Tech to prevent human-wildlife conflict; Boardroom basics

Hello,

Interesting week ahead.

Kidswear brand FirstCry’s parent company Brainbees Solutions and SaaS platform Unicommerce eSolutions will open their initial public offering (IPO) on August 6. Meanwhile, Ola Electric, which saw its  IPO subscribed 35% on day one of its opening, will close its subscription on the same day. 

Japanese tech investor SoftBank hopes to win big from the three IPOs. 

Elsewhere, Magnificent Seven—a moniker used to describe top-performing tech companies—have had a few rough days as their stocks have moved into correction territory, meaning their combined share prices have fallen more than 10% since their peak in early July.

Meanwhile, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway dumped nearly half of its Apple stake last quarter and is now sitting on a record $277 billion. Berkshire often lets cash build up when it can’t find stocks to buy at fair prices, and its position on stocks signals concerns about the broader US economy.

Moving on to Olympics, India beat Great Britain 4-2 in a shoot-out to qualify for the semifinals of men's hockey. 

India are one win away from a second successive medal at the Olympics!

Lastly, don’t forget to grab your tickets for the 15th edition of TechSparks Bengaluru, to be held on September 26-28!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Tech to prevent human-wildlife conflict 
• Teaching the ABCs of boardroom

Here’s your trivia for today: What is the name of the paranoid robot in the book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy?

Startup

Tech to prevent human-wildlife conflict 

Apart from extreme weather events, pest attacks and water scarcity, farmers in India also have to deal with wildlife attacks.

SR Ayan believes there is a solution. He has built Katidhan to stop the destruction of farms by wild animals. The Bengaluru-based firm, started in 2017, offers solar-powered autonomous light deterrence solutions to farmers. 

Easing tension:

• After extensive research and development, including the study of animal behaviour during different agricultural seasons, Katidhan came up with two products—Parabraksh and Kapikaat, priced at Rs 9,500 each. 
• Parabraksh is a solar-powered smart deterrent light designed to repel large animals like tigers, leopards, elephants, and wild boars. 
• Katidhan’s second product, Kapikaat, is a solar-powered bio-acoustic sound system aimed at repelling monkeys from agricultural lands. It uses sound frequencies to keep monkeys at bay, and has an effectiveness rate of about 70%.

Women entrepreneurs

Teaching the ABCs of boardroom

Divya Momaya was working as a company secretary overseeing the compliance requirements for various companies when she realised the lack of proper corporate governance. This pushed her to educate founders, promoters, and other board members about good governance practices. 

In 2018, Momaya along with her sister-in-law, Neha Shah started MentorMyBoard. The startup provides knowledge, network, and resources needed by individuals and organisations in the corporate sector to be better in board leadership and governance.

Corporate:

• The startup has mentors from diverse fields such as strategy, diversity, cyber/ digital technology, finance, treasury management, legal, governance, marketing and sales, and compliance. 
• Mumbai-based MentorMyBoard offers a host of courses covering topics like breaking down board duties, enterprise risk management, code of conduct for directors, fraud reporting procedure, responsibility towards stakeholders among many others.
• Apart from training sessions, the startup also organises networking events through offline and online directors' meets in cities like Delhi, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. 

News & updates

• Severe drought: The Amazon is beginning the dry season with many of its rivers already at critically low levels, prompting governments to anticipate contingency measures to address issues ranging from disrupted navigation to increasing forest fires.
• Policy matters: The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit late last week against TikTok and parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children's privacy on the social media app as the Biden administration continues its crackdown on the social media site.

What you should watch out for

• RBI policy: The Reserve Bank of India's (Monetary Policy Committee) third meeting for monetary policy for 2024-25 will be held from August 6 to 8.
• India at Olympics: The men's javelin qualifiers are scheduled for August 6 and all eyes will be on Neeraj Chopra. Should the defending champion qualify for the final, he will be back in action to defend his title on August 8.

What is the name of the paranoid android in the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Answer: Marvin

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