Why Indian ecommerce industry is resilient amid slowdown blues (and other top stories of the day)

The year 2019 was a mixed bag for India’s ecommerce industry, beginning with new government regulations that aimed to streamline the sector. It also had to weather a slowdown, but the direction remained strong as ecommerce made inroads into the hinterlands of the country.

The new FDI rules introduced by the government for online marketplaces were almost a reversal of the earlier policy where they were not allowed to enter exclusive deals for selling of products. 

More importantly, online marketplaces could not source more than 25 percent of their supplies from a single vendor. The policy also ushered in new steps to curb deep discounting.

Despite the lack of clarity on policies and the economic downturn, the Indian ecommerce industry revealed its robust spirit and came up trumps in a challenging year.

Read more about the ecommerce space’s evolution in 2019, here.

This ex-Google employee is digitising co-operative credit societies in Kerala

Kochi-based KRED is a neobank-as-a-service platform providing modern digital banking solutions to customers, and is enabling co-operatives to operate like modern digital banks. It is also the first Indian startup to have received investment from Barclays, having participated in the Barclays Accelerator held at Tel Aviv earlier this year.

This woman entrepreneur’s love for fashion made her start-up in her 50s

Sukriti Chopra has been a teacher all her life. But a love for fashion in her younger years led her to start her eponymous label, SYS by Sukriti, which offers Indian, Indo-Western and bridalwear collections.

These 4 startups are fighting pollution with ideas from thick air

From Beijing-based Smart Air to Delhi’s Air Pollution Action Group, a number of social enterprises and business ventures are collaborating with government bodies, civil society, and NGOs to fight air pollution

Bisleri’s 'Bottles for Change' initiative is helping recycle plastic

‘Bottles for Change’, launched in 2017 by Bisleri, is changing the way Indians view plastic consumption and disposal. Under the initiative, it collects plastic waste and converts it into usable products such as fabric, handbags, window blinds, and benches.

Investors should approach an entrepreneur’s idea without judgement

Shripati Acharya is the co-founder and managing partner at Priven Advisors, which is also an advisory to Prime Venture Partners. He says judgemental bias is the most-popular bias in the startup ecosystem, and hence urges investors to approach every opportunity and every entrepreneur without a pre-formed judgement.

Here’s how Kashi Jewellers grew to an 11,000 sq ft store exporting overseas 

From being among the top three jewellery manufacturers in the city to expanding to a 11,000 sq ft flagship store and overseas sales, here’s the success story of Kanpur-based Kashi Jewellers.

Microsoft ScaleUp extends support to 18 startups

Microsoft ScaleUp said on Wednesday it has extended support to 18 startups in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region in the last 12 months. A part of the Microsoft for Startups initiative, Microsoft ScaleUp provides startups access to world-class technology, mentorship, and other community benefits that further their expansion on a global scale, the company said.

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