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Loom Solar Looks To Light Up Indian Households With Solar Energy

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SUMMARY

The startup claims to be present in 500 Indian districts and operates through a network of 10K+ resellers

The Origin Story

Uninterrupted access to modern energy services is mandatory for a nation’s growth. However, many households in India still grapple with irregular and expensive power supplies and many people resort to using unhealthy biofuels for their essential needs. As solar can be a clean and cost-effective answer to these challenges, brothers Amol and Amod Anand are bringing it to Indian households at scale through Loom Solar. The startup in the renewable energy space makes all essential hardware, including rooftop solar panels, inverters and batteries, to ensure a more sustainable and equitable future for millions.  

The Differentiator

Loom Solar provides a comprehensive range of solar panels, lithium batteries and solar inverters all in one place. This integrated approach aims to enable people, especially those in rural communities, to offer reliable off-grid power sources. It also claims that its rooftop with its solar panels household can save up to 80% in electricity bills. Considering the upfront costs associated with installing home solar panel systems, (which start at INR 1,050 for a 10-watt system and can exceed INR 20,000 based on increasing electricity requirements), it has partnered with several banks, such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, for easy loans and EMI options.

 The Growth

Loom Solar has served 50K users, fulfilling electricity requirements up to 100 MW. It is present in 500 Indian districts and claims a network of 10K+ resellers for easy product access. The brand also caters to corporate customers, including ACC, Nexleaf Analytics, Ecoppia and more, and clocked INR 100 Cr in revenue in FY23.

What’s Next

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) estimates that 25 Cr+ Indian households can generate 637 GW of solar energy using rooftop systems. If one-third of this capacity gets installed, it can meet the power requirements of the country’s residential sector. Loom Solar is well-equipped to cater to the increasing demand for solar energy and aims to earn a revenue of INR 350 Cr in the calendar year 2024. It is also planning to set up a manufacturing unit for batteries and EV chargers by CY25.

 





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Startup Stories

Byju’s partially pays March salaries, pending February payouts.

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Byju’s, a prominent player in the edtech industry, has encountered financial challenges resulting in delayed salary payments for its employees. As of April 20, the company has only disbursed a portion of March salaries, attributing the delay to a severe cash crunch. Despite earlier assurances from the company’s management that salaries for March would be paid by April 18, many mid-senior employees have reported receiving only 50% of their March salaries. Additionally, February salaries remain unpaid for a significant number of employees, further exacerbating the situation.

Founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, has resorted to raising personal debt against his stakes in the company to facilitate salary payments. This underscores the severity of the financial challenges facing Byju’s and highlights the lengths to which Raveendran is willing to go to address the issue.

Employee testimonies reveal the extent of the salary delays, with one employee stating that they received only 50% of their March salary on April 20, with 80% of their February salary still pending. Another concerning aspect is the reported disparity between junior and senior employees, with junior staff receiving full salary payments while top management has gone without salaries for the past two months.

Byju’s has acknowledged the delay in salary payments but has not provided a detailed explanation for the situation. A company spokesperson declined to comment on queries from ET regarding the matter. In an email sent to employees on April 8, the management team expressed regret over the delay and attributed it to the inability to secure approval to access funds from a rights issue. The delay has been further compounded by actions from foreign investors, hindering the company’s access to necessary funds.

This revelation follows a previous report by ET on April 1, which highlighted Byju’s decision to delay salary payments due to constraints imposed by warring investors, limiting the company’s access to funds through a rights issue. The ongoing dispute with investors, including Dutch investor Prosus, has added to Byju’s financial woes and has led to further delays in resolving the issue.

In a separate development, Byju’s India chief executive, Arjun Mohan, announced his departure from the company in mid-April, just six months after assuming the role. This unexpected move prompted founder Byju Raveendran to take on the responsibility of overseeing day-to-day operations of the company’s India business, housed under Think & Learn, marking a significant shift in leadership.

Amidst these challenges, Byju’s is embroiled in a legal battle with a group of investors led by Prosus, who are seeking to block a rights issue and the removal of Byju Raveendran as CEO. The company has also initiated arbitration proceedings to address the dispute and find a resolution.

The rights issue undertaken by Byju’s is significant, as it is being offered at a staggering 99% discount to the company’s peak valuation of $22 billion. This steep discount has implications for investors who choose not to participate in the funding, potentially resulting in a significant dilution of their shareholding post-completion of the rights issue.

The unfolding events at Byju’s underscore the challenges facing the edtech giant as it navigates financial constraints, leadership transitions, and legal disputes. The company’s ability to address these issues effectively will determine its future trajectory and its ability to maintain its position in the competitive edtech landscape.

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Revolut India receives provisional approval for PPI license from RBI

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Revolut India, a neobank backed by Tiger Global and Softbank, has secured an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for issuing Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI), encompassing prepaid cards and wallets. CEO Paroma Chatterjee shared this development in a LinkedIn post on Friday. This approval complements Revolut India’s existing licenses from the RBI, which allow it to function as a Category-II Authorised Money Exchange Dealer (AD II), enabling the issuance of multi-currency forex cards and cross-border remittance services.

Chatterjee emphasized the significance of this milestone, highlighting the opportunity it presents to provide Indian consumers with both international and domestic payment solutions on a unified platform. Revolut, Europe’s largest neobank, entered the Indian market in 2021 with aspirations to disrupt the domestic payments sector. The RBI’s approval is expected to bolster Revolut’s position as a key player in this domain.

Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) are payment tools that utilize stored monetary value, including digital wallets, smart cards, or vouchers, for transactions. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das proposed on April 5, 2024, to allow PPIs to be linked through third-party UPI applications, enabling PPI holders to conduct UPI payments akin to bank account holders.

Chatterjee underscored Revolut’s commitment to full compliance with regulatory requirements, particularly in India, where the neobank has undertaken significant efforts to localize its global tech-stack to adhere to local regulations.

In an interview with ET BFSI, Chatterjee disclosed Revolut’s plans to introduce a comprehensive suite of digital-first money management services for all Indian customers. These services will enable users to manage their finances, including payments and remittances, both domestically and internationally.

The app, currently in use by employees, will be officially launched once the internal testing phase is completed, according to Chatterjee. She also revealed that there are over 175,000 prospective customers on Revolut India’s waitlist, indicating strong interest in the product.

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Postman buys Orbit to extend developer community reach.

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Postman, renowned as an API management platform tailored for enterprises, has recently made headlines with its acquisition of Orbit, a pivotal tool in the arsenal of developer companies for nurturing communities across a spectrum of platforms, including Discord, Slack, and GitHub. Although the specifics of the financial transaction remain undisclosed, Postman took to its blog to underline Orbit’s indispensable role in supporting major developer companies in fostering community management and fostering growth over the course of the past four years.

Within the ecosystem of Postman, the integration of Orbit is poised to be transformative, with the Orbit team set to assume a pivotal role in seamlessly embedding community-centric features into the fabric of the Postman Public API Network. This strategic move is aimed at catalyzing dynamic collaboration between content creators and end-users within the network. Postman, boasting a staggering valuation of $5.6 billion, stands as a stalwart in the realm of API collaboration platforms, serving a user base exceeding 30 million developers and 500,000 organizations.

Under the stewardship of Noah Schwartz, a recent addition to the Postman team hailing from Amazon Web Services, the Orbit team is primed to spearhead initiatives aimed at empowering API distributors to broaden the horizons of their communities, optimize API utilization, and solicit direct feedback from users entrenched within the network.

This integration is anticipated to embolden developers to unearth APIs tailored to their unique requirements and foster meaningful engagements with peers to extract maximum value from each API. However, as part of the transitionary phase, Orbit has outlined plans to gradually phase out its existing product and platform over the span of the next 90 days. Commencing July 11, all functionalities will be deactivated, with no provision for the creation of new users or workspaces.

Postman’s strategic maneuver comes on the heels of its triumphant fundraising endeavor in 2021, securing a whopping $225 million in funding. The fundraising round, spearheaded by Insight Partners, witnessed active participation from prominent entities such as Coatue, Bond Capital (helmed by Mary Meeker), and Battery Ventures.

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