Navi Mumbai-headquartered Microfinance Institution (MFI) Suryoday is set to convert itself into a small finance bank by the end of this month or early next month. The company has been able to migrate its MFI operations to a banking platform using a cloud-based core banking platform provided by FI…
Ease of doing business | Dedicated task force in all ministries to track progress
All ministries will now have to set up a dedicated task force in each department to track progress on ease of doing business as part of the government’s renewed efforts to improve India’s rank in the World Bank’s Global Doing Business Report, a measure that comes after the country moved up just o…
Snapdeal to invest $100 mn to boost fashion business
India’s third largest e-tailer Snapdeal will invest $100 million over the next one year to uplift its online fashion portfolio in the wake of surging competition from its peers. The Indi an e-commerce major will not only be focusing on selling branded products but will also build its own ca…
Mobile social gaming company PlaySimple raises $4 mn
In a Series A funding round from SAIF Partners and IDG Ventures mobile social gaming company PlaySimple has raised $4 million. Founded in 2014 by former Zynga employees Siddharth Jain, Preeti Reddy, Suraj Nalin, along with former Walmart Labs engineer Siddhant Jain, PlaySimple has developed two g…
Karnataka would soon take top slot for women entrepreneurship: CM
Rolling out red carpet to women entrepreneurs, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that with several initiatives taken, the state would soon occupy the top slot for women entrepreneurship. He urged women entrepreneurs to explore entrepreneurial opportunities in Karnataka an…
Refurbished furniture & appliance marketplace GoZefo raises Rs 40 cr
GoZefo, refurbished furniture and appliance marketplace has raised Rs 40 crore in a funding round that was led by venture fund Sequoia India. The company aims to spend the funds raised on its plan to tap the value-conscious online customer. Venture capital fund Beenext, launched by Japanese e-Com…
IIM Bangalore & Goldman Sachs together to launch programme for women entrepreneur
In a move designed to boost woman entrepreneurship in a country starved of female startup leaders, the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore has joined hands with Goldman Sachs to launch a startup programme targeted at women with no previous entrepreneurial background but keen to set up ventur…
Active.ai raises $3 mn from Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures
Singapore-based fintech startup Active.ai announced it has raised USD 3 million in funding from IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital. The investment will support the rapid growth of Active.ai to continuously advance its cutting-edge platform and build advanced artificial intelligence (AI) featu…
Haryana to set up Wi-Fi zone to encourage SMEs & start-ups
One Wi-Fi zone in all 6,078 gram panchayats within two years, broadband to every household, 4G services in every village in the next three years, making MSME the growth engine and a lot more has been envisaged in the draft Haryana IT and ESDM Policy-2016. Haryana Government has prepared draft Har…
Currency Ban Impact | Small firms & rural demand to be affected; says Tata Steel
Government’s move to demonetise currency will impact the secondary steel sector as most of the business conducted by these mini mills and rolling factories is cash-based, which in turn would help the large producers, Tata Steel said. Counted among the top 10 steel makers globally, the Mumba…