Indian crypto exchanges are building for next bull run

What does a woman entrepreneur in Singapore, the US, and India have in common? They are all struggling to raise funding from VCs.

A Nikkei report reveals that women are not only raising less funding than their male counterparts but they are also raising it at lower valuations. In India, women-founded startups snagged just 0.3% of the total VC funding in 2021 while in Southeast Asia, this was at 0.6% and in the US, it is marginally higher at 2.4%.

Oh, this is even though women-founded businesses deliver higher revenues—over twice as much per dollar invested—than those founded by men.

ICYMI: Inventor Tony Fadell is trying to build the iPod of crypto.

Meanwhile, retail inflation has eased to an 11-month low of 5.88% in November, dropping within RBI's tolerance band of 2-6% after 10 months.

Lastly, a look at the funniest wildlife pictures clicked this year. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Indian crypto exchanges are building for next bull run
• RentoMojo’s growth trajectory
• The gender gap in MENA’s startup ecosystem

Here’s your trivia for today: Where is the world’s largest pyramid located?

Cryptocurrency 

Indian crypto exchanges are building for next bull run

While the world over, crypto firms have either had to scale back, halt operations or re-consider roadmaps in the wake of prevailing market conditions, Indian companies continue to build new products and take measures to earn consumer trust. 

Building the future:

• Mumbai-based CoinDCX is working on a Decentralised Finance (DeFi) app named Okto, which it says will allow users to access Decentralised Apps (DApps) and tokens and act as a self-custodial wallet.
• In November, CoinSwitch launched Coinswitch Pro–a multi-exchange trading platform for users to trade crypto across Coinswitch, CoinDCX and WazirX with a singular login. 
• WazirX is working on releasing its Proof of Reserves (PoR) to showcase the security of user funds on its platform. CoinDCX published its own PoR in November, while Coinswitch cited an independent third-party audit.

Funding Alert

Startup: Wellbeing Nutrition

Amount: $10M

Round: Series B

Startup: Contlo

Amount: $3.5M

Round: Seed

Startup: In-Med Prognostics

Amount: $2.13M

Round: Undisclosed 

Startup 

RentoMojo’s growth trajectory

Bengaluru-based Rentomojo serves more than 110,000 subscribers, which it says is "the largest user base in the rental furniture and appliances category worldwide". Founded in 2014, RentoMojo is a rental platform for furniture, appliances, and electronics. The startup has seen a 5X rise in demand in FY23, with core categories of furniture and appliances driving the growth.

Key takeaways:

• RentoMojo has raised Rs 70 crore in multiple rounds in the past five months and has an additional debt line of over Rs 40 crore on the table for this fiscal year. 
• The startup has been profitable for the last 14 months. The company also has reached a PAT (profit after tax) of Rs 4 crore for the trailing 12 months. 
• It generated a revenue of Rs 105 crore in FY22 compared to Rs 106 crore in FY21, and says it has witnessed a 60% increase in revenue in FY23.

Women entrepreneurship

The gender gap in MENA’s startup ecosystem

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region may be the new playground for entrepreneurs, but it's still not a level-playing field for women founders. 

In 2022, the region raised around $3 billion in startup funding, according to to a report by Wamda and Digital Digest. However, women-led startups accounted for only 0.06% of the total.

Bridging the gap:

• While all-men-led companies received 99.47% of the overall investments made, startups with both men and women founders obtained just 0.47% of the funding. 
• As per the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2022, the MENA region—with an average population-weighted score of 63.4%—accounts for the second-largest workforce gender gap after South Asia. 
• In a report titled 'Gender Diversity on Boards in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries', the State Street Global Advisors highlights that closing the gender gap could add $2.7 trillion to the economies in the region, including the GCC nations, by 2025.

News & updates

• Homecoming: NASA's Orion capsule barreled through Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific ocean after making an uncrewed voyage around the moon, winding up the inaugural mission of the US agency's new Artemis lunar program 50 years to the day after Apollo's final moon landing.
• Strategic: Microsoft has agreed to buy a £1.5bn stake in London Stock Exchange Group as part of a 10-year strategic partnership between the US software company and the 300-year-old UK bourse. The deal, announced on Monday, marks the latest tie-up between exchanges and Big Tech. 
• Dust-choked: Beijing is suffering through its worst bout of air pollution in nearly two years as a sandstorm in northern China fills the capital’s skies with dust. Its official air quality index hit its maximum level of 500 on Monday.

Where is the world’s largest pyramid located?

Answer: Mexico. The Great Pyramid of Cholula. 

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