Awfis receives additional Rs 15-Cr in a Series E round

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December 6, 2022

Coworking solution provider Awfis Space Solutions has raised Rs 15 crore in a Series E1 round sponsored by existing investor Bisque Limited. The Delhi-based company’s ongoing Series E round has now raised Rs 80 crore.

A special resolution to issue 10,39,706 Series E1 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) at Rs 144.27 per share was approved by the board at Awfis to raise Rs 15 crore, or $1.83 million.

It operates a coworking network across 17 cities with 150 centres and 88,000 seats. By the end of 2022, it plans to have 200 centres operating across India.

Awfis’ operations have recently expanded to Kochi, and a centre with a 38,000 sq ft area is now open there on Chittoor Road’s Mezhukkattil Matrix.

Awfis plans to develop a strong network in Tier II cities in the upcoming months in line with its expansion plans in emerging metros.

According to the firm’s founder and CEO, Amit Ramani, the need for flexible workspace has increased with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the company is targeting to double its revenue to Rs 600 crore in FY23.

He added that the company has already raised about Rs 450 crore from investors and plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) towards the end of 2023, primarily to raise funds and give exits to investors.

Venture Catalysts leads a $1.5mn funding round in OneGreen

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December 5, 2022

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OneGreen, an ecommerce market for ethical, ecological, and environmentally friendly goods, raised $1.5 million in pre-Series A fundraising, according to Venture Catalysts, an early-stage investment platform for entrepreneurs.

OneGreen will use the funds received to fund its upcoming expansion phase and increase the accessibility and availability of conscious goods across various categories, including groceries, breakfast essentials, beverages, and snacks.

Speaking on securing the funding round, Neha Gahlaut, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, OneGreen, said, “Green-living has already become the next big opportunity and focal point of business operations globally. As a brand that has pioneered the concept of an exclusive platform for green-only, conscious and sustainable products, OneGreen is now set to enter the next phase of growth with this funding round. Through our customer-centric approach, we aim to become the enabler of a mass movement toward sustainable living in the times to come. The funding will also help us widen our market reach and coverage and provide a platform to brands that are focused on leaving a better planet for our future generations.”

Family offices (such as Sandhar Technology) and renowned investors, such as Varun Duggirala (Founder Glitch), Sunil Kamath (CBO, Koo), Shoumyan Biswas (ex-CMO of Flipkart and CMO of Tata Digital), Varun Laul (Board, XpressBees), as well as strategic investors from BYJU’s and other unicorns, participated in the investment.

On leading the pre-series funding round, Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Founder of Venture Catalysts, said, “Enabling businesses that are driven by the pursuit to make a difference in the lives of people is the need of the hour. OneGreen presents an opportunity to create a holistic impact on India with unique offerings that are eco-friendly, conscious, and cater to the cause of creating a future that is cooperative, sustainable, and accountable. We look forward to leveraging our resources and expertise to grow OneGreen into one of the largest e-commerce platforms for verified health & wellness products.”

GO FIRST & EaseMyTrip sign an exclusive GSA for passenger ticket sales in Saudi Arabia

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December 5, 2022

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GO FIRST, erstwhile GoAir has announced that, beginning of this month, it will begin selling, promoting, and marketing passenger tickets as well as other services to passengers in Saudi Arabia through an exclusive General Sales Agreement with online travel agency EaseMyTrip.

EaseMyTrip will expand the operations of GO FIRST by opening an independent branded office and representing the airlines in Dammam & Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and other locations to serve the larger travel markets. This will help to build a successful business relationship and a stronghold within one of the largest travel markets in Western Asia.

The three-year exclusive partnership agreement offers both businesses the chance to expand and strengthen their service offerings in Saudi Arabia. EaseMyTrip will help GO FIRST offer suitable programmes for Saudi tourists and residents, boosting their experience due to its extensive reach, thorough marketing interventions, and knowledge of the locals. Additionally, this affiliation would require all travel agencies buying GO FIRST tickets from Saudi Arabia to set up a purchase circuit with EaseMyTrip.

Articulately summing up the agreement, Rikant Pittie, Co-Founder, said, “At EaseMyTrip, we understand that Saudi Arabia attracts millions of tourists every year, and the locals love to travel as well. It is a significantly crowded travel market that is yearning for a better travel experience. With our successful endeavours in most associations and businesses around the world, we want to enter the market here in Saudi Arabia and serve the tourists with utmost dedication. We are overjoyed to begin our journey as a GSA partner with GO FIRST, one of the most popular and affordable airline services in multiple international destinations.”

Kaushik Khona, Chief Executive Officer of GO FIRST, commented, “Saudi Arabia is a key market for us as we continue to expand internationally. We are pleased to partner with EaseMyTrip since the brand has been successfully catering to the travel needs of people globally, and we are positive that this association will ease and enhance the travel experience of people travelling for work as well as leisure.”

Macro uncertainty, layoffs give sleepless nights to executives

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December 5, 2022

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According to mental health consultants, working professionals are becoming increasingly stressed out due to rising macroeconomic uncertainty, worries about job loss, news stories of widespread layoffs, and financial insecurities. As a result, anxiety-related stress levels and disorders have significantly increased in the past 6 to 8 months.

According to estimations from mental health experts, 4-6 out of 10 professionals who have sought mental health care in recent months are disturbed by fear of the potential effects of the uncertain business environment on their work. According to counsellors, the impact is primarily seen in the information technology (IT), IT-enabled services, and tech startup sectors, all struggling with slowing worldwide demand and a funding crisis.

“Fear of losing jobs is on the top of the mind of everyone,” said Ashish Ambasta, founder-CEO HappyPlus Consulting. According to him, “six out of ten people who reach out for counselling assistance have this fear of uncertainty, especially with their jobs. The anticipation of pain gives you more pain. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow, and that is playing in everyone’s mind.”

High anxiety, negative speculations that everything will go wrong, insomnia, mental fatigue, a lack of motivation and trouble focusing, mood swings and anger, as well as depression, are all symptoms of people seeking help, according to mental health experts and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) service providers.

Amit Malik, the founder and CEO of Amaha (previously InnerHour), a psychological health platform, held a staff meeting last week to discuss ways to offer mental health support to those laid off proactively. Amaha is currently speaking with a few tech companies that have contacted them for assistance with their laid-off workers.

“That apart, we are also ramping up our efforts to provide support to the managers who are forced to take the hard decision as well as an anxious bunch of professionals feeling job loss fears,” said Malik.

“We have more people reaching out to us with stress, anxiety and some forms of depression in the last few months – mostly from the tech and startup sectors,” said Archana Bisht, director of 1to1help.net.

According to Bisht, middle-level managers, who must pay monthly EMI and take care of children’s education, are worried about their job security and feel rising stress levels due to uncertainty.

Park+ to raise over $16M in a Series C round

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December 3, 2022

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According to Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings, parking solutions startup Park+ announced on Friday to raise over $16 million in a Series C round headed by Eqip Capital II.

Eqip Capital will contribute Rs 98.12 crore (or $12.05 million) to the round, and Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital India will each invest Rs 16.35 crore (or $2.01 million).

The company plans to increase its operational capacity using the funds.

Recently, the battery-swapping provider Mooving joined forces with Park+. More than 2,000 swapping stations will be installed around Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR.

In a Series B round co-led by Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, and Epiq Capital in November, the company raised $25 million.

Founded in July 2019, Park+ offers B2B (business-to-business) enterprises and daily commuters with advanced, cloud-based automated parking systems.

For FY21, the company disclosed a wider loss of Rs 24.05 crore and revenues of Rs 9.74 crore. This year, it also installed more than 1,000 EV chargers. According to Park+, it has collaborated with more than 1,500 parking lots and given over 20 lakh FASTags.

KreditBee receives $80M in a Series D funding

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December 2, 2022

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Fintech KreditBee announced that it had raised $80 million as part of its Series D funding round from investors including MUFG Bank, a new investor, Premji Invest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, NewQuest Capital, which TPG backs, and Mirae Asset Ventures.

The company announced that it would upgrade its tech stack and diversify its product offering with fresh capital.

According to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), the parent company of KreditBee, Finnovation Tech Solutions, recorded a loss of Rs 84.9 crore in FY22, up from Rs 78.2 crore the year before as expenses nearly doubled. Over the same period, its revenue increased 2.7X to Rs 445.4 crore.

“The investment adds more weight to our vision of encouraging financial independence through a smart digital experience, which is what India stands for today,” said Madhusudan E, Co-founder and CEO of KreditBee, in a press statement.

KreditBee, a fintech lending platform with headquarters in Bengaluru and founded in May 2018, offers loans to professionals as well as check-out finance to consumers.

The startup stated that it plans to offer financial services like insurance, credit score reports, and merchant solutions, along with secured loans, house loans, and credit lines that are digitally connected.

Polygon and Flipkart announce a Strategic Partnership

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December 2, 2022

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Ecommerce marketplace Flipkart has teamed up with web3 firm Polygon to launch a blockchain-ecommerce centre of excellence that will research web3 and metaverse use cases.

For its interactive virtual shopping platform on the metaverse, Flipverse, Flipkart previously partnered with the Ethereum scaling protocol in advance of its blockbuster festival season sale.

This latest partnership, according to Polygon Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, “will pioneer research and development at the intersection of web3 and experiential retail.”

In a statement released by the company, Jeyandran Venugopal, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Flipkart, said, “The online marketplace will look to leverage Polygon’s “expertise and technical know-how to successfully onboard users, not just to the value proposition of web3 or Metaverse commerce but also web3 in general.”

In addition to Flipverse, Flipkart’s earlier web3 and metaverse ventures include FireDrops, an NFT platform, and Flipkart Labs, a web3 innovation unit.

According to a statement from the company, Flipverse will provide access to brands, digital collectibles, and supercoins. The brands that will be a part of Flipverse include Puma, Noise, and Nivea.

“We see the blockchain-ecommerce centre of excellence as an engine for the evolution of ecommerce in the years to come,” said Sandeep.

Godrej Properties buys 18 acres of land in Mumbai

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December 2, 2022

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Realty firm Godrej Properties announced that it had acquired 18.6 acres of land parcel in Kandivali, Mumbai. According to the company, “The project will have a developable potential of 3.72 million sq feet (approx) with an estimated revenue potential of around ₹7,000 crores”.

According to the company’s plans, the development will primarily consist of premium apartments with supporting retail spaces.

Godrej Properties, a part of the business conglomerate Godrej group, is one of the leading real estate developers in the country.

According to a regulatory filing, the company claimed it is the 8th project addition for Godrej Properties in FY23 and “take the cumulative expected booking value from projects to ₹16,500 crores in FY23.”

“We are pleased to announce the addition of this large and strategically important project in Mumbai. This project will allow us to significantly increase our market share in Mumbai over the next several years and fits within our strategy of deepening our presence across key real estate micro markets,” Mohit Malhotra, MD & CEO of Godrej Properties, said in a statement.

The Western Express Highway, Metro, and Suburban Railway Stations are all easily accessible from the land due to its strategic layout in a prestigious locality. It provides access to a highly advanced social and civic infrastructure that includes several educational institutions, medical centres, shopping centres, and entertainment venues.

Godrej Properties acquired 12 acres of land in Pune last month to build a housing project with a projected sales revenue of approximately ₹2,000 crores.

International Experience Canada Programme: Canada permits more international youth to work and travel in Canada

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December 2, 2022

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Canada has introduced the International Experience Canada (IEC), which offers young people the opportunity to travel and work in Canada for up to 2 years. With a 20% increase in the number of applicants who can apply, Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, announced the 2023 International Experience Canada (IEC) Program on Wednesday. Applicants will be able to apply as of January 9, next year.

IEC is a programme that enables youth from Canada and other countries to work and travel in each other’s countries. With this increase, approximately 90,000 candidates—including young Francophones—will be able to work and travel in Canada, assisting employers in filling labour shortages—including for seasonal job openings in the country’s tourism sector.

“Our government is helping more international youth to work and travel in Canada, effectively helping employers, most of those in the tourism industry, find the workers they need. By giving youth the opportunity of international travel and work experience, we are strengthening our economy and helping our businesses succeed, particularly in places like Banff that need seasonal help,” said Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

“International youth bring so much to our country. From building people-to-people ties to helping our businesses succeed, international youth add value to communities right across Canada. Today’s announcement will benefit sectors like the tourism industry to find the workers they need to fill labour gaps, all while providing youth the opportunity to explore Canadian cultures, languages and societies,” said Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth.

There are three categories of participation under the program:

Working Holiday participants receive an open work permit to work anywhere in the host country to support their travels.

International Co-op (Internship) participants receive an employer-specific work permit that allows students to gain targeted experience in their field of study.

Young Professionals participants receive an employer-specific work permit to gain targeted, professional work experience within their field of study or career path.

The Canadian government helps employers, notably those in the tourism industry, fill open positions by allowing more foreign youngsters to work and travel in Canada.

MoooFarm secures $13M in a Series A round led

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December 1, 2022

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Gurugram-based agritech and dairy startup MoooFarm has raised $13 million in a Series A round headed by Aavishkaar Capital. Accel Partners, Aditya Birla Ventures, Rockstart, Navus Ventures, and Alteria Capital also participated in the funding round.

The company plans to use the funding to scale its operations in Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana and expand into Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

In a statement, Param Singh, Founder and CEO, MoooFarm, said, “We aim to utilize this Series A funding to further expand our operations nationally and strengthen our capacity to cater to the growing needs of our farmer communities. MoooFarm offers an integrated, efficient and scalable dairy management solution that connects all stakeholders along the value chain, making our platform indispensable to improve efficiency, yield and profits. “

MoooFarm works to improve the livelihoods of India’s marginalized dairy farmers and increase their profitability. It offers a dairy farm management app in the farmer’s vernacular language. According to the company, the app makes buying inputs (such as cattle feed and grain) more reliable and gives farmers access to veterinary care and dairy farming techniques.

A MoooSathi, a village-level entrepreneur who provides last-mile aggregation and demand servicing support, ensures the delivery of these services to the farmer.

By FY2023–2024, MoooFarm aims to increase its revenue to Rs 300 crore and expand its network of MoooSathis to 3,000.

Sushma Kaushik, a Partner at Aavishkaar Capital, said, “MoooFarm has a vision to disrupt the dairy value chain through the right technological interventions, which opens up tremendous opportunities for small and marginal dairy farmers to improve their income while organizing this otherwise traditionally unorganized business. We are excited to partner with MoooFarm in their growth journey while building a large sale business which has the ability to positively impact millions of farmers across India.”

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