Startup news and updates: daily roundup (April 18, 2022)

Wingreens appoints Ramesh Menon as Group CEO

New-age F&B group Wingreens has appointed  Ramesh Menon as Group CEO. He will head the Group with over 1,000 employees, including all subsidiaries and brands. His role will be to drive the Group’s growth in the next phase of the evolution of the F&B industry in India and globally. 

Ramesh brings over three decades of experience in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry as well as in the Retail Media & Entertainment industry. Prior to joining Wingreens, Ramesh served as the CEO of Radio and Digital innovation businesses at HT Media. 

“Joining Wingreens is a no brainer for me. Everything I have done in my career has been leading  up to this. I have always admired brands like Wingreens, Raw Pressery, Monsoon Harvest, and Saucery that have challenged the status quo and created excellent products that meet the needs of millennial consumers who want healthier products without a compromise on taste. Wingreens is poised to be the next giant in the Packaged F&B sector and is already making its  presence felt in markets outside India. As Wingreens continues to push the  boundaries of innovation on all fronts, I am excited to be part of its talented team and its  journey towards becoming a best-in-class global organization,” said Ramesh Menon. 

MoEVing expands its electric vehicle operations to Tier II cities

MoEVing, a leading full stack electric mobility platform, has announced expansion of its electric vehicle operations to Tier II cities in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. With this expansion, MoEVing becomes truly national, with presence in 14 cities across nine states.

MoEVing has deployed 1000+ electric two and three wheelers across the nine states. They were already present in Delhi NCR (Gurugram, New Delhi, Noida, Faridabad), Pune, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

MoEVing, which claims to have been doubling its revenue every three to four months, expects to become a $1 billion revenue company by 2026.

Paytm becomes integrated app partner for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

One97 Communications Limited that owns the brand Paytm, India’s leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants, has announced that it is a part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission as an integrated app partner. With this partnership, Paytm has integrated National Health Authority's (NHA) ABHA, through which users can create their unique ABHA number on its app. The ABHA integration on the Paytm app is a part of the company’s initiatives to bring digital health services to its users.

With the partnership with NHA, Paytm claims to become the largest consumer platform to enable the creation of ABHA numbers for both Android and iOS users.

The Indian government’s ABHA is essential in creating a digital health record for Indians, which allows them to access and share their health data, with consent, with participating healthcare providers and payers. Through the ABHA number, users can access and link their Personal Health Records (PHR) as well to create a longitudinal health history.

Additionally, users can access the Paytm Health Storefront that aggregates and brings the best names in the healthcare space and through which users can book teleconsultations, purchase from pharmacies, book a lab test, buy health insurance, apply for medical loans, and much more.

Jasleen Kohli becomes the new MD and CEO of Digit Insurance

Digit Insurance, one of India’s fastest growing private general insurers, on Monday announced the appointment of Jasleen Kohli as the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company - effective from 20 April, 2022. Jasleen will take over the baton from Vijay Kumar who held the position since the company was founded in 2017, and will superannuate from the organisation on 19 April, 2022. 

Prior to this, Jasleen overlooked all sales and distribution channels of Digit as its Chief Distribution Officer (CDO). She has been with the company since its inception and is also the first employee of Digit. She has nearly 19 years of experience in the life and general insurance industry. She last served as the Director at Allianz Technology before joining Digit as the CDO in 2017. At 42, she will become one of the youngest CEOs in the insurance industry. 

LegalPay, Naples Global launch $5M fund to help founders from investor disputes

Florida-based hedge fund Naples Global has tied up with LegalPay, a litigation and interim finance provider, to launch a $5 million fund for Indian founders to protect their rights during any kind of board related disputes. This is first of its kind of fund to have launched in the interest of Indian founders. 

The fund has primarily committed $5 million (about Rs 37 crore) to deploy with an option to increase the exposure for funders who are looking out for fighting their litigations and arbitration. 

“Founders put their blood and sweat to build startups, but often find investors arm twisting them on several fronts. Since most founders are first-generation entrepreneurs, they lack the financial muscle to assert their legal rights,” said Kundan Shahi, chief executive, LegalPay. 

He further added that the idea behind this product is to create a level playing field for those disgruntled founders so that they don’t give up on their legitimate because of financial constrain. With such an investment and the backing of Naples Global, LegalPay believes that all founders who have been wronged by their pool of investors would be able to protect their rights and interest in their own company.

PNB Housing Finance appoints Anubhav Rajput as CTO

PNB Housing Finance on Monday announced the appointment of Anubhav Rajput as Chief Technology Officer. Anubhav brings in 22 years of experience in designing technology-led enterprises with scaled up operations and achieved a competitive edge by adopting a tech-driven approach. 

As a key member of PNB Housing’s leadership team, Anubhav will spearhead the company’s technology and digital transformation mandate. He will head the core technology operations, platforms, applications, new digital initiatives, cloud, analytics, and IT operating models, thereby ensuring PNB Housing is adopting contemporary technology paradigms. Anubhav will also be responsible for strengthening the fintech ecosystem and creating a sustainable roadmap for business growth.