Startup News and Updates: Daily Roundup (September 14, 2023)

Funding news

HotelYaari raises seed funding of $2.17M from Alios Ventures

HotelYaari, a fractional ownership platform for holiday homes and hotel suites, has raised $2.17 million (Rs 18 crore) in seed funding from Alios Ventures. The complete investment will be disbursed in three equal tranches in the next three quarters, said a statement by the company. 

The startup was founded in May 2023 by Janardan Tiwari, former Founder and CEO of DataTrained. The platform offers the middle class an opportunity to invest in holiday homes and hotel suites. It's akin to fractional ownership concepts like Pacasso in the US and Kocomo in Mexico, enabling cost-effective access for those unable to buy whole properties.

Other news

Delhivery launches a location intelligence solution for businesses

Delhivery, India’s largest, fully integrated logistics services provider, has launched ‘LocateOne’ - a location intelligence solution, to expand its software offerings on the OS1 platform. 

OS1 offers logistics and supply chain software solutions, leveraging Delhivery's 10+ years of expertise. LocateOne, an API-based location intelligence tool, enhances address data quality and accuracy, reducing fraud in various sectors like retail, ecommerce, banking, and more, utilising Delhivery's patented technology.

Credit Wise Capital enters into a co-lending partnership with HDFC Bank for two-wheeler loans  

Credit Wise Capital (CWC), a tech-driven non-banking financial company (NBFC) renowned for its expertise in two-wheeler financing, has entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with HDFC Bank, a private sector bank to offer two-wheeler loans in Tier II, III, and IV towns of the country.

HDFC Bank partners with Credit Wise Capital to provide credit services to underserved sectors. Credit Wise Capital provides effortless financial solutions through Twin2, a WhatsApp chatbot available in five different languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, and English. Credit Wise Capital innovates with Account Aggregator and satellite-based location scoring for efficient two-wheeler loans, aiding newcomers in smaller Indian cities.

Clensta on-boards Mamaearth senior leader Ashish Mishra as Co-founder and Chief Business Officer  

Personal care brand Clensta has announced Ashish Mishra as Clensta’s Co-founder and Chief Business Officer (CBO), who along with Founder Puneet Gupta, is set to scale the brand to greater heights.

Ashish, with nearly two decades of experience, has led significant growth at Mamaearth, achieving 2500% growth, Rs 500 crore annual revenue, and managing a 1,500+ team. He's held key roles at Reliance, Tata Group, VLCC, and Russian Medicom.

In his new role, he will head the retail and online sales channels, along with playing a significant role in driving the growth of the international, institutional, and alternate channels thereby enhancing the brand’s reach and presence across markets. 

His experience in this industry will be instrumental in driving strategic decisions at the company and will also contribute towards the company’s growth capital raising initiatives.

Also Read

Setting the record straight: How Mamaearth dealt with its IPO controversy

Mordor Intelligence acquires 51% stake in global market insights

Hyderabad-based Mordor Intelligence has invested in the Global Market Insights (GMI) Group by acquiring a 51% equity stake for an undisclosed amount. It also has plans to acquire an additional 25% by March 2024. The combined entity has targeted a ₹400 Crore turnover in the next 5 years.

Pune-based GMI provides market intelligence services with 200 professionals, while Mordor Intelligence, a 550+ team, delivers market insights to 6500 clients, including 60% of Fortune 500 companies.

The Mordor Intelligence and GMI will continue to serve clients across diverse industries. including aerospace and defence, automotive and transportation, technology, media and telecom, energy and power, food and beverage, healthcare and more.

Shopify partners with CRED to expand payment options for merchants 

CRED, a community of creditworthy individuals, brands, and institutions, and Shopify Inc. (NYSE, TSX:SHOP), a provider of essential internet infrastructure for commerce, have entered into a partnership extending CRED’s payment options to merchants on the Shopify platform. 

Shopify merchants can boost sales by 40% with CRED Pay integration, offering CRED members seamless transactions, rewards, and preferred payment options, enhancing the shopping experience for the top 1%.

With zero fee for merchants, applicable for the first 30 days, they can curate exclusive benefits and rewards for CRED members. CRED pay is already live on leading Shopify merchants like Giva, Snitch, Suta, HEADS UP FOR TAILS, XYXX, Superkicks, and more. 

GoKwik has helped ecommerce brands save over Rs 130 Cr worth of RTO losses in 2023 

Brands on the network of ecommerce enabler GoKwik have saved upto Rs 130 crore in losses from return to origin orders (RTO) in 2023 so far. 

GoKwik's data reveals its interventions saved D2C brands over 16 lakh orders from RTOs, amounting to Rs 24 crore in logistics cost savings. It predicts and prevents RTOs, reducing inventory blockage. Electronics and fashion brands saw significant reductions in COD RTOs.

Many brands expanded COD serviceability and improved their performance with GoKwik's solutions, including boAt Lifestyle, ATTITUDIST, Boult Audio , Fireboltt, Swiss Beauty, The Man Company, Neeman's, WallMantra, and Lenskart. GoKwik employs various risk-based interventions, such as adding order completion layers, behavioral analysis, and pre-order measures like COD captcha and prepaid discounts.

myBiz by MakeMyTrip partners with Darwinbox

myBiz by MakeMyTrip, a corporate travel solutions brand from MakeMyTrip, and cloud-based integrated Human Resource (HR) platform, Darwinbox, have formed an alliance to integrate travel solutions and HR processes for corporates. The company said the partnership will create an automated throughline across travel reservations, HR protocol compliance, expense management, and GST resolution on a single self-serve platform.

According to a statement by the company, the partnership promises enterprises improved operational efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and streamlined expense reporting. Employees will benefit from a transparent, time-saving travel booking process that effortlessly adheres to policies.

Green Frontier Capital and Companion Capital announce partnership

Green Frontier Capital, an early-stage VC fund with operations in both India and the US, has announced a strategic partnership with Companion Capital (“Companion”), a growth equity climate initiative. 

In a statement, the company said the collaboration is crucial for startups and companies in the climatetech space, especially in gaining access to capital that transcends the Series A round of funding. 

It said it also unites growth equity expertise with early-stage startup support. This collaboration aims to expedite the adoption of innovative solutions, facilitating a swift transition to a low-carbon economy by harnessing both entities' strengths, the company said.

This partnership is expected to streamline their investment processes, providing startups with a broader spectrum of resources, mentorship, and the capital to realise their potential across multiple stages of their life cycles, all the way through to an eventual exit.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)