Startup news and updates: daily roundup (October 13, 2022)
YourStory presents daily news roundups from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, October 13, 2022.
PhonePe enables Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) for UPI
Walmart-backed payments company has announced enabling dispute resolution for UPI-related transactions through UPI Unified Dispute and Issue Resolution (UDIR) system.
UDIR will work as an automated, single-channel redressal system and allows customers to raise complaints on the PhonePe app directly. The complaint is then redirected to the relevant bank or Payment Service Provider (PSP) for resolution.
Currently, the system addresses finalisation for pending transactions, confirmation of refund credit to the remitter’s account in case of failed transactions, and the ability to raise complaints which can be resolved in an automated manner by the respective bank/PSP.
RBI first rolled out the framework for online dispute resolution for Payment System Operators in August, 2020.
35 North Ventures ropes in former Dhanlaxmi Bank CEO
35 North Ventures, a sponsor of India Discovery Fund, has announced the appointment of Sunil Gurbaxani as Operating Partner on the board. In his previous role, Sunil served as the CEO and Managing Director of Dhanlaxmi Bank and has held various leadership roles across SBBJ and Axis Bank during his career.
35 North Ventures has its own proprietary investment models and algorithmic approach to risk-adjusted targeted returns for its investors. It leverages the expertise of its key board members for portfolio companies and had also onboarded former CEO of IDFC First Bank, Avtar Monga, to its board earlier this year.
Three Wheelers United autos
Three Wheels United enters two-wheeler EV financing
Bengaluru-headquartered financier for light electric vehicles in India, (TWU), will now offer financing for two-wheeler electric vehicles (EV) across Karnataka and Delhi-NCR. So far the company was primarily focused on offering tech-enabled loans to electric auto-rickshaws.
TWU plans on financing close to 2,000 two-wheelers over the next six months. Founded in 2017 by Cedrick Tandong, Kevin Wervenbos, and Apurv Mehra, the company offers structured financing options to make EVs accessible and affordable.
So far, TWU claims to have financed over 4,000 auto-rickshaws and has over 50,000 drivers on its platform. Over the next six months, TWU aims to finance 2,000 two-wheelers across Karnataka and Delhi-NCR.
MakeMyTrip launches luxury vacation rental
Online travel aggregator (MMT) has partnered with Lohono Stays, a luxury vacation rental brand in India. As part of its inaugural offer, the OTA is running a series of promotional offers across listed properties of Lohono stays’ luxury rental homestay villas across.
MMT has been investing in the homestay segment and offers coverage across 1,100 cities in the country. With Lohono Stays, the platform wants to accelerate the base of the ultra-luxury segment in the homestay ecosystem.
Headstart announces HSX 2022 conclave
Grassroots-level startup community has announced its flagship entrepreneurship conclave, HSX 2022, to be conducted on October 15 in Bengaluru. The invite-only event will be hosting over 1,000 attendees and over 10 state pavilions, 30-plus startup stalls, and over 10 workshops for community building, retention and growth.
The speakers at the event include Whatfix CEO Khadim Batti, EaseMyTrip founder Prashant Pitti, DBS Bank's Divyesh Dalal, Microsoft Executive Director Sangeeta Bavi, and YourStory founder Shradha Sharma, among others.
Founded in 2007, Headstart Network Foundation is a community of impactful entrepreneurs, working closely with all enablers of the startup ecosystem including startups, governments, incubators, corporates and investors.
One Electric, ALT Mobility partner to deploy EVs for B2B logistics
Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing company has partnered with electric motorcycle manufacturer One Electric to offer its ‘Kridn’ motorcycle for leasing by delivery partners. The premium high-speed EV will cater to intra-city transportation.
ALT Mobility has received a request for offering 50,000 motorcycles for B2B logistics across ecommerce companies for 2023. The collective learnings from the partnership will be used to develop an electric two-wheeler tailored for intra-city deliveries, matching price point, superior technology, durability and comfort.
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UNDP partners with Arya.ag for supporting entrepreneurs
UNDP has partnered with post-harvest services company Arya.ag and Friends of Women’s World Banking, India (FWWB India) to implement enterprise promotion and value chain intervention in agriculture and allied activities.
Called Project Excel, the aim will be to develop the potential of the rural and semi-urban communities and provide them with the opportunities to enhance their livelihoods in sectors like agriculture, dairy, poultry, handloom, goat rearing, and handicraft.
As part of the partnership, Arya.ag will provide its platform to farmer collectives and FPOs to showcase their produce on the marketplace. FWWB India will focus on the development of entrepreneurship among villagers and help women and youth set up micro and nano enterprises.
DeHaat partners with SAP’s cloud platform
Agritech company will utilise SAP’s single integrated cloud platform—RISE With SAP—to transform and optimise reporting, business and finance operations, and improve data security to meet globally accepted audit and compliance requirements.
The business transformation partnership will help DeHaat redesign its supply chain with strategic data forecasting through SAP S4/HANA cloud platform. The company currently has a presence across 11 Indian states and works with 1.3 million farmers.
Creative Galileo partners with Korea Educational Broadcasting System
Character based early-learning platform for kids aged 3 to 10 years, , has announced its partnership with Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) for content partnership. With the partnership, children can watch EBS’s programmes on Creative Galileo’s platform.
Founded in 2019, Creative Galileo recently raised $7.5 million in a Series A round from the likes of Affirma Capital, Kalaari Capital, East Ventures, and others. The platform has over 10 million downloads and caters to over 10 lakh monthly active users.
Mooving partners with Shadowfax
Battery network swapping provider for Indian electric vehicles (EV), , has announced partnering with logistics company . The partnership will incentivise rider partners to subscribe to EVs and can replace their depleted batteries with freshly-charged ones at Mooving Battery Swap Stations.
Mooving has been working with Shadowfax for a year in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR to provide vehicles to their last-mile rider partners under the vehicle-as-a-service model. The partnership will enable nearly 10,000 Shadowfax rider partners to adopt EVs across eight metros over the next 12-15 months.
Teachmint partners with OrangeSlates to upskill school teachers
School Learning Management System (LMS) and ERP provider has announced partnering with educator upskilling platform OrangeSlates. With the partnership, Teachermint will offer upskilling courses on its Integrated School Platform for educators to learn, train, and upskill at their convenience.
The courses are self-paced and offer over 35 hours of classes. This includes topics such as Making Most of Digital Tools like Microsoft Word, Managing Special Education Needs, Bringing Experiential Learning to Classrooms, Gamifying Assessments, Interpersonal Skills, and others.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh
