IIFL Securities introduces primary markets investment platform OneUp

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March 11, 2022

IIFL Securities launched ‘OneUp,’ India’s first primary markets investment platform for IPOs, non-convertible debentures (NCDs), and sovereign gold bonds (SGBs), among other things.

According to the brokerage, IPO applications are accepted on the OneUp platform 24×7, up to three days before the IPO bidding commences. Another distinguishing element of the OneUp platform is that it allows investors to put bids on behalf of others, such as friends or family members, potentially increasing the chances of allotment.

Customers of IIFL Securities and non-IIFL Securities can use the platform without signing up.

Commenting on the OneUp product launch, Nandkishore Purohit, the chief digital officer at IIFL Securities, said, “Today investors go to multiple websites to gather facts and recommendation (subscription status, company health, experts view, listing gains) about the IPO, followed by transaction on a separate platform. Through OneUp, investors can now discover, research, transact and manage new investment opportunities, all on one single platform.”

Furthermore, online orders are not restricted to amounts of up to Rs. 2 lakh. Online IPO bidding for more than 2 lakh can be done in real-time. ASBA forms will be pre-filled for users. Investors will be able to examine live IPO subscriptions, application status, and payment status of bidding with prospects of listing gains, as well as all previous primary applications and their positions in one place with only one click.

Easy tax filing with Quicko, GoCharting and TradingView integration for better customer trading experience on charts with one click, ETFy providing curated ETF baskets based on solid fundamentals, basket investing through multiple partners such as Smallcase and WealthDesk and global equity investment through Stockal, and options house to make options trading easier for first-time investors are just a few of the key digital initiatives.

IIFL Securities has over 23 lakh customers and handles over Rs.1.32 lakh crore assets. The daily trading turnover of IIFL Securities is ₹83,500 crore.

Unacademy opens experience stores to help students and parents

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March 11, 2022

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Unacademy, an edtech company, has opened a physical store to help students learn more about the platform’s offerings. Counsellors will be on hand in the Unacademy Store, and students will be able to purchase subscriptions after that counselling and browsing the content offerings.

“We have received tremendous feedback on our products and services and recognise that a physical experiential touchpoint will benefit them in the long term by fostering trust and confidence,” said Gaurav Munjal, co-founder & CEO, Unacademy Group, in a statement.

Unacademy is now planning to open four stores that will serve as an experience zone for students and parents to learn about the company’s offerings and subscription models. The stores will focus on new users interested in enrolling in Unacademy courses. Existing Unacademy students can also visit these locations to meet their teachers.

These efforts to get more students to come at a time when, after two years of the pandemic, edtech platforms aimed at schools and students for both online and offline courses have grown in popularity.

“We believe online education is the future. However, we think people need awareness on why online will work. It is not so much about hybrid learning but more about an omnichannel presence. We have no plans of entering a hybrid-learning model yet,” said Munjal.

“The idea of having top educators host sessions at these stores is to ensure that learners also do get a connect. Usually, sessions from some of these top educators on Unacademy is attended by 10,000 students,” added Munjal.

In New Delhi, Unacademy has already opened its first experience store. Over the following six weeks, it expects to launch three new stores in Kota, Jaipur, and Lucknow.

Unacademy has announced the launch of subscription-based learning programmes with industry experts.

Fintech startup Planify plans to double its present workforce

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March 11, 2022

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Planify, a fintech company, plans to hire about 100 individuals in the first half of 2022, nearly doubling its present workforce. The company already employs more than 50 employees and expects to hire around 200 more in the coming year.

According to a statement, the organisation is looking for fresh and experienced millennial talent, particularly those between the ages of 25 and 35, with areas of competence in financial analyst, valuation analyst, Python Developers, Frontend Developers, Android & iOS Developers.

Ishima Singla, Chief Valuation Officer, Planify, said, “Every day, a new startup is formed, increasing the demand for fundraising and company valuations, and every day, there are additions to companies trading in the Private Equity market, increasing the demand for their analysis. Planify aspires to provide high-quality valuation and analysis services to its clients while also expanding its service offering. We have a great team, and we are currently looking to grow it by 4-5 times by hiring passionate and dedicated individuals.”

Singla further said, “Our primary focus is on building a robust talent pool with strong digital skills who will strengthen our existing team to fulfil the demand surge.”

Planify has grown by 1000% year on year and now has a revenue of Rs 150 crore in the current fiscal year. The FinTech firm expects a rise in business over the next 10-12 months, which has resulted in new job openings.

FreshToHome to open retail outlets in Bengaluru

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March 10, 2022

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FreshToHome, an online fish and meat retailer, has announced the opening of 20 FreshToHome-powered retail outlets in Bengaluru. To expand its customer base and provide rapid access, FreshtoHome has opened outlets in Kempapura, Boopasandra, Koramangala, Brookefields, and TC Palya, among other locales. In addition, to boost micro-entrepreneurship and small enterprises, the brand will open around 100 additional outlets and partner with delivery partners in these cities.

Over 150 towns across Punjab, NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala will benefit from the company’s product expansion. In addition, FreshToHome has a network of over 3000 fishermen and farmers spread throughout 300 coasts and farms in India.

“Enabling delivery of fresh fish and meat that is preservative-free and free from any form of chemicals is the core of our brand vision. The retail store launch further strengthens our vision to have an omnichannel presence and deliver convenience to our customers and quality. Soon, we will be opening doors to customers in more locations,” said Shan Kadavil, founder, FreshToHome.

“Given the market’s great potential and the rise in demand for quality meat and seafood, we aim to provide customers with products at affordable rates and at their convenience,” Kadavil said. He went on to say that chicken is the most popular product among customers in major Indian cities.

FreshToHome’s technology-enabled commodities exchange network cuts out the middleman, allowing fishermen and farmers to electronically auction their catch to vendors who sell it within 24 to 36 hours after sourcing. In addition, the company maintains an end-to-end cold supply and 120 quality checks that include standard chemicals, antibiotics, and preservatives.

The company claims to be the largest fully vertically integrated e-commerce platform for fresh fish and meat globally, delivering over two million orders per month in India and the UAE.

Prathidhwani Women Forum started ‘Back to Work’ programme to help women restart IT career

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March 10, 2022

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A women’s collective of government IT parks in the state has started a ‘Back to Work’ programme for women IT professionals in a unique initiative to bring back women who had worked in the IT field and were forced to take a break from their job owing to various reasons.

The women forum of Prathidhwani, a welfare organization for IT personnel, inaugurated the initiative at Infopark in Kochi, Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram, and Cyberpark in Kozhikode.

The programme is open to all women who have worked in the IT sector for at least one year and are looking to restart their careers. The candidates who have been accepted will go through two months of re-skilling and up-skilling training.

Various technical subjects will be covered during the special training sessions. Following the training, the collective will assist the candidates in finding jobs in various IT organizations via their job portal.

“Many women IT professionals were forced to leave their job due to various reasons, including marriage, childcare, etc. Even if they want to return to their profession, it would be difficult for them to get a placement in IT companies mainly due to the career break. We are planning to extend support to such candidates,” said a member of the Women Forum of Prathidhwani Aswathi J G.

“Those who are interested in restarting their career can approach us. We will categorize the candidates based on their experience, training and current requirement trends. After training, their profiles will be shared across all the companies for evaluation. The training sessions would be held through virtual platforms,” she said.

“We will assist the candidates to become updated by supporting in the training and interview preparations, but the placement would be carried out by the companies based on the performance of the respective candidates,” she said, adding that Prathidhwani will reach out to all the companies registered in the organization’s job portal requesting evaluation of the candidates.

On International Women’s Day, registration for the programme opened on Tuesday. “The response to the programme was overwhelming. More than 200 people have registered for the programme until Wednesday evening. The registration would remain open till Friday,” she said.

Jiffy.ai collects $53mn in funding from Eight Road Ventures

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March 9, 2022

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Eight Roads Ventures led a $53 million fundraising round for Jiffy.ai, a business-to-business (B2B) automation platform. According to the company, the funds will be used to expand the company’s sales and marketing operations and advance its HyperApp platform.

According to the company, Iron Pillar, R-Squared, and existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Reaction Capital, and Rebright Partners all participated in the round.

“This funding will help build autonomous enterprises of the future by applying artificial intelligence and automation to transform enterprise operations,” said Babu Sivadasan, cofounder and chief executive, Jiffy.ai.

The company, founded in 2018 as Paanini Inc.’s go-to-market brand, is focusing on developing its intelligent automation platform. Clients can use the platform to build automated business capabilities to learn and adapt to changing needs with minimal additional resources and operational expenditure.

“The automation of business processes has become an integral pillar of the digital transformation agenda of enterprises, especially post-pandemic,” said Shweta Bhatia, partner & head of technology investments in India at Eight Roads Ventures.

“Jiffy.ai’s intelligent automation platform, powered by a no-code development engine, is set to accelerate the digital transformation of the global enterprise,” said Jishnu Bhattacharjee, managing director of Nexus Venture Partners.

“Jiffy.ai has combined the ease of building enterprise workflows with the power of AI, ML, IDP and other core technologies to deliver a powerful, comprehensive solution,” said Mohanjit Jolly, Partner at Iron Pillar.

B2B enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) has attracted a lot of interest from risk investors, and it’s been one of the greatest beneficiaries of the recent funding boom.

Muthoot Microfin to provide healthcare in rural India via e-clinics

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March 9, 2022

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Muthoot Microfin has partnered with M-SWASTH to establish e-clinics at its branches to provide rural India with accessible and affordable healthcare. Across the initial phase, the MFI opened 12 e-clinics in Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

According to the WHO, everyone, including people and communities, should get the healthcare they need regardless of their financial situation. When it comes to healthcare, people in rural areas are often underserved. Muthoot Microfin and M-SWASTH have partnered up to start e-clinics in distant regions across India to address this issue with a unique and revolutionary e-clinic strategy that uses technology.

E-clinics are specially built compact kiosks equipped with a tablet or laptop for a video consultation with a doctor and medical equipment for a basic vitals check-up, such as temperature, blood pressure, weight, blood sugar, etc., blood count, and other vital signs. It is a basic and straightforward method of obtaining medical treatment that is economical and rapid and reaches rural areas. The customer and her entire family are welcome to use the facility.

Asha employees will operate the e-clinics, and dedicated staff will be stationed across the Muthoot Microfin branch.

Sadaf Sayeed, CEO of Muthoot Microfin, stated, “We are already addressing the ‘WASH’ related challenges of our customers. This is another remarkable step taking the most advanced and digital health facilities to our customers from the remote, rural villages of India. The people from such places deserve to have the advantages of evolving advancements in the health sector. Our plan is to open the e-clinics in all our branches and hope, this will have a great impact on health and awareness of our customers and the rural India.”

Consulting firm Zinnov starts office in Pune to focus on talent acquisition

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March 9, 2022

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Zinnov, a consulting firm, announced that its newest India office would open in Pune, Maharashtra, in March 2022. After working as a trusted consulting partner with leaders and organisations in Pune for the past two decades, this move will allow Zinnov to play a more integral role in the Pune technology ecosystem.

Zinnov has recently assisted several global companies in establishing their India centres in Pune, even during the height of the pandemic, demonstrating the city’s strategic importance.

Pune’s proximity to the financial capital, a strong university ecosystem, a vibrant tech start-up ecosystem, and a tightly knit technology community make it a destination of choice for many new companies/companies looking to expand their operations. As a result, it is home to 12% of India’s total 1430+ GCoEs.

Speaking about the new office location, Harish Singh, Managing Partner, Zinnov, said, “Pune has always been an important location for us since our inception. We have strong connects in the ecosystem, and we have partnered with companies, industry bodies, and universities, to solve problems across talent, technology, process, and innovation. As Zinnov continues to grow, Pune has become a logical extension of our growth plan. We will be leveraging this office to deepen our connects and provide strategic support to the region’s growth and innovation agenda.”

Rakhi Deshpande, Director – Talent Acquisition, Zinnov, said, “Pune was a logical choice for us and for our growing clientele. Given Pune’s importance as a digital talent house, the new office will not only enable customer proximity and knowledge, but also help us better deliver on our role as an ecosystem orchestrator. The goal is to drive more value-focused conversations and idea exchanges for the technology community as a whole. A large part of the team based out of Pune will be focused on Talent and helping our customers scale their operations more efficiently and quickly.”

Citi intends 900 hires for commercial banking unit over three years

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March 8, 2022

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Citigroup’s commercial banking unit, which serves mid-sized businesses in more than 60 countries, plans to add roughly 900 people over the next three years, including over 400 commercial bankers.

According to a report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2018, MNEs account for half of the worldwide exports, nearly one-third of global GDP, and about one-fourth of global employment.

“Servicing clients whose annual revenues range from $10 million to $3 billion, Citi anticipates that the financial needs of this critical client segment will evolve, requiring the sophisticated banking solutions and expertise a global bank like Citi can offer,” it said.

Citigroup is investing extensively in this sector, with most new hiring centred in areas where business activity is expected to pick up, such as the United States, China, Brazil, India, and Western European countries.

“In today’s interconnected world, mid-sized companies quickly outgrow the capabilities of a local or even a regional bank. They are going global faster and reaching scale sooner than ever before,” explained Tasnim Ghiawadwala, Global Head, Citi Commercial Bank.

“CCB is the ideal banking partner for our clients as they seek Citi’s global connectivity and institutional expertise across working capital management and strategic capital market offerings. We can offer our mid-sized clients the suite of capabilities used by the largest companies in the world customized to their needs and scale of operations,” she continued.

The commercial banking unit is focusing on deepening penetration in emerging, high-growth disruptor sectors by recruiting industry expert senior bankers and improving training and development for existing bankers, in addition to expanding its digital capabilities.

The move comes as the Wall Street institution reduces its international footprint by abandoning non-core areas. Jane Fraser, who took over as CEO last year, has worked to simplify the bank and bring its profitability in line with its competitors.

Citi said in a separate statement that it would add close to 350 people, including nearly 200 commercial bankers, as part of its worldwide headcount expansion plan over the next three years to accelerate growth in the Asia Pacific region.

Digital presence to support Bajaj Finance’s growth

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March 8, 2022

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The new digital platform from Bajaj Finance Ltd is a step ahead in terms of offering services similar to those offered by fintech apps like Paytm, PhonePe, and Google Pay. While phase one of the business transformation journey focused on laying a firm foundation, phase two focuses on improving the customer experience by providing new features and expanding on existing capabilities.

The existing consumer app has 16.5 million active subscribers as of December 31, 2021, whereas the new platform had 6 million. True, rival finance apps like Paytm have a larger user base, but Bajaj can leverage its strengths in the offline channel as a key financier in categories like consumer durables and move revenue-generating consumers to the digital platform.

“While competition in EMI-financing space for consumer durables is increasing, we aren’t as concerned about risk of loss of market-share/ pricing pressure because (1) Banks largely focus on prime and carded customers, (2) Fintechs have yet not developed collection capabilities or fully tested their retail lending modules and (3) while ecommerce platforms are expanding market and/or gaining share from physical stores, physical stores are also putting-up a fight by matching prices or service, especially in segments like electronics,” said analysts at Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd in a report.

“Addition of such partnerships should drive greater engagement and transaction throughput, thus extending the platform from being a leading financial services provider to an omnichannel financial marketplace. Along with customer additions, we would closely track new-to-Bajaj additions through the digital route,” said analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd in a report.

All eyes are on the progress of the digital transformation journey as operating metrics hit pre-covid levels.

“We believe Bajaj Finance is catching up well with fintech players in terms of digital interface while delivering profitability, hence we remain constructive on this business transformation journey,” added the JM Financial report.

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