Ronnie Screwvala on successful listing; Reducing farmers' dependence on fossil fuels

Hello,

The phrase ‘once in a blue moon’ has never rung truer.

Tonight, a rare super blue moon will be visible to skygazers. Compared with a regular full moon, a supermoon will be up to 30% brighter and up to 14% larger as the moon would be closest to Earth.

But contrary to its name, it won’t actually appear blue. The colloquial expression originates from a 16th-century proverb: If they say the moon is blue, we must believe it is true.

However, it didn’t stop the fervent human imagination from giving birth to myths. While people in some countries believed that wolves emerge on a blue moon, some others feared that if a person fell sick on a blue moon, they would pass away in eight days!

This year, the super blue moon is coinciding with the Rakhi festival, which is expected to generate trade worth Rs 12,000 crore, according to CAIT. 

Businesses are also tapping into the opportunity. 

Quick commerce platform Blinkit has launched an international ordering service whereby siblings living abroad can send presents and rakhis to their loved ones in India. Zepto too is aiming to deliver over 3.5 million orders in three days.

Lastly, grab your First Movers pass for the grand 15th edition of TechSparks to be held in Bengaluru on September 26-28.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Ronnie Screwvala on listing social enterprise
• Reducing farmers' dependence on fossil fuels

Here’s your trivia for today: Who is the biggest-selling female recording artist of all time?

Interview

Ronnie Screwvala on listing social enterprise

Serial entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala said the successful listing of a project by his non-governmental organisation, Swades Foundation, on the Social Stock Exchange (SSE) has given him “a different high”. 

“I think what [the] National Stock Exchange and SEBI have done here with this one is they've created a very credible system, because one of the key things when you want to give back is credibility and impact,” he said.

Social fundraising:

• Swades Foundation with its 300+ strong team and 1,000+ volunteers hopes to lift a million people in rural India out of poverty every 6-7 years.
• The Rs 10-crore fundraise saw participation from 150 individuals. Infosys Co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath and Nithin Kamath, and Vidya Balan are among the contributors.
• The upGrad co-founder highlighted that the strongest point of SSE is that organisations can approach this platform multiple times to raise capital for different projects. However, he cautioned that it is important to build credibility first.

Startup

Reducing farmers' dependence on fossil fuels

AgriVijay aims to reduce farmers’ dependency on fossil fuels while increasing their incomes. The Pune-based startup offers a marketplace for farmers to buy all renewable energy agri equipment, including solar water pumps, bio-digesters and street lights—totalling 200+ products.

Sustainable farming:

• The products’ pricing starts from Rs 849 and goes up to a few lakhs. AgriVijay has also tied up with Samunnati, a non-banking financial company, to offer EMIs and other financing facilities at subsidised interest rates to make the products affordable.
• It has also partnered with 45 manufacturers and startups in renewable and green energy space to onboard their products on AgriVijay’s platform. 
• The startup has an omnichannel strategy, offering touch points such as an AI-enabled WhatsApp chatbot, call centres in the local languages, field sales/technical teams, and offline renewable energy stores. 

News & updates

• Back on track: Goldman Sachs Group Inc economists lowered the probability of a US recession in the next year to 20% from 25%, citing last week’s retail sales and jobless claims data. The value of retail sales increased in July by the most since early 2023. Separate government figures showed the fewest applications for unemployment benefits last week since early July.
• Shutting shop: X has closed its office in Brazil over a censorship row. The social media platform said a Brazilian Supreme Court judge threatened its legal representative in Brazil with arrest if it did not comply with “censorship orders”. People in Brazil are still able to use X, billionaire Elon Musk’s platform said.
• AI race: South Korean AI chip makers Rebellions Inc and Sapeon Korea Inc have signed a definitive merger agreement. The deal is the latest attempt by South Korean companies to challenge global AI chip leaders, such as Nvidia.

What you should watch out for

• Hindenburg impact: SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch denied the conflict of interest allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research for having held “stakes in both the obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.” However, she has also been under scrutiny for not disclosing that her husband Dhaval Buch is currently an advisor to Blackstone Inc, which has sponsored two of the four listed real estate investment trusts which Hindenburg revealed that the SEBI chief had promoted. Buch had said in a statement that she had recused herself from all matters involving Blackstone. While there's a plea in the Supreme Court demanding the conclusion of the Adani probe, the week will see a nationwide protest demanding Puri Buch’s resignation.
• Global cues: After the Indian stock markets witnessed a strong rally on Friday, the sentiment in the upcoming week will depend on institutional flows and upcoming economic data, such as the HSBC India Manufacturing PMI and HSBC India Services PMI. Also, the US Federal Reserve is scheduled to make comments ahead of its next monetary announcement where it is expected to cut policy rates. Last week, Japan stocks notched their best week in four years as fresh economic data eased recessionary fears.

Who is the biggest-selling female recording artist of all time?

Answer: Madonna. She has sold over 400 million albums, singles, and digital records since 1983.

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