Tag: Businesses in India

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MSME Technology

Paytm to Double Loan Disbursement for MSMEs From Rs 550 Crore in Last Fiscal Year to Rs 1,000 Crore by March 2021

Paytm (Photo Credits: Facebook)

New Delhi, November 9: In a major boost to the micro- and small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), financial services platform Paytm on Monday announced to double its loan disbursements for the MSMEs from Rs 550 crore in last fiscal year to Rs 1,000 crore by March 2021. The firm said that it has company expanded collateral-free loans of up to Rs 5,00,000 at a low-interest rate and unique daily EMI product customised for micro-merchants.

Paytm continues to lead the offline payments (P2M) segment with over 50 percent market share by offering all digital payment methods. Bhavesh Gupta, CEO, Paytm Lending was quoted by IANS saying that with the firm’s collateral-free instant loans, it is trying to help kirana stores and other small business owners who have been left behind by the traditional banking sector and do not have easy access to loans and credit.

According to a report by IANS, the company informed that the recently launched Paytm All-in-One Android POS device has enabled over two lakh MSMEs to accept all payment modes. The company said it will continue to offer collateral-free loans under the ‘Merchant Lending Programme’ in Paytm for Business app. The firm said it has digitised the entire process starting from the loan application, approval to disbursal with no additional documents required in partnership with NBFCs and banks.

Rrports inform that in the last financial year, the company processed loans worth Rs 550 crore, benefiting over a lakh merchant partner. “Going forward, we will especially focus on EDC merchants and provide higher loan amounts based on their EDC transactions,” Gupta said.

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Startup

WE Hub Selects 89 Indian Startups for Second Cohort of ‘Her&Now’ Programme

Startup
Startup

Hyderabad, October 23: As many as 89 startups have been selected for the second cohort of the ‘Her&Now’ programme by WE Hub, which is India’s first state-led incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship. The selected startups that have been shortlisted out of 600 applications  include Envi Robotics, Nuture Fields, Ladoo Box, Venica Herbals, ASARA Products, Verma Foods, Lesperanzau and SR Silks. According to a report by IANS, the pitching process had close to 150 women entrepreneurs out of 600 applicants, and each pitch was evaluated across 14 selection criteria like domain knowledge, digital literacy, potential to scale, impact, innovation, business feasibility etc., with external jury members in the panel, WE Hub said.

The acceleration programme is a six-month programme to help formally registered, women-led, for-profit enterprises from tier2 and 3 cities of Telangana to scale up. Reports inform that each entrepreneur was allowed for pitching followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. The programme will have an incubation program for seven months to help women entrepreneurs who have been running an informal enterprise or are a part of a group enterprise and now want to start up on their own and establish their enterprises.

About the Project:

  1. Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the project ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women (Her&Now)’ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
  2. The programme is in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE).
  3. It aims to support aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs in India.
  4. For over 60 years, GIZ GmbH has been working with partners in India for sustainable economic, ecological, and social development.

Background:

The first cohort of 30 start-ups from Telangana graduated in August by formally registering their enterprises and raising finances through credit linkages and equity investments. “We are happy to witness an escalated participation of women entrepreneurs from 28 to 89 into our innovation ecosystem. With WE Hub, we look forward to foster and supporting many more entrepreneurs in the future,” said Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary (ITE &C), Government of Telangana.

Deepthi Ravula, CEO, WE Hub, was quoted in reports saying that the journey from a minimal viable product or solution to a successful start-up is a not an easy one. “We are deeply committed to supporting the women entrepreneurs as they prepare to launch and grow their ventures. Our partnership with GIZ enables us to invest in entrepreneurship in tier 2 and tier 3 cities where innovation is booming. We are looking forward to helping these select enterprises thrive,” she said.

Julia Karst, Head of Project Her&Now at GIZ, after a successful round of programmes with the first cohort of women entrepreneurs from Telangana, we are looking forward to welcoming 89 women entrepreneurs into the second round of our incubation and acceleration programme. Her&Now through WE Hub offers support customized to each entrepreneur and her business, and we hope this will prove especially useful in these challenging times of the pandemic,” she said.

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Finance Sales

Planning to Start a New Business? These Dates Are Auspicious for the Opening of Shop, Office and Factory in November 2020

Hindu Puja (Photo Credits: Pexels)

If you are setting up a new business, you will always consider an auspicious time to start the venture or a firm. It is believed that the ‘auspicious time’ known as ‘mahurat’ followed by Hindus before starting any kind of new business, small or big, can provide many benefits and help the business flourish. Any work, office, shop or factory that is started at a ‘shubh mahurat’ always open up new business opportunities for the entrepreneur. If one starts the business at an ‘shubh’ time, the business will become a great success with rapid growth. Let us see when are these auspicious days in November 2020 according to astronomy.

In November 2020, a new shop, new office or factory can be inaugurated in these auspicious times-

  1. November 8: If you wish to open a new shop, November 8, 2020 is an auspicious day as it is Saptami Tithi and Pushya Nakshatra on that day.
  2. November 12: On 12 November 2020, Dwadashi tithi will be observed which is considered to be auspicious for starting or opening new office as the day falls on Hasta Nakshatra, which is lucky.
  3. November 13: It is a Friday and it is an auspicious time to start trading as Trayodashi and Chitra Nakshatra fall on the same day.
  4. November 15: Sunday, November 15, 2020 is an auspicious day for opening shop due to Amavasya and Anuradha Nakshatra.
  5. November 19: On Thursday, November 19, 2020, Panchami Tithi and Uttarashada Nakshatra are auspicious to start business.
  6. November 20: On Friday, Shashthi Tithi will be auspicious for shop Opening due to Uttarashada Nakshatra.
  7. November 25: Ekadashi falls on November 25, 2020, which is a Wednesday. The date is auspicious and lucky for office opening due to Uttarabhadrapada nakshatra.
  8. November 27: On 27 November 2020, Dwadashi Tithi and Ashwini Nakshatra are beneficial for the beginning of any trading in business.
  9. November 30: Rohini Nakshatra with full moon on Monday is auspicious for starting a new business.

The Auspicious time for shop-factory-office opening as per Sarvarthasiddhi Yoga are: November 12, November 13, November 25, November 27, November 30. The auspicious time for opening of shop or office – November 8, 12, 13. With the onset of the festive season, people are now gearing up to bring their business to normalcy after being severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic. In the new normal, entrepreneurs are now gearing up to look for opportunities to revive their businesses.

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Business motivation Finance

India Emerges As Top Choice for Future Investments in the Next 2-3 Years: Survey

New Delhi, October 14: Business in India that have been severely affected by COVID-19 this year, have been limping back to normalcy over the past one month or so. Reports inform that India is believed to emerge as one of the top three choices for overseas investments in the next 2-3 years, a CII-EY FDI survey report showed on Tuesday. According to the survey, India is the first choice for future investments for more than two-thirds of the MNC respondents. The CII-EY FDI survey also showed that 25 percent of the respondents, who represent non-Indian HQ MNCs, view India as the first choice for future investments.

The report said more than 80 percent of all the respondents and 71 percent of the non-Indian headquartered respondents plan to make investments globally in the next 2-3 years. Moreover about 30 percent of companies are planning to invest more than $500 million. About 50 percent of the respondents see India among the top three economies or leading manufacturing destinations of the world by 2025.

According to a report by IANS, the respondents have picked market potential, skilled workforce and political stability as the top three reasons to make India their favoured destination. The other key factors which contribute to the attractiveness of India as an investment destination include cheap labour availability, policy reforms, and availability of raw materials, the report said.

“Recent reforms in the country such as corporate tax cuts, ease of doing business measures, simplification of labour laws, FDI reforms, and focus on human capital have emerged as the top drivers for fresh investments,” the report said. “Non-Indian HQ MNCs have also opined that major investment in infrastructure and 100 Smart cities as well as financial sector reforms will also help establishing India as a favourable destination for FDI,” it said.

The survey brought out some key recommendations sought by the respondents. The report said infrastructure development, faster clearances, and proper implementation of the improved labour laws and labour availability as the top three issues that the companies want the government to focus on, followed by R&D and innovation, and tax reforms. “In terms of trade policy reforms, investors would like to see a faster turnaround time for exports and imports, improved cargo handling, and trade facilitation measures to be in place”, it added.