APAC to lead global fintech market

Hello,

Freshworks exceeded its own expectations.

The SaaS firm reported a 20% year-on-year increase in its revenue for the first quarter, driven by customer acquisition. The Nasdaq-listed firm also generated its first-ever quarterly adjusted operating profit of $3.9 million as a public company.

In other news, Zoom is gearing up to offer its cloud-based private branch exchange service ‘Zoom Phone’ to businesses operating in India as the company has secured a pan-India telecom licence.

Meanwhile, VC firm Chiratae Ventures announced the final closure of its new growth fund at Rs 1,001 crore. It aims to invest in mature startups that are on the high-growth path, with a clear plan for profitability.

Elsewhere, an Israeli startup has successfully 3D printed ready-to-cook fish fillets—grown in a laboratory and completely edible.

Oh, and here’s a deep dive into quantum computing—and why so much money is being spent on its R&D.

The answer is both exciting and terrifying…

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• APAC to lead global fintech market 
• Accel revamps accelerator Atoms 
• Preserving Mizoram’s biodiversity 

Here’s your trivia for today: What was the original name of the international environmental organisation Greenpeace Foundation?

Fintech 

APAC to lead global fintech market by 2030

With a projected CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 27%, Asia Pacific (APAC) will likely outpace the United States of America to become the world’s top fintech market by 2030, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and QED Investors.  

China, India, and Indonesia, instead of Japan and South Korea, will drive most of the growth in APAC.

Ahead of the curve:

• India has the opportunity to leapfrog the intermediate stages of fintech development that other developed financial markets have undergone, especially if it can benefit from supportive regulation, the report said. 
• More than 1.3 billion Indians are enrolled in Aadhaar—the largest biometric identity system in the world—while UPI (unified payments interface) processed $1.25 trillion in transactions in FY21–2022
• After payments, B2B2X and B2b (serving small businesses) will lead the next part of the fintech journey.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: Kiwi

Amount: $6M

Round: pre-Seed

Startup: Solar Ladder 

Amount: Rs 11 Cr

Round: Seed

Investor

Accel revamps startup accelerator Atoms 

The latest iteration of venture capital firm Accel’s startup accelerator Atoms will focus on two themes–artificial intelligence and Industry 5.0.

Atoms is looking for startups using AI for business applications and companies building development tools for the AI ecosystem. On Industry 5.0, the programme will engage with those startups building digital tools for traditional industries.

Get set go:

• Atoms 3.0 programme will offer personalised learning, sector-specific mentors, and up to $500,000 in seed investment for each selected startup.
• It will also have a smaller number of startups in a batch of 4-5. Applications for this programme will open by the end of May.
• In the past two cohorts, Atoms invested in 24 startups ranging from SaaS, B2B marketplaces, Web3, D2C, hardware, and health and wellness, to hardware and e-commerce.

Startup

Preserving Mizoram’s biodiversity 

Although Mizoram is home to various aromatic and medicinal plants, natural dyes, wildflowers, and fruits, the state’s agricultural potential has largely been untapped. 

Lalhlupuii (Mahlui) Ralte, who spent her childhood in different villages of Mizoram, wanted to preserve the rich biodiversity of the region. In 2018, she started Zo Bio Hub, a startup that helps farmers, especially women, cultivate indigenous plant species.

A golden opportunity:

• Zo Bio Hub’s initial focus is on processing aromatic plants into essential oils and offering them a bigger market for distribution.
• Practices like Jhum (shifting) and monoculture cultivation have reduced soil fertility in the state.
• Ralte has roped in 300 farmers to practise permaculture farming, out of which 200 are women.

News & updates

• Resell value: Apple has experienced a big boost in demand in India, driven by a surge in refurbished iPhone sales. The iPhone accounted for 11% of secondary smartphone sales in the country last year, up from 3% in 2021, making it the “fastest-growing refurbished brand in India”, according to Counterpoint Research.
• New login tool: Google announced that passkeys are now rolling out to users globally, nearly a year after Google, Apple, Microsoft, and the FIDO Alliance announced a partnership to make frictionless passwordless logins a reality across devices, operating systems, and browsers.
• Strength test: An experimental Alzheimer's drug, donanemab, developed by Eli Lilly and Co slowed cognitive decline by 35% in a closely watched late-stage trial involving 1,182 people, raising hopes for a second effective treatment for the brain-wasting disease. 

What was the original name of the international environmental organisation Greenpeace Foundation?

Answer: Don't Make a Wave Committee. 

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