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TiE, Ahmedabad and NCR chapters organises conference discussing Developing Indian SMEs for the World

14th February 2023: The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Ahmedabad and NCR chapters organised a conference on SMEs – Building in India for the World at Novotel, Ahmedabad. The esteemed panel consisted of Mr Amit Moga, Co-founder, of Doctorpreneur Academy, Mr Indrajeet Mitra, Joint Managing Director, of Gateway Group of Companies, and Mr Vishal Prakash Shah, Co-founder, of Synersoft Technologies.

The conference witnessed valuable insights from several dignitaries, entrepreneurs, students, and professionals. The event was graced by the presence of Mr Shailesh Patwari, Advisory Board Member, India SME Forum and former President, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries. The session was supported by ASSOCHAM, India Mart, and Lufthansa.

Commenting on the analogy between the parallel growth opportunity of the auto-ancillary industry and defence contracting by which MSMEs in the electronic industry benefitted, Mr Vishal Prakash Shah, Co-founder, of Synersoft Technologies, said, “Indian MSMEs are the biggest beneficiaries of vendor development programmes for auto-giants like Tata, Bajaj, and Maruti, which started in Pune and Manesar and further got established in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, helping India to clinch 4th spot at the global table. So, we can expect to witness such parallel evolution of the defence industry and auto-ancillary industry in recent times. Today, Pune alone has 4,000 MSME units sustaining 5,00,000 jobs. According to market research, there are 50,000 plus MSME units across India creating eight million jobs in the auto-ancillary sector. This analogy has been suggesting that privatisation of the defence sector will provide the industry with another excellent opportunity to grow. Interestingly this sector has similar skills, plant setup, and workforce. Under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Government of India will be playing the same role as the big automobile conglomerates. If we base the auto-ancillary model on getting acquainted with the defence manufacturing contract business, we shall see two differences. It will not be sensitive to the economic cycle because we have seen the consistent allocation of funds for defence in the union budget, which makes it attractive. Secondly, MSMEs will have to adapt to systems and practices in compliance with strict information security and data protection. In the electronics vertical, there is an excellent opportunity for MSMEs. India is heavily import-dependent in the sourcing of electronic components. Recent announcements about chip manufacturing in India will maximise chip manufacture. To be precise, chip manufacturing will be commoditised and expose many opportunities for MSMEs. India has a huge talent pool that earns $150 billion in software exports and very few of us know that 20 per cent of the chip designers are Indians. This provides our country a huge opportunity to grow in the electronics sector. The industrial transformation has already started through smart manufacturing, IoT, and AI-backed products. Software is India’s forte and it has the talent to make the best out of the local availability of chips and sensors, therefore, the business will focus on local consumption of the chips and sensors providing a fantastic opportunity for start-ups and MSMEs to ride this wave. But again, the MSMEs players in this industry will have to be provided with cybersecurity and insider threat mitigation. They have to be subject to strict compliance. This is a significant challenge for MSMEs. It is observed that MSMEs are reluctant adopters of software and technology and only acknowledge them during crises. MSMEs should change to unlock opportunities.”

Porsche takes the lead in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with a podium result in India

Hyderabad: February: The premiere of ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana was an outstanding advertisement for fully electric racing. On the 2.816-kilometer street circuit at the shores of the Hussain Sagar Lake, the 22 drivers treated fans to gripping battles for positions and spectacular overtaking maneuvers. After 33 laps, both Porsche 99X Electric fielded by the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team finished in the top four.

In the drivers’ standings of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Pascal Wehrlein, the winner of both races at Diriyah, leads the drivers’ standings with 80 points after four of 16 races. António Félix da Costa has moved up the rankings to ninth place with 21 points. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is the new leader of the team classification with 101 points. Driving for the Porsche customer squad Avalanche Andretti, André Lotterer (GER) crossed the finish line in ninth place. His teammate Jake Dennis (GBR), who traveled to India ranking second in the world championship, concluded the event in P16 after a collision.

Race 4

Starting his 100th Formula E race from P13, António Félix da Costa made up positions in the first lap and by mid-race, had joined the frontrunning pack. Thanks to a clever race strategy and his flawless drive, he progressed up the order to take the flag in fourth place. However, a time penalty handed to a rival in front saw him inherit third place on the podium. So far, this is his best result of the season. His teammate and championship leader, Pascal Wehrlein, came from P12 to finish fourth and extend his lead in the drivers’ standings to 18 points.

Comments on the Hyderabad E-Prix, Race 4

Florian Modlinger, Director of Factory Motorsport Formula E: “The team put in a very strong performance today. António secured his first podium for the team, which I’m very pleased about. After his accident in free practice, Pascal fought his way up to fourth place in the race and increased his lead in the world championship. This is also thanks to the team who worked through the night to get his car back on the track for the race. Finishing the race in third and fourth place after a less-than-satisfactory qualifying is a strong effort that makes me proud. I want to thank the entire team. The fact that we’ve moved into the lead of the world championship is a fantastic reward.”

António Félix da Costa, Porsche works driver (#13): “That was a typical Formula E race – exciting to the finish. I got off to a good start but lost a few positions in the pack. We kept our cool and our attack mode worked perfectly. Starting from P13 and finishing third is a terrific result – especially at my 100th Formula E race. I’m supported by a great team. We’ve worked hard and progressed from race to race. We’ll continue on this path.”

Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “I started the race from the twelfth grid spot and earned points for fourth place – I’m very happy with that. After my accident during free practice, I was sent to hospital in the late evening because my back was very painful. It was still sore today but otherwise, everything is fine. I’m pleased for António. He was able to demonstrate how good he is. The fact that we missed out on an entire practice session as a result of the accident was noticeable. Some small details on the car weren’t quite right. Still, all in all it was a great day.”

Next up

The next race for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is on 25 February with the Cape Town E-Prix – race 5 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. This is the first Formula E race in South Africa.’

Porsche in Formula E

In 2023, the squad contests its fourth season in the world’s first all-electric racing series with the new Porsche 99X Electric Gen3. Avalanche Andretti fields two Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 as the first Porsche customer team in Formula E. As an accelerator for innovative and sustainable mobility technologies, Formula E has brought thrilling motorsport to people living in major cities since 2014. With the all-electric Taycan Turbo S, Porsche again supplies the official safety car, and thus underlines the importance of Formula E for Porsche Motorsport.

SC Ventures partners with Yabx to expand access to Financial Services in Africa

London, UK – 14th February 2023 – SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment, and ventures arm has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Yabx, a company incubated by Comviva and part of the Mahindra Group, to address a deep-rooted need for responsible consumer finance in Africa.

Africa has over 700 million mobile wallets, and about 450 million bank accounts but access to formal credit remains severely constrained due to poor credit infrastructure and the slowly evolving risk appetite of financial services players, especially traditional banks. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitization in the financial sector and created a fertile environment for new and disruptive products to be taken to the market. The partnership between SC Ventures and Yabx is leveraging on this to create unique, Africa-specific products that will increase access of credit to the underbanked across Africa.

Nimble future-ready technology and data analytics combined with a deep understanding of banking will reduce the cost of delivery of innovative credit products, thereby widening inclusion across underserved segments in Africa where it is needed most. Given the scale and the complexity of the opportunity, SC Ventures and Yabx have taken a collaborative approach to jointly address the challenge. Loans will be provided to customers for specific purposes like education and skill development using an innovative data-driven scoring and analytics engine that has been built with rich experience from African markets. These loan products will be initially launched in Uganda and then subsequently expanded to other countries in Africa.

Jiten Arora, Member SC Ventures said, “We are excited at the prospect of using a data-driven, technology-enabled partnership model to serve the underbanked through purpose-driven loans in Africa, a continent for which we have a deep understanding and a strong commitment.”

Manoranjan Mohapatra, Chief Executive Officer at Comviva, commented, “Yabx has seen exponential growth over the past year, and we will continue to invest in its mission to serve millions of consumers and MSMEs in emerging markets who have limited traditional sources of funding available to them.”

Rajat Dayal, CEO at Yabx, said, “We have a lot of synergy with SC Ventures in Africa and together we are uniquely positioned to create a seamless embedded finance experience. This partnership further bridges the gaps in the current market, driving digital innovations and bringing significant benefits to the underserved population of Africa.”

Federal Bank bridges the Physical and the Digital Market Places

Mumbai, 14th February 2023: Federal Bank today announced the launch of a mint fresh brand campaign, “Rishta Aap Se Hai, Sirf App Se Nahi TM.” The campaign brings alive the Bank’s work ethic – Digital at the Fore, Human at the Core.

This captures many a day that Customers experience in the Bank. In markets of dominant employees of the Bank are a part of celebrations as well as moments of grief of their clients. There are many instances where Customers have experienced the technological ease of transactions as well as the service with sensitivity at branches.

The campaign is inspired by real-life events and that is transposed onto the communication. The ad has been launched in seven languages – Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam to ensure reach across the country.

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The multiple narratives of the campaign are representative of the Bank’s robust franchise. On average, a client clocks in above 10 years of relationship, giving the Bank the benefit of a high lifetime value for the Customers. And during this phase, the Bank will be able to participate in the various life stages of both its retail as well as corporate banking customers. Besides, having one of the lowest attrition rates in the industry enhances customer confidence in the Brand.

M V S Murthy, Chief Marketing Officer, Federal Bank said, “Businesses across the globe need the digital chutzpah, or customer experience as it is known. However, increasingly, efficiency in technology needs to be reinforced by go to people, whom you can reach out to at all points in time. The core idea of Rishta Aap Se Hai, Sirf App Se Nahi TM comes from our secret sauce which includes Commitment, Agility, Relationship orientation, Ethics and Sustainability. It is imperative that we need to be ‘Digital At The Fore, Human At The Core’. This campaign is representative of how we conduct ourselves as a team. We have unified our physical and digital spaces with this approach.”

The campaign will be rolled out across a variety of platforms, including television, digital, radio, outdoor and social media. Community events will bring the campaign closer to the branches.

INTENTS MOBI RAISES Rs 1.5 CR

Delhi, February 14, 2023: Intents Mobi, a Gurgaon-based geospatial intelligence startup today announced that it has raised Rs 1.5 CR.  The funding was raised on “The Barbershop with Shantanu” helmed by Shantanu Deshpande, Founder – Of the Bombay Shaving Company. The round saw participation from prominent executives from various organizations.

Founded by Tabrez Alam, Naresh Kumar Kachhi, Balasubramaniam S, and Prakash Velusamy, the company is now 19 people strong with 13 members purely focussing on technology development. With a small team, the company has been able to create AI-based technology to process large-scale data. Their engines gather and process road data worth more than 4.5 crore kilometers per day with more than 5 terabytes of image data processed each month. The company utilizes a network of ‘Scouts’ which is a gig economy of over 900,000 users who contribute to the data generation for location intelligence.

Speaking on the occasion, Tabrez Alam, Founder – of Intents Mobi, said, “The new funds will be utilized to ensure the continual growth of products. We shall invest in the two major aspects of the product, which are data and solutions. With this round, we expect to launch 2 new products that are aimed at making location intelligence accessible to Market Research and Fleet Management companies”

Elaborating, Shantanu Deshpande said, ‘Tabrez and Naresh are building a disruptive technology company out of India and it is very exciting for us. They have credibility as founders, knowledge of the space, and drive. We are thrilled to partner with them on this journey.’

Intents Mobi will deploy the current fundraising to ensure an ongoing pace in its continual growth. The company is also looking at raising 3 million dollars for expedited growth. Intents Mobi has some of the biggest names in various industries as their clients, including Here Maps, TomTom, and Honda among others.