India's startup sector, a fundamental pillar of the country's development goals, has seen significant expansion over the years, with over 90,000 startups and over 100 unicorns as of 2024. Despite their growing resilience, access to capital is difficult for these companies in the current dynamic environment. presents ongoing challenges. Still, not all the news is bad.
With a burgeoning SaaS sector and major investments from Apple and Tesla, India is quickly emerging as a contender for technology dominance in Asia. Investors have invested more than $160 million in 21 deals in the past few weeks.
Onboarding of MSME Artisans and Artisans at ONDC
This week, payment solutions company Easy Pay partnered with non-profit organization Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI) to help MSMEs with a focus on onboarding merchants with special skills covering artisans. You've brought sellers into your network. Enable weavers and others to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform and become online sellers.
This collaboration aims to give these entrepreneurs, both women and men, access to a wider market through e-commerce, thereby creating job opportunities and opening new avenues for growth. , which aims to support the livelihoods of millions of skilled professionals such as weavers and carvers.
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Through this partnership, the company will enable sellers with small regional businesses and skilled professionals who currently sell products at low margins through distributors to access online marketplaces with higher earning potential. Address the challenges faced by providing access.
Nilay Patel, Founder and Managing Director of Easy Pay, said: “The lack of a robust e-commerce ecosystem has long prevented small merchants, artisans, and artisans from venturing online. Our integration with ONDC eliminates these barriers and increases the It gives you unlimited access to the world and many benefits.”
By leveraging the ONDC Network, these individuals can not only introduce their products and services to a wider audience, but also have access to a variety of other services on the ONDC Network, including credit facilities, digital payments, and shipping solutions. You can also benefit from access. more. EasyPay also trains sellers to act as agents to register other sellers to her ONDC network.
The onboarding process includes training to handle seller registration, catalog setup, logistics configuration, inventory updates, order confirmation, and ticket management. Merchants onboarded through EasyPay can accept orders from all buyer apps on ONDC. Easy Pay's initiative targets merchants who have not yet been onboarded, most of whom are joining the online marketplace for the first time.
Empowering NBFCs to lend to MSMEs
In April, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) completed the first cohort of NBFC Growth Acceleration Program (NGAP). Recognizing the important role of small NBFCs in providing financing to MSMEs, especially emerging micro enterprises, SIDBI and GAME joined forces to create NGAP.
NGAP Cohort 1, comprised of 17 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), aims to help growth-stage NBFCs understand sector nuances, grow as leaders, and shape future-ready organizations through design interventions. It was designed to. This was achieved through a combination of experiential learning modules on risk management, governance, leveraging technology, staying ahead of industry trends, and more. Personalized guidance from experienced industry experts. Provide opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing. Evaluation of operational and financial soundness of each NBFC.
The five-month intensive program is designed to scale up small NBFCs through various design interventions, thereby facilitating and accelerating the flow of institutional credit.
Mr. Sivasubramanian Raman, Chairman and Managing Director, SIDBI, said, “The NGAP initiative is a significant step forward in enabling NBFCs to better serve the MSME sector. Reiterating SIDBI's commitment to developing financial institutions with the tools and knowledge they need to grow.
Mr. Raman highlighted the fact that there are a large number of non-GST registered entities that do not receive funding from banks and NBFCs should focus on meeting their unmet credit needs. SIDBI is playing a role in formalizing such organizations and around 1.8 billion Informal Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (IMEs) are already registered on the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP).
Ketul Acharya, President of GAME, said: “The success of the first edition of NGAP is based on his GAME mission to bring together key stakeholders from all sectors to support and collaborate, lowering institutional barriers and creating favorable growth conditions for new and existing entrepreneurs. ”
Launched in October 2023, the program is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at addressing the funding challenges faced by small NBFCs. Following the success of the first cohort, SIDBI looks forward to empowering more NBFCs with the support of His GAME and fostering a stronger MSME ecosystem in India.
Sector-agnostic incubation
In April, JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF), an Indian incubator and angel network, launched JITO Incubation Center (JIC) Cohort 10. Following the success of Cohorts 8 and 9, applications for the Cohort 10 Incubation Program are now open and the submission deadline is April 30, 2024. This program is field independent.
JIIF Chairman Rajat Mehta said, “We are excited about the success of our initiatives like Cohorts 8 and 9, which foster innovation and entrepreneurial excellence in line with the 'Make in India' vision.” Told. We expect Cohort 10 to enhance our reputation, expand our network, foster knowledge exchange, foster ecosystem growth, and ensure continued support for up-and-coming ventures. Masu. ”
Mr. Vikash Kawar, Vice-Chairman, JIC said, We are proud to contribute to Prime Minister Modi's dream of 'Vikshit Bharat' and believe that our efforts will continue to attract investment and strengthen India's digital innovation. ”
The incubation program spans 12 weeks and offers a wealth of benefits including incubation and co-working facilities, technology and business mentoring, marketing, networking and outreach. Participants can access national and international events, gain global information, and collaborate with government grants and schemes.
Climate-friendly spending
In April, Stride Ventures crossed the USD 120 million threshold for a climate-focused start-up in India, making it the largest climate-smart funding from the country's INR Venture Fund in less than two years. Achieved one. This investment reflects the market's growing enthusiasm for green business and a clear path to profitability. Through strategic investments in pioneering companies such as Battery Smart, Lohum, BluSmart, MoEVing, Solar Square, Euler Motors, ChargeZone, Oben Electric, Intangles, and Solar Ladder, Stride is focused on electric mobility and renewable energy solutions. Masu.
Ishreet Singh Gandhi, Founder and Managing Partner, Stride Ventures and StrideOne, said, “Recognizing India's potential to pioneer sustainable global solutions, Stride is poised to redefine the green technology landscape. We are investing in nurturing startup companies.” “We are focused on helping innovative startups lead in sustainable innovation.”
To date, Stride's portfolio companies have collectively achieved significant environmental impact, including approximately 90,000 tonnes of CO2 reduction and approximately 521 million electric kilometers covered.
Stride portfolio companies are at the forefront of India's green revolution, achieving important environmental and economic milestones. BluSmart is at the forefront of sustainable urban mobility, achieving over 12 million electric trips and saving 27,500 tons of CO2. Rohm has pledged that by 2026 he will reduce 4 million tons of CO2 and create 30,000 jobs. Through its swapping network, Battery Smart supports the EV ecosystem with approximately over 700 swapping stations. Transforming clean logistics, MoEVing aims to integrate 1 million EVs and manage half of India's charging stations to significantly reduce carbon emissions, and has already completed 21 million electric kilometers. We are promoting the running of Beyond public mobility solutions, Farmart focused on reducing food transportation emissions, successfully avoiding 41,974 tons of CO2, supporting local agriculture and reducing carbon emissions.
This strategic investment push in Strides builds on the global commitment to increased investment in clean energy, underlined by the International Energy Agency's call to triple investment by 2030 to meet climate change goals. consistent with our obligations. India's ambitious goals, including the goal of achieving 40% non-fossil fuel power generation capacity by 2030, highlight the country's commitment to a greener future, thereby increasing its commitment to sustainable ventures. Rich opportunities for investment are being created.
Financing for new startups
Recognizing the disruptive power of the startup sector, especially those leveraging emerging technologies, DBS Bank India in March announced a USD 250 million financing commitment to new-age startups.
“We are excited about the ability of new-age entrepreneurs to leverage innovation to solve real-world challenges,” said Rajat Verma, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Banking Group, DBS Bank India. I am inspired by them and want to play a constructive role in their growth.” We believe our USD 250 million startup financing commitment comes at the right time, as the sector has demonstrated improved performance metrics and an increased focus on profitability in recent years. I am.
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“DBS Bank India leverages our advanced digital expertise, deep connections with Asia and ecosystem partnerships to provide comprehensive support to help these innovators streamline operations and manage logistics beyond banking. As a bank of a different kind, our overarching goal is to be a reliable partner for startups in all sectors and throughout the entire business lifecycle. It’s about supporting them.”
Our advanced risk assessment framework, which combines traditional metrics and modern analytical tools, ensures a balanced approach to lending. A comprehensive evaluation process ensures that DBS Bank India offers customized banking solutions that match the dynamism of the industry innovators we work with.
