FMCG companies find their D2C match

Hello,

At the ‘Google for India 2022’, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology and Communications, and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai charted India’s evolving tech story and how the country can take advantage of its massive talent pool. 

“AI will play a very big role in India’s tech story,” the Minister said in a conversation with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory.

YouTube also announced its plans to offer structured learning on its platform through Courses. It will enable select qualified creators to offer free or paid courses to help students with difficult concepts.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk posted an informal poll on Twitter asking users if he should step down as head of the company. In response, 57.5% of the 17.5 million respondents said yes. However, Musk added in a later tweet that “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”

ICYMI: The story behind the first computer program.

Turns out, the answer lay in embroidery!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• FMCG companies find their D2C match
• MSME roadmap for 2023
• Shiba Inu trumps Bitcoin on WazirX

Here’s your trivia for today: Name the two plays written by artist Pablo Picasso.

Ecommerce

FMCG companies find their D2C match

The success of direct-to-consumer (D2C) commerce has shaken up the FMCG sector with many companies now announcing a move to ecommerce with digital-first brands. Shifting from an acquisition-driven approach, FMCG entities and large companies are now willing to back D2C brands despite funding winter.

Winds of change:

• Of the $247 million invested in D2C brands till October 30, 2022, $38.7 million came from FMCG and consumer goods companies.
• In the past year, about seven FMCG companies, including Emami, ITC, and Tata Consumer, have invested in D2C startups. 
• While ITC increased its stake in Mother Sparsh to 22%, Marico's portfolio of digital brands is likely to double to Rs 450 crore-Rs 500 crore ARR.

Outlook

MSME roadmap for 2023

While micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are slow to adopt change, 2022 has been a year of significant change for the sector as 52% of small businesses saw a favourable influence of digitalisation, as per a survey. Experts say 2023 will see MSMEs become stronger, both technologically and financially. 

2023 outlook

• More than 10,000 companies are expected to list on the SME Exchange in the next five to ten years, says MSMEx founder Amit Kumar.
• Lending will be driven by favourable regulations, digital technology and the increasing contribution of MSMEs in the overall growth, says Harsh Pokharna of OkCredit.
• Saket Dalmia of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry says 2023 will likely see import substitution by MSMEs given the procurement support extended by the government.

Cryptocurrency

Shiba Inu trumps Bitcoin on WazirX

What's the most popular token bought by first-time users? At WazirX, Shiba Inu (SHIB) tops the list followed by Tron (TRX) and Bitcoin (BTC). In its yearly report, the Indian crypto exchange revealed that over 2.1 million people signed up on WazirX in 2022.

Key trends:

• At WazirX, male users invested more in 'meme tokens, gaming tokens' like Dogecoin (DOGE) while female users traded in BTC and ETH.
• DOGE trading volumes on the exchange saw a 1,300% spike amid talks of Elon Musk buying Twitter.
• WazirX is currently working on releasing its Proof of Reserves to showcase the security of user funds on its platform.

News & updates

• Settlement: Epic Games has agreed to pay $520 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that the “Fortnite” videogame developer violated online privacy protections for children and tricked players into making unintended purchases.
• FUD-time: Binance is battling to shore up confidence after a surge in customer withdrawals and a steep drop in the value of its digital token. The exchange said it dealt with net outflows of around $6 billion over 72 hours last week "without breaking stride".
• Antitrust: Meta was hit with a formal complaint from EU antitrust watchdogs for allegedly squeezing out classified ad rivals by tying the Facebook Marketplace to its own social network. The European Commission said it issued a so-called statement of objections to Meta.

Name the two plays written by artist Pablo Picasso.

Answer: Desire Caught by the Tail (1941) and The Four Little Girls (1949).

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