Inside Ola Electric’s Q3 report card; Modernising India’s mukhwas industry

Hello,

Remember the famous line from Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign: “It's the economy, stupid”? Well, the economy is giving us a lot to talk about these days.  

Firstly, some big news from the RBI. It just made its first repo rate cut in about five years. Why is this important, you ask? Well, this should further leave more money in the hands of the consumer and spur growth. Coming on the back of tax breaks announced in the recent Budget, this will definitely spell better days ahead for consumption across sectors.

Speaking of exciting developments, the fintech sector is seeing a flurry of activity.

Take Rediff.com India, for instance. Remember it? The subsidiary of Infibeam Avenues is making some serious moves after posting impressive numbers (we are talking a 50% YoY increase in Q3 net profit here). It has just secured approval to join the UPI game as a third-party application provider with its digital payment platform, RediffPay.

Meanwhile, here’s an interesting twist: PhonePe, the current leader in the UPI business, is choosing to step away from the account aggregator business—you know, the business that helps collect and share financial data. Despite getting its licence less than two years ago, it’s doubling down on what it does best: digital payments. Talk about focusing on your core strengths.

And speaking of big numbers, expense management fintech platform Zaggle is crushing it. It reported a nearly 70% YoY surge in revenue for the quarter ended December 2024, as it expanded its customer base to over 3,300, signing contracts with companies like Zomato and Blinkit.

But not everyone is having such a great time. Over in the food delivery and quick commerce space, Swiggy is facing some headwinds.

Swiggy’s stock fell below both its IPO price and its last private valuation as widening losses and quick commerce heat pressured its margins in the last quarter.

Well, not every day is a good day.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Ola Electric Q3 report card
• Modernising India’s mukhwas industry
• Inside The Cocoon Initiative

Here’s your trivia for today: According to folklore, what dessert was accidentally created by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s royal chef?

Electric Mobility

Ola Electric Q3 report card

Ola Electric’s Bhavish Aggarwal stressed the rise in third-quarter gross margin percentage while abating investor concerns regarding its widening losses and decline in revenue for the period. 

The electric two-wheeler manufacturer reported widening losses in the three months ended December 31, 2024, bogged down by lower sales of its two-wheelers. It reported a quarterly net loss of Rs 562 crore in the quarter compared with Rs 374 crore in the year-ago period. It also saw a 19.4% decline in revenue from operations.

Key takeaways:

• The EV maker posted an automotive gross margin of 20.8% in Q3, which is 20 basis points higher than the previous quarter. 
• During the post-earnings investor call, Aggarwal added that January 2025 saw a significant margin expansion, and this trend is expected to continue into the fourth quarter and beyond. 
• The company is also ramping up its product portfolio with the expected introduction of electric three-wheelers in the second half of 2025.

Top Funding Deals of the Week

Startup: Cashfree Payments

Amount: $53M

Round: Fresh

Startup: Apex Kidney Care

Amount: $9M

Round: FDI

Startup: HairOriginals

Amount: $5M

Round: Series A

SMB

Modernising India’s mukhwas industry

For centuries, mukhwas (mouth fresheners) and paan have been an intrinsic part of Indian culture, often consumed after meals to help in digestion and refresh the palate. Despite their cultural importance, the industry has largely remained unorganised, dominated by local vendors and small-scale manufacturers with inconsistent quality standards.

Recognising this gap, husband-wife-duo Vaishali Mehta and Yash Mehta founded D2C brand JoySpoon in 2023 to introduce a premium, health-conscious alternative.

Refreshing take:

• In October 2022, the Mehtas introduced mukhwas under their own existing D2C food brand, Farmse, to gauge market response. The strong positive feedback highlighted the demand for a separate brand.
• The product lineup includes over ten flavours including Almond Delight, Cashew Rose, Digestive Fiesta, Calcutta Paan, and others. The prices range from Rs 99 to Rs 299.
• In September 2023, JoySpoon secured its first undisclosed investment from 100X.VC, enabling the brand to enhance production and refine packaging.

Social Impact

Inside The Cocoon Initiative

The social sector is fuelled by passion, resilience, and a commitment to change. But what happens when those at the forefront of this change reach their limit? Vishal Talreja has a solution.

Launched in November 2023, The Cocoon Initiative was a call to action: What if social sector leaders were given the space—and the financial support—to take a real break?

Rest is imperative:

• Through a $1-million commitment from philanthropist Donald Goodier, the initiative began funding sabbaticals of three months to a year, with grants covering living expenses, therapy or travel.
• “One applicant—a grassroots leader from Tamil Nadu—told me he had never taken his family on a holiday in 40 years,” Talreja recalls. “He asked, ‘Can I really use this support for that?’ And I told him, ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do.’”
• Many leaders who went through the programme returned with a new perspective—not just on their own work but also on how their organisations operate. Some introduced wellbeing leave, while others pushed for therapy to be covered under health insurance.

News & updates

• AI is king: SoftBank is close to finalising a $40 billion primary investment in OpenAI at a $260 billion pre-money valuation. SoftBank would pay out the funding, meaning a $300 billion post-money valuation for OpenAI, over the next 12 to 24 months, with the first payment coming as soon as spring. 
• Jobs data: The Indian government will begin publishing monthly unemployment figures from April, in a move aiming to provide more frequent data to policymakers. Until now, the government released only quarterly unemployment figures for urban areas and combined annual data for urban and rural areas. 
• Give access: Britain’s Home Office, which handles immigration and security, last month issued an order to Apple requiring a technical “backdoor” that would allow officials to view user’s fully encrypted material uploaded to the cloud software. Apple’s iCloud is end-to-end encrypted, meaning only the owner of the material can view it.

According to folklore, what dessert was accidentally created by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s royal chef?

Answer: Gulab Jamun.

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