Startup news and updates: daily roundup (Aug 13, 2021)

Govt ready to do everything required to revive economy, push growth: Finance Minister

Expressing the government's commitment to continue with reforms, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday assured India Inc that it is ready to do everything required to revive and support economic growth hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both the government and the RBI are working in tandem to achieve the objective [revive and support economic growth], Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the CII Annual Meeting 2021.

Licious opens maiden ESOP buyback options worth Rs 30 Cr

Fresh meat and seafood brand Licious on Thursday said it has opened its maiden Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) monetisation option worth Rs 30 crore that is expected to benefit close to 600 of its staff members. Last month, the tech-enabled platform had raised $192 million from a clutch of investors, including Temasek.

Priya Malik, Vinay Kaushal, DJ Shaan, and other Indian artists to launch NFTs on WazirX NFT Marketplace

WazirX NFT Marketplace has announced renowned Indian artists Priya Malik, Vinay Kaushal, DJ Shaan, Nehha Rajpal, and Abhishek Bhaskar, among others, will launch non-fungible digital tokens (NFTs) on its platform as a tribute to 75 years of India's Independence.

The creations by these top artists will be bound by a common theme of challenging the norms, staying fearless, and breaking free, the marketplace announced, adding that a total of 2071 NFTs have been minted so far on its platform, out of which 752 NFTs worth 109,512.56 WRX have been sold.  

MapmyIndia partners Drone Federation of India for 'Drone Innovation Challenge'

Home-grown navigation firm MapmyIndia has announced partnership with industry body Drone Federation of India to launch and fund 'Drone Innovation Challenge'. The winners of the challenge will get up to Rs 1 crore or more worth of joint go-to-market support, business opportunities and funding support opportunities.

SAP India, Microsoft launch programme to skill over 62,000 women in AI, cloud

SAPIndia and Microsoft on Thursday announced the launch of a joint skilling programme 'TechSaksham' for empowering young women students from underserved communities to build careers in technology.

Through the joint initiative, SAP India and Microsoft aims to skill 62,000 women students in areas like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, web design and digital marketing.

Indian FMCG industry clocks 37pc value-based growth in April-June qtr: Report

Indian FMCG industry recorded a 36.9 percent value-based growth in April-June 2021, the quarter hit by the second wave of the pandemic, over the corresponding period a year ago, data analytics firm Nielsen has said. However, when compared with this year's January-March quarter, the industry saw a 2 percent drop, it added.

Premji Invest acquires 'significant' stake in flexible packaging firm SB Packagings for $25M

Delhi-based flexible packaging maker SB Packagings (SBP) yesterday announced Premji Invest has invested "for a significant stake" in the company, and the transaction primarily involves partial stake sale held by the existing shareholders in SBP and infusion of primary capital for capacity expansion and inorganic acquisitions. The deal size is reportedly $25 million.