#India's start-ups

[global-newz]

India's Start-ups Target Rural Growth for Future Expansion

India's rural areas are becoming a focal point for the country’s burgeoning start-up ecosystem, with innovative companies seeking to harness the untapped potential of its villages. The villages of Haryana, in particular, are emerging as unlikely hubs for creative industries, as start-ups like STAGE are redefining the landscape.

Spotlight on Haryana's Villages

In the small villages surrounding Rohtak, Haryana, farmers' homes are now serving as makeshift movie sets, with a burgeoning film industry taking root. Vinay Singhal, founder of the start-up STAGE, highlights the remarkable transformation: “Since 2019, we’ve made more than 200 Haryanvi films.” The company caters to regional audiences by producing content that reflects local dialects and cultural nuances, with plans to expand its offerings to include other languages.

A Growing Market Opportunity

The push towards rural markets is not unique to STAGE; it mirrors a broader trend among Indian start-ups recognizing the immense potential of the country’s 1.4 billion people. Despite the fact that the majority reside in rural areas, most tech innovations have historically catered to urban consumers. However, investors are increasingly optimistic about rural entrepreneurship, with funding now flowing to ventures targeting these underserved markets.

Changing Investment Landscape

Start-up founder Vinay Singhal notes a shift in investor attitudes: “Five years ago, I didn’t get any money at all. I had to bootstrap the company.” Recent data reveals that VC funds are now actively investing in rural-focused start-ups. Accel Ventures has announced plans to invest up to $1 million in this sector, while other funds, like Unicorn India Ventures, have seen a significant portion of their investments directed towards tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

The Untapped Market

The potential for growth in rural markets is substantial. With two-thirds of India's population living in these areas, the annual spending power of this demographic is approximately $500 billion. Interestingly, the top 20% of rural consumers spend more than half of their urban counterparts, challenging the perception that rural equals poor.

The Rise of Digital Connectivity

A key driver of this rural growth is the increasing penetration of smartphones, with around 450 million users now accessing the internet from outside major cities. Additionally, the advent of user-friendly digital payment systems like UPI has enabled start-ups to reach these consumers more effectively than ever before.

Challenges in Rural Expansion

While opportunities abound, penetrating the rural market presents its own challenges. Price sensitivity among consumers and geographic dispersion complicate distribution. Infrastructure deficiencies remain a significant hurdle, making last-mile delivery a costly endeavor. Companies like Frontier Markets emphasize the importance of building local trust by collaborating with village entrepreneurs to facilitate transactions.

Conclusion

India's rural areas are poised to become the next frontier for start-up growth, with innovative solutions emerging to address the unique challenges of this market. By adapting to local needs and fostering trust within communities, start-ups are not only tapping into a $200 billion market opportunity but are also reshaping the future of India’s economy.

[fluentisonus]

working in a factory has you thinking so much about the insane chain of labor & transport that goes into making literally anything

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Good googely moogely somebody get this boy an ADHD evaluation immediately

[demigod-of-the-agni]

some memes to help me cope because i am god's strongest soldier

[tum-naam-sochlo-merese-ni-hora]

Wip

[emberwritesinsight]

I know we all kind of assume Anthy and Akio are Indian because of the brown skin and bindis (Google tells me that while it's less common, men do wear bindis sometimes), and I agree, but also. "Dios" is Spanish, "Anthy" is derived from a Greek word, "Himemiya" is Japanese (I would theorize that her name hasn't always been "Himemiya", though she does seem to have had the name "Anthy" as far back as we're allowed to see into her past), and Akio drives an American car and plays jazz (a style of music that developed in America) over the radio in said car. Also, despite bindis being a Hindu, Jain and Buddhist thing, all the religious shit the two of them have going on (the martyrdom, Akio drawing a comparison between himself and Satan, Ohtori looking like a fucked up Cathedral and Dios appearing to Utena in a church) is Pretty Christian.

I know all of this is probably just a product of the writers not having a concrete idea of where they wanted Akio and Anthy to be from other than "not here" but it implies a lot of travel, which does kind of fit with Dios' whole "trying to rescue Every Girl Ever" thing.

Where do their names come from, anyway? "Dios" sounds like it could have been a name given to him by the people he saved. We never hear hide nor hair of their parents, they're fully irrelevant even by the farthest flashback.

[menlove]

my beef w many compilations of mclennon proof is it's all the weakest stuff like cmon guys we need to bust out some truly insane stuff if we want to convince ur average tumblr user. where's the "if I were a girl maybe I could go out and..."? or "HE gave me loving in the palm of my hand *jerking off motion*"? cats named after the lovers they played? if I fell valentines day card with "to paul with love" on it? or paul saying if his dead bestie who again is Literally Dead were back for just ONE SINGLE DAY he'd spend it with him "in bed"? beetles fucking on ram? john thinking dear boy is about him (INCRIMINATING)? any of paul's songs that are genuinely actually truly and accepted to be about john by many (this one, call me back again, best friend.........)? WE HAVE TO GET TO THE HARD HITTERS! we can't just go up to some random guy on the street and bring up india like it's real!

[curtwilde]

Protestors from a solidarity protest for Bangladeshi students in Kolkata, India were beaten up, arrested and detained

All states are the same I guess.

[megumi-fm]

.

[sillyguy-supreme]

the way sanghis will cry hinduphobia at any criticism of the indian government but have nothing to say commodification and bastardization of hinduism and hindu spiritualism in the west. like you guys only bring up hinduphobia to suck narendra modi’s toes and silence anyone who doesn’t agree with you.

[scltbvrns]

you know what they say. ram naam satya hai.

[milimeters-morales]

Pavitr flexing after beating Miles in a fight: HOOAAH!!! YOU FUCKING WISH YOU WERE ME!!! HRGGG!!! TESTOSTERONE IS LEAKING FROM MY PORES AND CREATING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH!! FUCK WITH ME I DARE YOU!! GORILLA MOUNTAIN AXE MUD AND OTHER MANLY THINGS!!!

Miles, dazed on the floor: i’ll tell your auntie and gf you beat up a random girl

Pavitr. hey hold it,

[badolmen]

The slow drip feed of ‘man isn’t it weird how much our country spends on other countries’ wars -> isn’t it weird how these wars are almost always to further imperialist interests across history -> Britain is the bad guys historically speaking -> colonialism is the root of evil’ is working. One day soon my mother will actively denounce capitalism as a branch of colonial control.

[all-buttond-up]

HI FELLOW IST USER. YOU PROBABLY WILL SEE THIS IN THE MORNING TOMORROW BUT IF YOU'RE STILL AWAKE HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :3 /lh

HEYYAAA FROM INDIAA🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 !!!am awake rn (currently procrastinating on writing this very comic infact!) HI ❗️

[omtai]

good morning lovelies

[kittykatrattie]

I also think sometimes we forget David is somewhat racist and ableist via ignorance. The whole Thing in Order of the Sparrow and then him not wanting to "attract diabetics" with candy in the Candy Kingpin episode?? I don't think he means to be and once he knows better he would fix it but goddamn someone needs to tell him this shit isn't ok 😭