Helpshift Inc., a start-up making customer support software for mobile apps, on November 22 said it has raised $2 million of funding from Cisco Investments, a unit of networking equipment giant Cisco Systems Inc. This follows a Series B round that Helpshift raised in June, netting $23 million fro…
B2B online marketplace Udaan.com raises $10 mn from Lightspeed
Udaan.com, a business-to-business online marketplace, on November 22 said it has raised $10 million in series A funding from venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners India and Lightspeed US. Udaan was launched earlier this year by Sujeet Kumar, Vaibhav Gupta and Amod Malviya, former senio…
Currency Switch Impact | MSMEs reap benefits from investments in brand-building
The demonetisation of high-denomination currency notes has resulted in a liquidity crunch and a short-term dip in retail consumption. CRISIL believes that in times of turbulence such as this, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have invested in brand creation and have good recall wit…
Micro VCs best match for fund-starved start-ups
Delhi-based small fund Quarizon is in the last leg of closing its second round of capital raise of `20 crore to give startups a fillip to their humble beginnings. Quarizon has just finished deploying its first fund of Rs12 crore across eight startups in need for seed investments. The funding sque…
Currency Switch Impact | Who gains, who loses
It has been a little under two weeks since Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will no longer be legal tender. Although it is still early days, the impact of the move to squeeze 86% of India’s currency in circulation is beginning to take effect. While the sudden m…
Currency Switch Impact | Exporters seeking higher cash withdrawal limit says Nirmala Sitharaman
Worried over the impact of demonetisation of high-value notes on production chain, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured exporters that she would take up their demand of increasing the cash withdrawal limit with the Finance Minister. The issue was raised by export promotion councils during…
Currency Switch Impact | Happay taps into India’s SME card demand surge
India B2B payments firm Happay is now looking to accelerate the time it takes to on board SMEs to its platform. The company revealed on November 18 that it rolled out its Express On-boarding Program for small businesses in the nation aimed to help SMEs more quickly use Happay services. The accel…
Brigade Enterprises partners Microsoft & Intel to mentor & benefit start-ups
Brigade Enterprises, one of the leading real estate developer in India, recently launched the country’s first real estate focused accelerator program. The accelerator will mentor startups whose products or services can be used in the real estate industry across various domains be it Residential, …
Currency Switch Impact | Entrepreneurs grin & bear the cash crunch
Almost one-third of start-up and SME entrepreneurs have seen a reduction in transactions, reduced fund-raising for expansion and a drop in account receivables after the demonetisation drive; but an overwhelming majority said the move will have a long-term positive impact. These findings are accor…
Bosch India launches first accelerator programme to mentor start-ups
Technology and engineering solutions company Bosch India launched its first accelerator programme for start-ups called DNA – ‘discover, nurture and align’ — to gain a foothold in the country’s booming start-up market. This is first time Bosch would be working with ex…