BYJU’S disregarded advice: Prosus; India’s $300 billion ecommerce boom

Hello,

There’s a new job in town—at least in China.

Due to rising unemployment, adult children are being ‘hired’ by their parents as “Full Time Children” in exchange for doing housework, taking them grocery shopping, and living with them—for over $1,000 a month, which is close to the average salary in the country.

After three years of COVID-19 restrictions, youth employment has become a serious challenge in China as the jobless rate among 16-24 year-olds in the country hit a record 21.3% in June.

But, how long will this alternative last—and how many parents can actually afford it?

In other news, the average cost of a data breach in India has reached an all-time high of Rs 17.9 crore in 2023, reports IBM, an increase of 28% since 2020. Additionally, the report found that the most common attack type in India was phishing—at 22%—followed by stolen or compromised credentials at 16%.

Oh, and virtual pets game Neopets is back—in an all-new avatar after raising $4 million in funding last week. Have you checked out the ‘upgraded’ version yet? From new features to a celebrity ambassador—John Legend—and 50 updated versions of classic Neopets games, the company is promising a new era.

Will nostalgia be enough for its success though?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Prosus says BYJU’S disregarded advice
• India’s $300 billion ecommerce boom
• A 5K-strong community made with sports

Here’s your trivia for today: Who built the world's first solar thermal power station and where was it located?

Edtech

Prosus says BYJU’S disregarded advice

Prosus has a lot to say about BYJU'S! A key investor in the edtech firm, Prosus said that while BYJU'S experienced substantial growth, its reporting and governance structures did not adequately evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale.

“The decision for our Director to step down from the BYJU’S Board was taken after it became clear that he was unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the company and its stakeholders,” Prosus stated.

Hot soup:

• The Netherlands-based investment company noted that despite repeated efforts from its Director, executive leadership at BYJU’S regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters.
• This statement comes one month after its representative, Russell Dreisenstock, officially resigned from the board of the edtech firm. 
• On Monday, BYJU'S reached a tentative agreement to renegotiate its loan pact with lenders who collectively own more than 85% of its $1.2-billion term loan B (TLB).

Ecommerce

India’s $300B ecommerce boom

Indian 'mass' consumers, with an average annual income between Rs 2.5-10 lakh are set to dominate the ecommerce adoption in the country, reveals a Redseer report. This is expected to unlock an estimated $135 billion of the $300 billion total ecommerce opportunity by 2030, potentially adding over $110 billion to ecommerce GMV by 2030.  

Key takeaways:

• The report highlights that around 70% of mass consumers have increased their shopping frequency on ecommerce platforms over the last year.
• Within the $15-20 billion mass ecommerce segment, in 2022, 60-70% of sales was led by large companies. The rest was led by sector-specific players, including Meesho and Purplle, followed by smaller companies. 
• According to Redseer, mass consumers currently constitute about 53% of the Indian retail market, which is valued at $950 billion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% to reach about $2 trillion by 2030. 

Sports 

A 5K-strong community made with sports

Sisters in Sweat, a community for women connected through sport and wellness, was just one year old when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. Undeterred, founders Swetha Subbiah, a fitness coach, and Tanvie Hans powered ahead, with online engagements in yoga, HIIT, and dance to build the community.

Sisterhood:

• The organisation offers basketball, football, badminton, swimming, kickboxing sessions, yoga, dance, and a sweat fest that merges different formats in a 1.5-hour session. It also conducts networking events.
• Sisters in Sweat, today, has a network of over 5,000 women across India, with its physical sessions happening in Bengaluru and Mumbai.
• The founders are excited about its upcoming multi-city Sweat Fest in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

News & updates

• Copycat: TikTok users can now post text-based updates just as platforms like Meta’s Threads are vying to take on Twitter’s microblogging dominance. Users can add a background colour, edit how text appears, and add music and stickers to the post. There’s a 1,000-character limit.
• Petition: Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao are planning to seek the dismissal of a regulator's complaint, accusing it of violating the Commodity Exchange Act and certain related federal regulations. It is due to submit its response to the complaint on July 27 and plans to seek dismissal.
• Refocus: Xiaomi plans to focus on 5G smartphones and a leaner product portfolio in India, trying to claw back market share lost to rivals including Samsung. The company led the Indian market for years before regulatory headaches and a too-vast product portfolio caused its decline.

Who built the world's first solar thermal power station and where was it located?

Answer: US inventor Frank Shuman in the district of Maadi in Egypt in 1913. 

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