Anirudh Sharma founded Third Wave in 2017, which now has roughly 40-50 locations across India’s top five cities, including Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. According to sources, the company’s monthly income is around Rs 7-8 crore. Under the same brand, it also sells a variety of coffee powders.

The new capital will be used to accelerate post-pandemic expansion in Mumbai, Delhi, and other cities.

“They are expanding in Mumbai significantly now after having entered the Delhi-NCR market. Pune is another market for them in the western part of the country,” a source said.

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