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Asia NZ Foundation set to roll out inaugural edition of India New Zealand Entrepreneurship Initiative

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The Asia New Zealand Foundation, a multidivisional foundation with arts, sports and research and engagement divisions, is set to roll out the first edition of the India New Zealand Entrepreneurship Initiative (INZEI). A week-long programme, INZEI aims to create opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs to better understand New Zealand’s agriculture sector.

As part of the programme, the selected cohort, which consists of eight emerging Indian agribusiness entrepreneurs and business leaders in the founder or CEO positions, will get a chance to visit New Zealand early next year and interact with fellow entrepreneurs working in the agribusiness.  

Beginning with Auckland, the team will visit key facilities like the Food Bowl in Auckland; Waikato, a region famous for dairy and beef; and Taupo, which is known for aquaculture. A visit to Massey University will also be a highlight, particularly for exploring innovations in alternative proteins and horticulture. The foundation will cover all travel-related expenses.

The team will also get to attend Central District Field Days, one of the country’s largest regional agricultural events.

“Our two biggest exports are agriculture and tourism. So, we want to combine the two… People won’t just be sitting in conference rooms all day. We want to connect them with local farmers, put them with the people and meet entrepreneurs, VC companies doing innovative projects in New Zealand, and hold networking events to facilitate these connections.” Nick Siu, Director, Business & Entrepreneurship, Asia New Zealand Foundation, tells YourStory.

Networking, building trust and goodwill, and long-lasting connections are at the core of the programme. 

“Our programme has been focused towards ASEAN for the last 12 years because we wanted to prove that it could work. So, the format of what we want to start with India is based on the success of what we’ve done for 12 years in ASEAN,” says Siu.

“We basically fund two cohorts from ASEAN to come into New Zealand,” he explains. The programmes can have different topics each year, from agribusiness to fashion, tourism, to tech. Following this, the foundation sends a cohort of New Zealand entrepreneurs to ASEAN.

Person to person links is everything, believes Siu. “The demographic data and the rise of India’s economy has been oft-spoken about, but human connections are paramount, and it’s really important for the foundation and NZ to show that we care. Business and two-way trade always follows after,” he adds.

The programme will also provide a space to discuss, share, and solve challenges faced by entrepreneurs from both countries.

The applications close at 09:30 am IST (5 PM NZT), on November 16, 2024.

The ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative (YBLI) programme has been going for 12 years and has around 300 people in its network.





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Magenta Mobility’s FY24 revenue rises three fold, losses widen by 17.1%

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Magenta Mobility on Thursday reported a 199.5% jump in its full-year revenue to Rs 35.53 crore compared to Rs 11.86 crore in the previous year helped by a significant rise in its revenue from services.

The company provides a 100% electric fleet and AI and IoT-enabled fleet management and data analytics platform to optimise logistics operations and deliveries. Revenue from these services for the year ended March 31, 2024, increased to Rs 30.17 crore compared to Rs 10.15 crore in FY23.

However, the company reported a 17.1% increase in its loss for the period to Rs 46.44 crore as opposed to Rs 39.66 crore in FY23, bogged down by rising expenses during the year. The 109.1% rise in expenses to Rs 90.17 crore was primarily due to rising driver costs, employee benefit expenses, and finance costs.

Magenta Mobility appoints drivers on a contract basis to provide services to its customers, which it accounts as an expense. The drivers’ cost for FY24 increased to Rs 18.49 crore, compared to Rs 6.34 crore in FY23.

The rise in demand for the company’s fleet comes amidst a boom in the last-mile delivery sector in India owing to the rise of ecommerce and quick commerce players. Magenta Mobility caters to clients such as Flipkart and hyper-local delivery platform Dunzo, among others.

Founded in 2017 by Maxson Lewis and Darryl Dias, the company last raised $22 million in a Series A funding round from BP Venture and Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure-managed investment fund.





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Juspay cuts losses by 7.7% as revenue surges 49.6% in FY24

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Payments startup Juspay Technologies saw its losses narrowing in FY24 as revenue growth outpaced expenditure. It narrowed its total loss for the period to Rs 97.54 crore, down 7.76% from Rs 105.75 crore in FY23.

According to the consolidated financial statements accessed from the Registrar of Companies, the SoftBank-backed fintech firm’s revenue from operations surged 49.64% to Rs 319.32 crore, up from Rs 213.39 crore in FY23.

Juspay’s primary revenue source—payment platform integration fees—brought in Rs 286.52 crore. Additional operating revenue from services like product implementation and support added Rs 32.80 crore.

Total expenses rose by 29.52% to Rs 443.74 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 342.59 crore in the previous year. This increase was largely driven by employee benefit expenses, which saw a 41.73% jump to Rs 303.36 crore, while other expenses increased slightly over 3.56% to Rs 123.76 crore.

Juspay, founded in 2012 by Vimal Kumar and Ramanathan RV in Bengaluru, specialises in developing payment orchestration solutions that act as a technology layer over traditional payment gateways.

The Accel-backed startup has also developed Namma Yatri, a mobility app focusing on ride-hailing services, leveraging Juspay’s strengths in payments and open-source protocols. Namma Yatri is built on the Beckn Protocol and aligns with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), aiming to provide low-cost ride-hailing options and open access to digital mobility services.

Recently, Juspay decided to spin off Namma Yatri as an independent entity to attract separate investors and scale further. In February, the company said it acquired LotusPay in an all-cash deal to strengthen its offerings to the BFSI segment and merchants.

LotusPay, founded in 2016, pioneered NACH Debit technology with cloud-based software for merchants and banks. Using NPCI’s NACH Debit, it facilitates recurring payments for loans, insurance, and subscriptions.





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Flipkart selects five startups for third cohort of Flipkart Leap Innovation Network

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Flipkart has selected five innovative startups for the third cohort of its flagship startup accelerator programme, Flipkart Leap Innovation Network (FLIN).

The cohort is introducing startups that are driving advancements across GenAI, omnichannel, analytics, and video commerce, the company said in a statement.

The selected startups— Intelligence Node, Invenzo Labs, StoryBrain, Phyllo, and D-ID— are set to run pilot programs with Flipkart to develop solutions.

“The selected startups get access to mentorship, resources, and the opportunity to execute pilot projects within the Flipkart ecosystem, scaling their solutions to meet the demands of India’s digital economy and e-commerce growth,” the company said.

Since its launch in 2022, the accelerator programme aims to accelerate the growth of the startup ecosystem in India, driving collaboration, and championing cutting-edge retail innovations. 

“Through the FLIN programme, Flipkart continues to expand its role as a catalyst for innovation within India’s startup ecosystem, providing a collaborative platform for startups to test, refine, and deploy solutions that can shape the future of e-commerce in India,” said Naren Ravula, Vice President and Head – Product Strategy and Flipkart Labs.

The programme is designed to engage with startups through commercial partnerships in Flipkart’s areas of interest. Successful startups get the opportunity to scale up to a business partnership.

Over 20 startups from the initial two cohorts have concluded pilots working closely with the Flipkart Product and Engineering teams.

The company added that four startups from the previous cohort— Anagog, Speedsize, Sangti, and Vtion— have recently concluded successful pilot projects with Flipkart.





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