| July 25, 2022 |  | | Hello Reader,
They say old is gold, and Twitter agrees, at least when it comes to appliances. Here’s a 66-year-old refrigerator , which has sliding shelves so you can grab the things at the back without removing the ones in the front. Cool and handy, eh? But not to worry. The refrigerators of today have Wi-Fi…
Meanwhile, Microsoft is making an entry into social media—although some may say it’s a delayed one. Last week, it announced a new Viva Engage platform, which is built within its Teams app, suggesting the company wants to pitch it as a social networking platform for work.
Not only does Viva have a multimedia news feed but also a Stories feature. It remains to be seen if Microsoft’s new offering can set it apart from its competitors Zoom, Google Meet, and others.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
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The future of BNPL startups
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Starting up at the age of 80
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Making Punjab future-ready Here’s your trivia for today: Where is the largest impact crater (created when an object like a meteor hits the Earth at a high velocity) in the world due to meteorites?
| | | | Fintech | | The future of BNPL |  | | BNPL (buy now, pay later), often touted as the first step to warming Indian users to credit products, is under a cloud of misinformation.
Following the Reserve Bank of India’s notification in June on prepaid payment instruments, many BNPL operators have been forced to rethink their business models. YourStory takes a look at what’s behind the headlines, the industry’s thoughts around the circular, and the options they’re considering to become RBI-compliant.
A closer look at the T&C:
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Indian BNPL market grew 321% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) during FY19-21 and the average ticket size 24X between FY19-21.
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PayU-owned LazyPay, KreditBee, EarlySalary, and Jupiter temporarily suspended their BNPL offerings following RBI’s circular. LazyPay could switch from a prepaid card to a credit card, a source who requested anonymity told YourStory.
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The RBI is expected to release detailed guidelines on the BNPL regulation any time this week, according to a source in the central bank.
“The RBI has no problem if a company offers a credit line and does not charge interest on it for three months; it would probably welcome it, because, as a regulator, it always has the best interests of the ‘little guy’ in mind. The problem arises when you take a product that exists, add some bells and whistles and slap a new name on it,” the chief risk officer at a fintech startup told YourStory.
| | Read More | | | | | | Inspiration | | Starting up at the age of 80 |  | | It is never too late to begin an entrepreneurial journey. RK and Shakuntala Devi Choudhary, a couple in their 80s, started Avimee Herbal out of their home in Surat in 2021 to solve their daughter’s hair fall problem. The brand has made ~Rs 13 crore worth of sales until July.
Avimee Herbal, which started with just one hair oil, now has 17 SKUs in its kitty, including skincare, beard care, and other hair care products.
The brand’s Keshpallav Hair Oil is its hottest selling product. Additionally, its Hair Tone PV1 Scalp Spray and Ortho CP Pain Relief Oil are also loved by the customers.
A new beginning: -
Avimee Herbal has set up a 7,500 sq ft manufacturing facility in Surat where all products are made in-house with raw materials sourced from across the nation.
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The brand gets its products tested in a lab in Roorkee. Managing Director Siddhant Agarwal says that by August, an in-house lab unit will be set up, which would reduce the turnaround time.
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By the end of the year, the company is expecting to have 50 employees. It is also hiring a chemist to formulate products for skin care, and plans to expand to kids care and pet care soon. | | Read More | | | | | | Startup | | Making Punjab future-ready |  | | Despite entrepreneurs from Punjab building Indian companies with a net worth of over $50 billion and foreign companies with a net worth of more than $100 billion, the state itself has largely missed the technology wave.
One catalyst organisation, Innovation Mission Punjab, has decided to change that.
IMPunjab aims to support entrepreneurs across Punjab with resources, training, networking opportunities, and virtual and physical engagements.
Joining the tech train: -
The government appointed Pramod Bhasin (Founder of Genpact, Clix Capital, and Asha Impact) to chair IMPunjab in 2020.
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Built as a public-private partnership, IMPunjab is collaborative in nature.
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The organisation’s goal is to reach a working population of 14 million, 30 universities, 1000 colleges, and 8 lakh students based in Punjab.
“Post agri and industry boom, Punjab has missed the current economic wave i.e. tech and startups. This hasn’t resulted in investment and jobs in Punjab. The founders of Zomato, Ola, Blinkit, and Flipkart are all Punjabis but migrated to locations with developed startup ecosystems due to a lack of opportunity in Punjab,” Pramod tells YourStory.
| | Read More | | | | | | News & Updates | | | |
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High alert: The World Health Organisation has declared monkeypox a global emergency, which has spread in just a few weeks to dozens of countries and infected tens of thousands of people. It is the seventh public health emergency since 2007. -
Playing by popularity: Apple announced the next generation of its car software CarPlay in June. Apple engineering manager Emily Schubert said 98% of new cars in the US come with CarPlay installed, adding that 79% of US buyers would only buy a car if it supported CarPlay. -
Anonymous no more: Magistrate judge Alex Tse of the US District Court in the Northern District of California has ordered Glassdoor to disclose the identities of people who left anonymous negative reviews about working at the New Zealand toy company Zuru. | | | | Here's what else we have for you | | | | Marico Innovation Foundation’s Innovation For India Awards is back with its 9th edition. | | In association with Marico Innovation Foundation | | The oldest and most prestigious recognition platform for undiscovered, game-changing innovations is now accepting applications under 2 categories: -
Business (For-Profit) -
Social (Not-For-Profit) Indian innovations from across sectors are eligible to submit their applications. No registration fee applicable. | | Register | | | | Flipkart partners with sellers | | In association with Flipkart | | Here’s how ecommerce major Flipkart has partnered with sellers such as Khatu Crafts from Rajasthan and the West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board to sell authentic, handmade rakhis for Raksha Bandhan this year, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of India. | | Know More | | | | ‘HER Leadership’ series | | In association with Amazon Web Services | | AWS and YourStory’s ‘HER Leadership’ series—featuring interviews with some of the most successful and prominent enterprise business leaders in India—kickstarts Season 2 with Uma Ratnam Krishnan, Co-CEO, BGSC India, Barclays.
“If each individual can challenge and empower their teams, the power of what you can unleash can be quite dramatic,” she tells Chandra Balani, Head Global Enterprise India & Lead - ID&E initiatives, India, AISPL.
Read on to know her thoughts on diversity and inclusion, effective leadership, and more. | | Know more | | | | | | | Where is the largest impact crater (created when an object like a meteor hits the Earth at a high velocity) in the world due to meteorites? | | Answer: South Africa.
The largest impact crater in the world is called Vredefort, which measures 300 kilometres across and is estimated to be 2.023 billion years old. | | | | We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail editorial@yourstory.com .
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