#fintech startup of the year

[plutosone]

plutos ONE Wins 'Fintech Startup of the Year 2024' by Outlook Business: Redefining Innovation in India's Fintech Landscape

India’s fintech industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, and at its forefront is plutosONE, the youngest TSP (Technology Service Provider) for the Bharat Connect (BBPS). We are thrilled to share that our company has been honored with the prestigious 'Fintech Startup of the Year 2024' award by Outlook, recognizing our relentless pursuit of excellence in bill payment solutions, consumer engagement, and incentivization platforms. This milestone highlights our pivotal role in transforming the way businesses and customers interact within the financial ecosystem.

A Decade of Leadership: The Evolution of plutos ONE

Our journey, spanning over 14 years, is a testament to our vision of making financial transactions seamless and rewarding. Starting in 2010 as a merchant aggregator for leading Brands in  India, we quickly expanded our expertise. Over the years, we added industry giants like ICICI, SBI, HDFC, and Mastercard to our portfolio and became synonymous with innovation.

Fast forward to 2022, plutos ONE emerged as a licensed and empaneled BBPS TSP, offering a comprehensive suite of cutting-edge fintech solutions for banks and financial networks. These include:

Conversational AI Solutions for bill payments via WhatsApp and other platforms.

Incentives and Engagement Platforms to reward customers for every transaction.

Biller Onboarding Services, including onboarding, settlements, and refunds.

Simplify your billing process with our Unified Presentment Management System. Consolidate bills, automate payments, and improve customer satisfaction.

Agent Institution BBPS, enabling banks to activate new agent institutions seamlessly.

India’s Largest Incentive Platform

Apart from bill payment innovations, we operate India’s largest Merchant-funded Offers Platform. With partnerships spanning over 300+ online brands, 60+ cities for dining and hotel offers, and 3,000+ wellness points, we have cemented our reputation as the ultimate rewards ecosystem for customers and businesses. Collaborating with industry leaders like Myntra, Burger King, McDonald’s, Cult.Fit, and Visa, our platform offers unmatched value for its users.

A Comprehensive Bill Payment Stack

Our BBPS solutions are tailored to empower banks and customers alike. Our bill payment stack includes:

COU TSP (Customer Operating Unit TSP): Streamlining bill acceptance from customers.

BOU TSP (Biller Operating Unit TSP): Enabling billers to issue invoices and receive payments efficiently.

Payments on WhatsApp: Delivering chatbot-led payment solutions for ultimate convenience.

AI-driven solutions for rapid activation of agent institutions.

Partnering with India’s Financial Giants

Our success stems from strong partnerships with major players in the Indian financial ecosystem. These include NPCI (RuPay, UPI, Bharat Connect), HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, and Bandhan Bank. Our role in managing card activation and loyalty platforms for banks and large brands further underscores our capabilities.

Recognition as the Fintech Startup of the Year

Winning the “Fintech Startup of the Year 2024 award” is not just an acknowledgment of our innovative solutions but also a celebration of our commitment to empowering India’s digital economy. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we have made bill payments more accessible, engaging, and rewarding for millions of users.

A Vision for the Future

As we look ahead, our team remains committed to pioneering solutions that redefine financial services in India. From upcoming innovations like UPI TPAP solutions to scaling our BBPS capabilities, we are well-poised to shape the future of fintech in India.

Conclusion

Our journey from a merchant aggregator to a leader in India’s fintech space is nothing short of remarkable. With a robust suite of BBPS solutions, the largest merchant-funded offers platform, and partnerships with leading banks, we exemplify the spirit of innovation and excellence. 

We are immensely grateful to our customers and clients for their trust and continued support, which drives us to innovate and excel every day. A heartfelt thank you to Outlook for recognizing our efforts with the 'Fintech Startup of the Year' award. This acknowledgment inspires us to strive harder and achieve greater milestones and  reaffirms our position as a transformative force in the industry. As India’s fintech ecosystem continues to grow, plutos ONE stands as a beacon of progress, innovation, and success.

[shongjogyou]

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2023 -Greetings from SHONGJOGyou

HAPPY NEW YEAR – 2023 -Greetings from SHONGJOGyou

Here’s to a new year filled with hope, prosperity, and unity for our nation. Happy New Year – 2023 !

[finotica]

The Rise of Fintech: Transforming Financial Services for the Digital Age

In recent years, Fintech—short for Financial Technology—has emerged as a disruptive force in the financial services industry. From mobile payments to blockchain technology, fintech innovations are reshaping how individuals, businesses, and financial institutions interact with money. As digital tools continue to evolve, they offer new ways to improve financial efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity.

The rapid rise of fintech is not just a trend; it's a transformative shift that’s reshaping financial landscapes globally. In this article, we will explore what fintech is, how it’s transforming various sectors of financial services, and what the future holds for this exciting industry.

1. What is Fintech?

Fintech is a term that encompasses any technology that improves and automates financial services. This can include innovations in areas like mobile payments, online banking, investment platforms, and even the use of artificial intelligence in managing financial portfolios.

Fintech aims to make financial services more accessible, efficient, and secure. By leveraging digital tools, it allows individuals to manage their finances with ease, whether they're sending money across borders, applying for a loan, or investing in the stock market.

2. The Evolution of Fintech

The roots of fintech can be traced back to the late 20th century, with the introduction of online banking and electronic payments. However, it wasn't until the late 2000s, with the rise of smartphones and digital apps, that fintech truly took off.

The 2008 financial crisis also played a significant role in the development of fintech. Traditional banks struggled, leading to the rise of alternative financial solutions. Startups began creating apps and platforms to offer services such as peer-to-peer lending, robo-advisors, and even digital currencies like Bitcoin.

Today, fintech is booming, with countless companies and startups offering innovative financial products and services that rival traditional financial institutions.

3. The Key Sectors of Fintech

Fintech covers a broad range of sectors, each offering unique innovations that are transforming the way we think about and use financial services. Here are some of the key areas:

a. Digital Payments

One of the most recognizable sectors of fintech is digital payments. Apps like PayPal, Venmo, and Apple Pay have made sending and receiving money faster, more convenient, and cheaper than traditional methods.

Consumers can now make purchases, pay bills, and send money internationally with just a few taps on their smartphone, without needing to rely on banks or physical cash.

b. Lending and Borrowing

Fintech has disrupted the lending industry by providing alternatives to traditional bank loans. Peer-to-peer lending platforms such as LendingClub and Funding Circle allow individuals to lend directly to borrowers, cutting out the middleman and often providing better rates for both parties.

Additionally, fintech lenders have made it easier for small businesses and individuals with less-than-perfect credit scores to access loans through automated credit scoring systems.

c. Investment Platforms

The rise of fintech has made investing more accessible to the general public. Gone are the days when investing required a hefty minimum deposit and working with a financial advisor.

Now, thanks to robo-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront, individuals can invest with little to no minimum, receiving tailored investment advice through algorithms that automatically adjust portfolios based on risk tolerance and market conditions.

d. Insurtech (Insurance Technology)

Insurtech is another growing sector of fintech, aiming to simplify and improve the insurance industry. From comparing quotes to filing claims, insurance technology platforms like Lemonade are providing a seamless, user-friendly experience for consumers.

These innovations are making insurance more affordable and efficient, particularly for younger consumers who value the convenience of digital interactions.

e. Cryptocurrency and Blockchain

Perhaps the most transformative development in fintech is the rise of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum offer decentralized alternatives to traditional currencies, while blockchain technology provides a secure and transparent way to record transactions.

While still relatively new, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are expected to have far-reaching implications for everything from cross-border payments to smart contracts.

4. How Fintech is Changing Financial Services

Fintech’s influence is broad and deep, transforming almost every facet of financial services. Here’s a closer look at how it’s reshaping the industry:

a. Improving Access to Financial Services

One of the biggest advantages of fintech is that it provides greater access to financial services, particularly for underserved populations. For example, fintech platforms allow people in developing countries, who might not have access to traditional banking, to open accounts and manage their finances using just a smartphone.

Fintech has also revolutionized access to credit. Through digital lending platforms, individuals and small businesses can get loans faster and more easily than ever before, often bypassing the hurdles of traditional banks.

b. Lowering Costs

Fintech companies operate more efficiently than traditional financial institutions, often passing these savings on to consumers in the form of lower fees and better interest rates. This is especially true in sectors like peer-to-peer lending and digital payments, where middlemen have been cut out of the equation.

c. Faster Transactions

In the traditional financial world, sending money, especially internationally, can be a slow and expensive process. Fintech has made these transactions faster, with some payments happening in real time. Digital wallets, payment processors, and blockchain technology are all contributing to instantaneous money transfers, no matter where you are in the world.

d. Personalized Financial Management

Thanks to the use of big data and machine learning, fintech companies can provide highly personalized services. For example, investment platforms use algorithms to create tailored portfolios, while budgeting apps help users track and optimize their spending habits based on individual behavior.

This level of personalization is helping consumers and businesses alike make better financial decisions, driving growth and improving financial health.

5. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Fintech

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a significant role in the fintech industry. AI is used to streamline processes, enhance customer experiences, and improve security measures. For example, chatbots powered by AI can handle basic customer inquiries, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex tasks.

AI also plays a crucial role in fraud detection and cybersecurity, identifying unusual patterns in data and flagging potential threats in real time.

6. Fintech Regulations and Challenges

As fintech continues to grow, so do the regulatory challenges that come with it. Governments and financial institutions around the world are working to create regulatory frameworks that both encourage innovation and protect consumers.

Some key concerns in fintech include data privacy, cybersecurity, and the risk of financial exclusion if certain populations are unable to keep up with technological advances.

There’s also the challenge of navigating the global landscape, as fintech companies often operate in multiple countries, each with its own regulations and standards.

7. The Future of Fintech

The future of fintech looks incredibly promising, with AI, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies leading the charge. Experts predict that in the next few years, we’ll see even more integration between traditional financial institutions and fintech companies, blurring the lines between the two.

In addition to more widespread adoption of digital currencies, the fintech industry is expected to play a key role in financial inclusion, helping to bridge the gap for the 1.7 billion people globally who remain unbanked.

8. How to Get Started in Fintech

If you're interested in fintech, there are plenty of ways to get started. Whether you’re a consumer looking to take advantage of new financial tools, or a professional considering a career in the industry, now is the perfect time to dive in.

Explore Fintech Platforms: Start using digital banking apps, robo-advisors, or digital wallets to familiarize yourself with how fintech works.

Learn About Blockchain and AI: These two technologies are central to the future of fintech. There are plenty of online courses and resources available to help you learn the basics.

Invest in Fintech: Many fintech companies are publicly traded, offering opportunities for you to invest in the future of finance.

9. The Benefits of Fintech for Businesses

Fintech isn’t just changing the landscape for consumers—it’s also revolutionizing how businesses operate. From streamlining payment processes to improving access to capital, fintech is enabling businesses to operate more efficiently and scale faster.

Some benefits for businesses include:

Lower Transaction Fees: Fintech payment processors offer competitive rates compared to traditional banks.

Access to Funding: Digital lending platforms and crowdfunding have opened up new ways for businesses to access funding.

Improved Cash Flow Management: With real-time payment solutions, businesses can improve cash flow and reduce the wait times associated with traditional banking.

10. Conclusion: Fintech is Here to Stay

In conclusion, fintech is not just a buzzword—it’s a revolution that’s changing the way we interact with money and financial services. Whether it’s through digital payments, AI-powered financial tools, or blockchain-based systems, fintech is making finance faster, more accessible, and more secure.

The rise of fintech has already transformed many aspects of financial services, and it shows no signs of slowing down. As technology continues to advance, we can expect fintech to play an even larger role in the global economy.

Are you ready to explore the future of finance? Click here to learn more and stay ahead of the curve with the latest insights: The Rise of Fintech.

[etiennekissborlase]

Celsius Web Services: The Billion-Dollar Plan That Could Have Saved The Network From Bankruptcy

Celsius Web Services: The Billion-Dollar Plan That Could Have Saved The Network From Bankruptcy https://bitcoinist.com/celsius-the-billion-dollar-saved-network-bankruptcy/ According to a report from The Block, Celsius Network, a cryptocurrency lending company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, had attempted to raise $1 billion for a project called Celsius Web Services (CWS). CWS aimed to offer generic versions of Celsius’s yield and custody-focused products and was described as a “web3 toolbox for a New World” in pitch decks presented to Goldman Sachs and Abu Dhabi-backed fund ADQ May and June 2021, respectively. Former Celsius CEO’s Plan Celsius’s former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, spearheaded the CWS plan, but the project failed to get off the ground as investors, including Celsius’s board, chose not to participate. Mashinsky had hoped to pivot Celsius away from its core crypto lending business and create the “Amazon Web Services of crypto” with CWS. The CWS plan was seen as a last-ditch effort by Mashinsky to save the company, as employees openly expressed concerns about Celsius’s financial health in May 2021. However, according to The Block, Mashinsky continued to assure customers that all was well. Mashinsky was later hit with a civil lawsuit by New York attorney general Letitia James, who accused him of misleading investors about the health of Celsius. Mashinsky dismissed the fraud claims as “baseless.” Celsius’s lending business ultimately led to its downfall as the company froze withdrawals on June 12, 2021, and filed for bankruptcy a month later. Over 100,000 users were owed over $4.7 billion. Despite Mashinsky’s efforts to launch new products and pivot the company, CWS couldn’t save Celsius from bankruptcy. The CWS plan was also likened to Plaid, a fintech startup that helps customers connect their financial data to new apps and services, by a second source close to Celsius. While the CWS plan did not come to fruition, it offers insight into how Mashinsky hoped to save the company. The plan involved white-labeling Celsius’s products and offering services for business transformation and growth. The types of services in the pitch deck included yield, custody, on-ramp services, and a tool for bridging centralized and decentralized ecosystems. The CWS project had the board’s and external investors’ full backing, but ultimately, Celsius’s existing investors chose not to participate. The Network’s Custody Settlement Withdrawals For Eligible Users On May 9th, Celsius Network announced that withdrawals have begun for eligible Custody account users who have opted into the Custody Settlement. The settlement was authorized by the Court last month and allowed users to receive a distribution of their assets in exchange for electing not to pursue any Custody-related claims or causes of action against Celsius and for voting their Custody claims in favor of the Plan. Last month, the Court authorized our settlement with the UCC and Custody Ad Hoc Group. Today, withdrawals begin for those who have opted in to the Settlement. — Celsius (@CelsiusNetwork) May 9, 2023 Furthermore, according to the announcement, the distribution of eligible assets will be carried out in two stages. The first distribution consists of 36.25% of each settling Custody account holder’s Custody account balance. Users can withdraw their assets once all account information is updated and verified. Moreover, the Network has provided a Custody Account Withdrawal FAQ for users seeking more information. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com via Bitcoinist.com https://bitcoinist.com May 13, 2023 at 02:00AM

[stuartsimonsen1]

Stuart Simonsen

Website: https://lakelandcurrents.com/stuart-simonsen-discusses-the-best-classic-cars-to-choose-for-restoration/ Stuart Simonsen is known as a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience across various industries. As financial industry entrepreneur, Stuart Simonsen operates several fintech startups and investment firms.  Stuart Simonsen utilizes his expertise and innovation to create innovative financial services that help individuals and businesses manage their finances more effectively. Stuart Simonsen has a proven track record of identifying market opportunities, developing innovative solutions, and building successful businesses. Highly skilled in various areas of finance, Stuart Simonsen is known for his ability to adapt to changing market conditions and to leverage his experience and knowledge to create new and successful ventures. #Entrepreneurs#Stuart Simonsen

[collapsedsquid]

Now First Republic is racing to reassure customers and clients that it can avoid the fate of Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed last week after its depositors fled.

[...]

It’s a stunning turn of events for the lender, which built up a wealth-management franchise with some $271 billion in assets, putting it in rarefied air among American institutions. It’s the emphasis on that business that could make First Republic’s fate different from SVB and New York’s Signature Bank.

While it expanded rapidly into capital call lines of credit and lending to venture capitalists — services in which SVB specialized — its specialty serving the affluent is seen as making it more attractive to its larger rivals than its California counterpart.

“First Republic Bank grew up in wealth,” whereas “SVB started in portfolio companies,” said Joe Maxwell, managing partner at Fintop Capital, a fintech venture capital firm. Even though there’s a lot of overlap, where they started is still “part of their DNA,” he said.

[...]

Herbert founded First Republic in 1985, based on a hunch that jumbo home mortgages to wealthy, established Californians was too good a business to pass up. SVB’s model of providing banking to startups was conceived a few years prior — over a poker game. [...] Both originate single-family mortgages, but SVB had lent less than $9 billion. That’s a fraction of First Republic’s $99 billion balance, which made up 59% of their loan portfolio (it gave Mark Zuckerberg a 1.05% rate in 2012). It had another $22 billion in multifamily loans and $11 billion in other commercial real estate.

First Republic got rescued by some other banks while nobody would take SVB but the FDIC, part of that could be just the order in which they happened but I think Bloomberg is trying to throw some shade on this.

[mariacallous]

In February 2022, Ukraine’s tech sector was booming. Between 2016 and 2021, the country’s IT exports tripled to nearly $7 billion a year, according to the IT Association of Ukraine. Its universities have long been a formidable production line for STEM talent, and thousands of these young graduates helped Ukraine first become Europe’s back office, stocked with developers and designers working for international clients, and then an innovation center in its own right, with a flow of cutting-edge startups: From deep-tech and robotics to translation and AI.

The war should have ended that. Russia’s full-scale invasion has killed or injured tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers, many of them pulled from ordinary lives onto the front lines. Millions have been displaced from their homes and are now scattered across Europe and beyond. Russia has targeted infrastructure, knocking out power and telecoms and threatening to cut Ukrainian businesses off from their customers and backers overseas.

And yet, the tech sector has not just survived but thrived: By the end of 2022, Ukraine’s IT exports had grown nearly 7 per cent, even as the economy shrunk by almost a third. These are the stories of how four startups have survived, but they’re just a sample of the thousands of acts of extraordinary resilience, defiance, courage, and cooperation in Ukraine’s tech sector.

“Music is a very powerful instrument.”

As a PhD student in quantum physics in the dying days of the Soviet Union, Andriy Dakhovskyy would hide bootlegged vinyl of western rock music in his room. “I was lucky not to be caught by the KGB,” he says. “When the Soviet Union fell and you could easily go to a record store and buy Led Zeppelin, something important was missing for me. The feeling of exclusivity, of being underground.”

Dakhovskyy spun his forbidden love of rock into a career, ending up establishing Universal Music’s first office in Kyiv, and becoming a central figure in the development of Ukraine’s music industry in its anarchic post-Soviet revival. He got Elton John onto Ukrainian TV and produced Kyiv’s first rock opera. As we drive through central Kyiv, he points out the nightclub he ended up running, kind of by accident, after being convinced to invest in it by a friend in need of a loan. It’s now closed, battered first by Covid, then by the war.

In 2020, Dakhovskyy launched Djooky with business partners in Ukraine and the US, based on a belief that less well known recording artists—particularly those from outside America—get a raw deal on platforms like Spotify, where only a small number of high-profile musicians make good money. “The music industry is heavily, heavily monopolized and centralized,” he says. “I know the system … and I couldn’t change the system from within.”

Djooky is a marketplace where fans can essentially buy shares in artists, helping them to build a profile, with the potential to profit from their success. When the Eurovision Song Contest was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, the company launched its own Djooky Music Awards, letting fans vote for their favorite song in a huge multinational competition that attracted artists and listeners from all over the world. The platform has 200,000 registered users, submissions from artists from more than 140 countries, and has held 15 successful auctions.

Dakhovskyy knows Djooky is a strange kind of startup, a hybrid of a record company and a fintech—one which VCs need to grasp on an emotional level, as well as a financial one. He is a low-key but compelling speaker with an infectious enthusiasm for music, but for most of the past two years, he’s been stuck in Kyiv, first pinned down by the pandemic and then by the full-scale invasion. Over the winter, he says, he barely left his apartment, other than to trudge down the stairs to the bomb shelter. Djooky had to put its prize-giving on hold.

Then, in the spring,“I thought, fuck the war,” he says. In March, Dakhovskyy made the 14-hour overland journey to Warsaw to pitch Djooky to a crowd of international investors at an event organized by the tech giant Google. When we meet in Kyiv two months later, he’s just returned from the US, where a delegation of Ukrainian startups pitched to US business and political leaders. “I had only a four-minute speech,” he says. “So it was a choice between either being open and emotional, to speak about the subject, which is my love, which is the job of my dream. Or just, like, machine-gun through the numbers. I chose to be emotional.”

He’s still waiting for a VC to come through with funding, but he’s restarting the Djooky Music Awards this August. His pitch now kicks off with a ballad by a Ukrainian artist, Kler, recorded in the spring of 2022, as Kyiv was still under siege and Russian tanks were just 20 kilometers from her studio. “I give her as an example because she simply cannot imagine she can do anything else but make songs and perform them for people. No matter if there are air raids and shelling, she's in the studio,” he says. “Music is a very powerful instrument.”

“We call it war-life balance.”

On the first night of the war, Roman Sevast and Stacy Pavlyshyna drove west out of Kyiv. Russian forces had swept across eastern Ukraine and were converging on the capital. American banks had halted withdrawals for Ukrainian clients, wary of impending sanctions on Russia. But the startup founders still had to make payroll.

So, as a Russian attack helicopter buzzed low over their car on the edge of the city, Sevast was on the phone to their bank manager in the US. In the darkness, the bank’s security systems couldn’t recognize Sevast’s face, so the pair pulled over to the side of the road. He peered into the screen, lit by the dashboard light, just long enough to pass the verification checks. Then they sped onwards.

A few months prior, Sevast and Pavlyshyna had opened a new office in Kyiv, with a full-sized yellow helicopter dominating the lobby. The startup they founded together, Awesomic, had recently graduated from the Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator and raised a $2 million round. For a monthly fee, Awesomic matches businesses all over the world with designers and developers—most of them Ukrainian—like a kind of bespoke Fiverr on subscription that’s built, like much of the country’s tech sector, on abundant, affordable talent.

Sevast, Awesomic’s CEO, and Pavlyshyna, its COO, are both small-boned, slender, dressed in black. When we meet in Warsaw, on the fringes of a Google for Startups event, they talk over one another in a rush of overlapping sentences, finishing each other’s stories, correcting details. “It was a great life,” Pavlyshyna says. “We just had this life for a few months,” Sevast interjects. “And then the war started.” He has a picture on his laptop of the two of them, on the fourth day of the war, in a bomb shelter, eating a cake for his 26th birthday. “Celebrating,” he says.

The first few weeks were a rush of logistics: getting employees, who were scattered across Ukraine, out of cities under siege. The company hired a “kamikaze driver”—a local who knew secret back roads, to extract a designer from a town close to the Russian border. The designer had been hiding in a basement for two weeks, but had kept on working. Burying herself in work was, she told Sevast, an escape from the horror: “The only place where I can have a stable mindset.” This, Sevast says, is the approach that he and many others in the country have settled on to get through the dark days. “We call it war-life balance.”

The outsourcing industry can feel very transactional—freelancers and contractors are just email addresses in some far-off, low-cost country. (Upwork annoyed many Ukrainian freelancers by sending a note to clients in late January 2022 warning of disruption to its service in the case of an invasion). But Awesomic’s founders say their clients have stuck with them, even as Russia attacked civilian infrastructure, knocking out power and internet access, threatening to take the country offline for long periods. Awesomic bought generators and Starlink terminals, and the work went on. “We’ve done the craziest things as managers,” Pavlyshyna says.

The company kept on growing through 2022, reaching “multimillion-dollar” revenues, according to Sevast. After they moved their Ukraine operations to safe zones and got their people set up and working, the founders moved on to their next milestone, opening a new head office in Silicon Valley, where Pavlyshyna and Sevast are now based. “We believe that we can go through anything. The startup journey, it’s not scary when we’re already going through this,” says Pavlyshyna. “Resilience isn’t really a choice.”

“I see missiles, but I will deliver it in a couple of hours.”

Howly’s offices are in an airy, brick-walled warehouse in central Kyiv, with a gym space and glass-walled meeting rooms on the mezzanine floor. They’ve had to abandon it twice. The company, which is less than two years old, offers an online concierge service for customers all over the world. At the basic level, it’s like tech support for your day-to-day life. Experts, most of them in Ukraine, will help you figure out how to set up your smart TV, or get into an email account after you’ve lost the password. Some customers use the platform like a personal assistant, seeking restaurant recommendations and travel advice. The longest troubleshooting session lasted eight hours.

In the days following the full-scale invasion, most of Howly’s staff joined the enormous queue of people flowing to the relative safety of the west of Ukraine, spending upwards of 24 hours in the traffic jams reaching out of Kyiv. A couple of employees had near misses: One person’s house was destroyed around him, another was hit by debris from a missile. But once everyone was out, they got back to work. “The week after the war started, we had to put everything back in place,” says Slava Matskov, Howly’s CEO. “People were ready to work 24/7. They were calling us saying, ‘OK, I see the planes flying next to me, I see missiles, but I will deliver it in a couple of hours. So, no worries.’ That was amazing.”

By the autumn, they were all back in Kyiv. Matskov prefers his team—which has grown from 30 at the start of the full-scale invasion to 41—to be in the office. But then Russia started hitting power stations and telecoms infrastructure. Some days, the electricity was only on for a few hours at a time. As temperatures fell, Howly once again moved the whole team west, to where it had generators and Starlinks set up to keep the lights on and the internet running. Employees brought with them family members and even pets. “I think the electricity was cut, like, 10 times a day. And after the electricity drops, you hear somebody running to the generator,” Matskov says. In mid-January, the team voted to return to Kyiv.

The war has pushed Howly to speed up its plans to diversify. It’s branching into legal advice, signing up lawyers who can spend a few hours online to answer queries from users. And it’s moving into Spanish language services. Growing in the current environment isn’t easy—venture capitalists are leery about investing in a leadership team that’s entirely based in a war zone. But there is still some money available, and the war has driven a new kind of solidarity and mutual support within the tech sector—whether that’s unicorns reinvesting into the ecosystem, or companies sharing generators and survival tips. “All the biggest tech companies in Ukraine, starting February 24, they just work together,” Matskov says. “The cooperation was amazing.”

"In 10 to 20 years, Ukraine will be the new Silicon Valley.”

January 1 is a huge day for the health and well-being industry. It’s when millions of people, fired up by their New Year’s resolutions, sign up for gym memberships and fitness apps, and order sportswear and wearable tech. To prepare for the start of 2023, Victoria Repa ordered $300,000 worth of generators and water-treatment equipment for the BetterMe office in Kyiv. Russia was in the middle of a ferocious campaign of air raids that targeted civilian infrastructure, including power stations and water-treatment plants, and Repa needed to make sure her team could get online, stay warm, and have access to showers and clean water. “It’s strange,” Repa says, laughing at the absurdity of it. “But we compete with companies that aren’t in this situation, so we don’t have time to complain.”

Before the war, Repa was planning BetterMe’s path to IPO. She launched the company as a health and well-being app in 2016, offering consumers, mainly in the US, access to home workouts and coaching. The app has been downloaded 150 million times. The most popular workout at the moment is “Wall Pilates,” which is, as it sounds, a series of contortions that you can do at home, up against a wall. The vision, Repa says, is “creating happiness within,” and building health care products that feel like entertainment. “In reality, we compete with Netflix, we compete with Instagram, TikTok for people’s attention.”

BetterMe, which has more than 200 employees in Kyiv, always had a “plan B” to relocate people to the west of Ukraine if the Russians invaded, which they triggered in February last year. “It’s not something I’d ever learned at business school,” Repa says. “But the war changed everything.” After the capital was liberated, many of the staff returned. They’ve continued to launch new products, including sportswear and fitness bands.

The company grew its headcount and revenue by 20 percent in 2022, and Repa—like others in the tech industry—says that success is now about more than just making money. “It's highly important, not only as a business mission, but also how we can help our country.” The unemployment rate in Ukraine hit 20 percent last year, and keeping the economy going is vital for the war effort. BetterMe has made its mental health products available free to all Ukrainians, and created a stress management course with the World Health Organization.

Repa has had to balance being with her team with being able to access investors and partners overseas. From Kyiv, it is a long slog on a train to the Polish border, so she’s temporarily relocated to Warsaw. But she says it’s important that, even though BetterMe’s customers are in the US, Western Europe, and Asia, the company remains Ukrainian. “I hope that in the future after the war … that young people stay in Ukraine, build businesses in Ukraine, grow in Ukraine,” she says. “It’s my patriotic mission that, in 10 to 20 years, Ukraine will be the new Silicon Valley.”

[spearheadtechnology]

Digital Transformation in Finance/Banking - Spearhead Technology

Digital Transformation has been a driving force in the finance and banking industry for several years now. As customers increasingly use digital channels for their banking needs, financial institutions have been forced to adopt new technologies and redesign their business processes. This has led to improved customer experiences, greater efficiency, and increased innovation.

One of the key benefits of Digital Transformation in finance and banking is the ability to leverage data to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. By collecting and analyzing large amounts of data, financial institutions can better understand their customers and tailor their products and services accordingly. This has led to the development of personalized banking experiences that are more convenient and relevant to customers.

Another major trend in Digital Transformation for finance and banking is the rise of mobile banking. With the proliferation of smartphones and mobile apps, customers expect to be able to access their financial information and conduct transactions from anywhere, at any time. This has prompted financial institutions to develop user-friendly mobile apps that offer a range of banking services, including account management, bill payment, and money transfers.

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has also been a game-changer for the finance and banking industry. AI and ML can analyze vast amounts of data to detect patterns and trends and provide insights into customer behavior. This has led to the development of chatbots that can provide personalized banking services to customers, as well as the automation of routine tasks such as fraud detection and compliance monitoring.

Blockchain technology is another area that is transforming the finance and banking industry. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that allows for secure and transparent transactions without the need for intermediaries. This has the potential to significantly reduce transaction costs, while also increasing transparency and accountability. Many financial institutions are exploring the use of blockchain for cross-border payments, digital identity verification, and trade finance.

Open Banking is a regulatory initiative that requires banks to share customer data securely and efficiently with third-party providers. This has created new opportunities for innovation and competition in the banking industry, as fintech startups can now access customer data and develop new products and services. Open Banking has also led to the rise of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), which allow different systems and platforms to communicate with each other.

Finally, cloud computing has enabled financial institutions to store and process large amounts of data more efficiently and cost-effectively. It also allows for greater flexibility and scalability, as resources can be easily scaled up or down as needed. Cloud computing also enables faster innovation, as developers can quickly test and deploy new applications and services.

In conclusion, Digital Transformation is transforming the finance and banking industry in profound ways. Financial institutions that embrace these changes and adopt new technologies will be better positioned to meet the evolving needs of their customers, drive innovation, and stay ahead of the competition.

[ashishaggarwalacubeventures]

7 Facts You Must Know Regarding Startups In 2023

You are saying that you have a burning inkling that you think could transform the world in any way? Oh, you are desiring about earning millions or even billions of dollars by launching a business around this boiling idea? Then you could probably be the father of a Startup.

Industry professional, Ashish Aggarwal, CEO of Acube Ventures insinuates that Startups are prominent business prototype that steers invention and economic promotion across the world. An exotic set of products and services are established by startups each year. They are the articulation of imaginative and ambitious entrepreneurs who have remarkable ideas.

India has evolved to be the third-largest startup ecological community in the world after the US and China. The first Unicorn was seen in India in 2011, and almost after a decade in 2022, India crossed the mark of 100 Unicorns. The bragging of 100 Unicorns is not an ordinary affair, and that is why the startup ecosystem is flinging in joy and bulging with dignity.

"Startups in India have grown remarkably over the last six years.

The number of newly recognised startups around the world has heightened to over 14,000 in 2021-22 from only 733 in 2016-17, a survey said.

When someone says the word “startup”, we usually instantly think of diverse triumph stories and exponential business expansion. However, in actuality, not all startups are prosperous. We usually only hear about the winners, and that is one-sided information that doesn’t tell the entire story. Everyone wants to listen to favourable achievement anecdotes, but you need to know all of the details if you want your startup to prosper.

Mr Ashish Aggarwal, an Industry Expert and Consultant has laid out 7 most crucial details about startups, including statistics, facts, and trends that will help you give a decent awareness of the universal startup landscape:

1. Dispersion of startups worldwide as per industry - 7.2% of the startups in the world function in the Fintech industry which is followed by the healthcare sector with 6.9%, Artificial intelligence with 4.9%, Gaming industry with 4.7%, Adtech commerce with 3.2%, and Edtech sector with 2.9%. Even though there isn’t entirely accurate data about enterprise dispersion, it’s clear that contemporary startups gravitate more towards the online network, cyberspace, the internet and digital technologies. With this information, we can also discern which industry is adequate for startups at the moment.

2. The valuation of E-Commerce revenues globally is approximately $3.5 trillion - E-Commerce is one out of the most prominent industries for young startups with rapid growth expected in the future. The next enterprise in line is “FinTech” i.e. Financial technology. Another huge focus of new startups is cybersecurity. These companies realize how crucial online security will be in the future. FoodTech combines food and technology and is another famous enterprise for startups. With over $16 billion of investments in 2018, EdTech is coming to be another outstanding startup industry that provides educational technology remedies to people worldwide.

3. Over 68% of startup businesses started as home businesses - The idea has to commence somewhere and form posture. Even though maximum startups don’t have the integral allocation at the onslaught to insulate office expenses, they can launch their operations from home.

4. The ‘sharing economy market' is expected to cross a total revenue of $335 billion by 2025 - In just a matter of a few years, sharing economy startups namely, Airbnb and Uber have grown exponentially and solidified a global existence. At the moment, Airbnb is valued at $24 billion, and Uber is worth $50 billion. In 2014, the total revenue of market sales was $17 billion, which means that in just eight years, the projected earnings of this market grew more than 20 times.

5. AI is presently the most profitable innovation technology -Over 63℅ of entrepreneurs agree that AI, not just presently but for at least the next 10 years is the most prominent technology. The tracts of this technology with the highest potential are autonomous transportation and huge data. Even though these two sectors are already making strides, it’s anticipated that they will flourish substantially in the close future.

6. ByteDance is valued at over $350 billion - The most profitable unicorn company in the world, ByteDance (China) is a tech company that owns Tiktok. There are presently 1000+ Unicorn companies around the world. However, the maximum of them is tracked down in China or the United States.

7. 95% of entrepreneurs that establish startups have at least a bachelor’s degree - Many people claim that education isn’t significant. They talk about Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk as instances. However, the majority of the people who birthed the world’s most triumphant startups have a higher education.

Ashish Aggarwal aspires to watch numerous Indian Startup Parents succeed in their entrepreneurial endeavours, which is why he shares his invaluable insights about startups. According to him, The startup industry will persist to be the driving component for global innovation and business development for many years. Nonetheless, companies must learn how to adapt to trends while being endurable and productive so that more startups can withstand the dynamic business environment.

[nicklloydnow]

“Also among Lane’s clients: FTX. Federal prosecutors are now examining Silvergate’s role in banking Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen empire. The more pressing problem is that the collapse of FTX spooked other Silvergate customers, resulting in an $8.1 billion run on the bank: 60 percent of its deposits that walked out the door in just one quarter. (“Worse than that experienced by the average bank to close in the Great Depression,” The Wall Street Journal helpfully explained.)

In its earnings filing, we found out that Silvergate’s results last quarter were absolute dogshit, a $1 billion loss. Then, on March 1st, Silvergate entered a surprise regulatory filing. It says that, actually, the quarterly results were even worse, and it’s not clear the bank will be able to stay in business.

(…)

“If Silvergate goes out of business, it’s going to push funds and market makers further offshore,” Ava Labs president John Wu told Barron’s. The issue is how easy it is to get into actual cash dollars, which in finance-speak is called liquidity. Less liquidity makes transactions more difficult. Already there is a broader gap between the price at which a trade is expected to go through at and the actual price at which it executes, Wu said.

So Silvergate’s troubles are a problem for the entire crypto industry.”

“Within 48 hours, a panic induced by the very venture capital community that SVB had served and nurtured ended the bank's 40-year-run.

Regulators shuttered SVB Friday and seized its deposits in the largest U.S. banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis and the second-largest ever. The company's downward spiral began late Wednesday, when it surprised investors with news that it needed to raise $2.25 billion to shore up its balance sheet. What followed was the rapid collapse of a highly-respected bank that had grown alongside its technology clients.

(…)

"This was a hysteria-induced bank run caused by VCs," Ryan Falvey, a fintech investor at Restive Ventures, told CNBC. "This is going to go down as one of the ultimate cases of an industry cutting its nose off to spite its face."

(…)

The roots of SVB's collapse stem from dislocations spurred by higher rates. As startup clients withdrew deposits to keep their companies afloat in a chilly environment for IPOs and private fundraising, SVB found itself short on capital. It had been forced to sell all of its available-for-sale bonds at a $1.8 billion loss, the bank said late Wednesday.

(…)

All told, customers withdrew a staggering $42 billion of deposits by the end of Thursday, according to a California regulatory filing.

By the close of business that day, SVB had a negative cash balance of $958 million, according to the filing, and failed to scrounge enough collateral from other sources, the regulator said.

(…)

Now, thanks to the bank run that ended in SVB's seizure, those who remained with SVB face an uncertain timeline for retrieving their money. While insured deposits are expected to be available as early as Monday, the lion's share of deposits held by SVB were uninsured, and it's unclear when they will be freed up.”

“First Republic shares fell 52% in early trading before storming back to near the previous day's closing level, only to then finish the day down 15%. Investors expressed concerns about unrealized losses on assets at the bank as well as its heavy reliance on deposits that could turn out to be flighty.

(…)

First Republic's shares have lost 34% of their value in the past week.

(…)

In its annual report, First Republic said the fair-market value of its "real estate secured mortgages" was $117.5 billion as of Dec. 31, or $19.3 billion below their $136.8 billion balance-sheet value. The fair-value gap for that single asset category was larger than First Republic's $17.4 billion of total equity.

All told, the fair value of First Republic's financial assets was $26.9 billion less than their balance-sheet value. The financial assets included "other loans" with a fair value of $26.4 billion, or $2.9 billion below their $29.3 billion carrying amount. So-called held-to-maturity securities, consisting mostly of municipal bonds, had a fair value of $23.6 billion, or $4.8 billion less than their $28.3 billion carrying amount.

(…)

Total deposits at First Republic were $176.4 billion, or 90% of its total liabilities, as of Dec. 31. About 35% of its deposits were noninter-est-bearing. And $119.5 billion, or 68%, of its deposits were uninsured, meaning they exceeded Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. limits.”

“Signature becomes the third-largest bank to ever fail in the U.S., behind Silicon Valley Bank and Washington Mutual in 2008, if its assets haven't changed significantly since the end of 2022. Signature had $110 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, ranking 29th among U.S. banks. It had $88 billion in deposits as of that date, and approximately 89.7% were not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

(…)

Signature served clients in the cryptocurrency world and had been trying to reduce its exposure. Like Silvergate Bank, another crypto-friendly bank that said last week it would voluntarily wind itself down, it suffered from a deposit outflow in the aftermath of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Deposits dropped 17% in the fourth quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-earlier period.

(…)

Now that Signature has been seized, Circle, issuer of the second largest stablecoin, "will not be able to process minting and redemption [for the stablecoin] through SigNet," and "will be relying on settlements through BNY Mellon,” CEO Jeremy Allaire said on Twitter Sunday evening.

Circle’s USD coin fell below its crucial $1 peg Friday after the company disclosed $3.3 billion in cash reserves held with the failed Silicon Valley Bank despite attempted withdrawals Thursday. After falling to 88 cents on Saturday, the company announced it planned to cover any shortfall from its SVB losses using “corporate resources.””

“Credit Suisse shares on Monday reached a new record low, falling as much as 15% as investors continued to hammer away at the stock of the Swiss banking giant after the collapse of banks in the U.S.

(…)

Credit Suisse CSGN CS has lost money for five straight quarters and says it’s expecting to post a loss before tax this year. It’s undergoing a big transformation after losing billions lending to the Archegos family office and having to freeze $10 billion worth of funds tied to Greensil Capital. Wealthy clients pulled out about $100 billion from Credit Suisse in the fourth quarter.”

[baohouse]

Personal framework for running a global engineering team

Five months in being Director of Engineering for a fintech startup, overseeing a small team that spans south Asia and North America, I'm building a global engineering culture that produces a high-quality technology product. Greatest challenge I've ever faced. What is helping me?

1. Being a systems thinker.

As a child my uncle would go to a used computer store, Weird Stuff, in Silicon Valley and bring home junk. I would take apart and rebuild computers. At the same time, on weekends, I would help mom look after our garden filled with abundant fruit trees.

Looking after a garden helped me practice managing micro-ecologies. I played a lot of video games growing up, notably SimCity, Civilization, and SimEarth. It was fun to explore different ways of managing complex systems (cities, nations, planet).

2. Understanding culture via ethnic studies.

I became interested in understanding my Vietnamese heritage while entering college. I became involved in Vietnamese student organizing at the school, regional, and continental level, especially organizing conferences.

I took a course in Native American Studies and Asian American Studies to help compare. What was important was to have a statistical and anecdotal view of culture. Traits can manifest by many, or by few who still see themselves part of the group.

Also important was tweaking or implementing new cultural practices. A big focus during my time as a student organizer—credit which goes to my peers—was building social cohesion among people in different geographies via group activities, e.g. scavenger hunt, trò chơi lớn.

Sometimes it failed. Other times it succeeded. Either way, a lesson learned: utilize one's upbringing, or design a way to introduce people into a new practice. Which segues into...

3. Practice marketing and product development.

I practiced asking/answering: What do people do? Is there something (a product) that exists to fulfill their needs? How can it be improved? I practiced via student community organizing, and continued having joined many tech startups.

At every startup company, we created a tech product (I developed my software engineering skills), and had to test and validate its viability. And in the context of a startup, I learned product development processes such as Agile methodology.

Culture is a product too, e.g. instituting a mentorship program, or Vietnamese New Year festival. They're not software, but it benefits from asking the same questions. Can't just do things just cuz it's always been done that way. Why do it? Otherwise people flock to alternatives.

4. Study leadership.

One way to approach it is learning the levels of leadership. The first person you lead is yourself. And then you learn to lead peers/groups, then organizations, then communities, societies, etc.

For each level one had to learn different skills. Level 1 (self) you learn self-awareness and self-love. Level 2 (peers) you learn empathy, chit chat, paired activities (hanging out; dates). Level 3 (group) you learn things like conflict resolution mediation.

Learning and practice never ends. Just because I practiced how to do it with peers my age, as time goes on, you just end up practicing with people of different backgrounds: age, origin, beliefs, life circumstances, disabilities, etc.

5. Learning and applying industrialization.

So it's one thing to learn how to create products. It's another matter to make it accessible at scale. I'll watch videos on how things are built such as how Coca-Cola Company makes soda. Or how McDonald's churn out burgers quickly.

It helps to be a systems thinker, to really identify where things get slow. When I played SimCity, I loved identifying and clearing out traffic bottlenecks. It also helps to understand lifecycles (thanks high school biology), because a lot of problems come down to timing issues.

Now... I don't have a formal training in industrial processes like Six Sigma or Toyota Production System. But it's definitely something I'm interested in. Why? Because I like to model after good practices that already exist. Which segues into...

6. Leverage partnerships and external inspirations.

An important lesson I learned while organizing in the Vietnamese nonprofit community is: if you can't do it yourself, partner with someone who can. Build their work into your flow. Or model their process.

I worked with nonprofits, so I only had shoestring budgets or volunteer hours to work with. My mentees created youth development programs by inviting staff of other nonprofits to participate. DIY is cool, but if it's not an option, collaborate.

Or if limited resources, introduce an abbreviated form. Set a goal for each team member to learn and apply one new thing each month to steer the team towards a framework. Sometimes it's about introducing terminology, because words shape our reality and the way we do things.

Sorry this is so long; really this is a brain dump. I need it because I needed to create my own personal framework for how I am running the engineering team.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil Braces Itself for a Fintech Revolution

Traditional banking services have eluded many Brazilians, leaving more than 34 million of them either underbanked or unbanked. Fintech companies have come to remedy that, as many have stepped up to serve consumers in Brazil in ways that the current banking system has not, including providing them with their first bank account.  

There are three key reasons why Brazil is ripe for a fintech revolution. For one, Brazil’s current banking system is small, made up of only a few banks.  What’s more, these banks are both “rigid and oligopolistic” in their approach to banking. For many years, this has meant that both banking fees and borrowing fees have been astronomical, leaving a considerable number of Brazilians unbanked, while banks profited. These rigid regulations also placed a significant burden on those wanting to open new banks in the country to increase competition.  

Then there’s Brazil’s affinity for installment payments, which dates back to the 1950s, with the proliferation of ‘crediários.’ This is where customers would register with their local store to buy a product and then pay for it over the course of a few months. This culture of installment payments and early adoption of technology is well-suited for digital finance innovation and many payment-focused fintech startups have launched as a result.  

Continue reading.

[shongjogyou]

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2023 -Greetings from SHONGJOGyou

Here's to a new year filled with hope, prosperity, and unity for our nation. Happy New Year - 2023 !

[shreyash-hexa]

Exploring the Power of UPI: Revolutionizing Digital Payments in India

In recent years, India has witnessed a revolutionary shift in the way financial transactions are conducted, thanks to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Spearheaded by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI has transformed the digital payments landscape, making it seamless, fast, and highly efficient. Whether you're paying bills, splitting a dinner tab, or transferring money to a loved one, UPI has become an indispensable part of our daily lives.

What is UPI?

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time payment system that facilitates instant money transfer between bank accounts using a smartphone. By leveraging a simple Virtual Payment Address (VPA), users can initiate transactions without sharing sensitive bank details. The platform supports peer-to-peer and merchant transactions, offering unprecedented convenience and security.

Key Features of UPI

Ease of Use: UPI eliminates the need to remember lengthy account numbers and IFSC codes. Transactions can be initiated using a simple VPA, mobile number, or QR code.

Real-Time Transactions: Funds are transferred instantly, 24/7, even on weekends and holidays.

Cost-Effective: Most UPI transactions are either free or come with minimal charges, making it an affordable choice for users and merchants alike.

Interoperability: UPI allows transactions across different banks, fostering a unified ecosystem.

Enhanced Security: With two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption, UPI prioritizes user safety, ensuring a secure transaction experience.

How UPI is Changing Lives

UPI has democratized access to digital payments, making them accessible to millions across urban and rural areas. Key benefits include:

Financial Inclusion: UPI has brought digital payments to underserved areas, enabling even small vendors to accept cashless payments.

Boost to E-Commerce: The rise of UPI has significantly contributed to the growth of online shopping and digital marketplaces.

Simplified Utility Payments: From paying electricity bills to recharging mobile phones, UPI has made utility payments effortless.

The Future of UPI

With continuous advancements such as UPI Lite for low-value transactions and the integration of international payments, the platform’s potential is limitless. Initiatives like linking UPI with credit cards and enabling offline transactions further showcase its adaptability and innovation.

Conclusion

UPI is not just a payment system; it’s a movement towards a cashless, digital India. Its simplicity, security, and scalability make it a cornerstone of India’s fintech revolution, empowering individuals and businesses alike.

For organizations looking to harness the potential of UPI or create cutting-edge financial solutions, partnering with experts in software development is crucial. Hexadecimal Software is a leading provider of software development and services, offering tailored solutions to meet diverse business needs. With a track record of excellence, Hexadecimal Software specializes in delivering secure, innovative, and scalable applications.

Explore their comprehensive insights and expert advice on their blog to stay updated with the latest trends in software development and digital payments. Whether you’re a startup or an established enterprise, Hexadecimal Software is your go-to partner for driving growth through technology.

[rugrofficial]

Which Fintech Companies Are Most Successful in Rural India?

In the past few years, the field of fintech has risen as a revolutionary force in rural India, catering to the unique financial demands of farmers and rural communities. With an emphasis on increasing financial inclusion, some fintech startups have successfully built agricultural-specific products. This article examines some of the most successful fintech companies working in rural India, focusing on their contributions to agricultural loans in rural, crop insurance, and overall rural development.

1. Rugr: Empowering Farmers with Tailored Financial Solutions

Rugr stands out as a prominent player in the rural fintech landscape, providing essential agricultural loans in rural areas. By leveraging mobile banking in rural Bharat, Rugr simplifies the loan application process, enabling farmers to access funds directly from their smartphones. This convenience is crucial for farmers who often face challenges related to distance and accessibility to traditional banking services.

Rugr also provides crop insurance online in rural areas, allowing farmers to protect their investments from unforeseen risks like as natural disasters. This holistic strategy not only helps farmers manage their financial risks, but it also promotes sustainable farming practices. Rugr's loan and insurance services enable farmers to make informed decisions that boost production and economic stability.

2. Jai Kisan: Bridging the Credit Gap

Jai Kisan, a fintech firm based in Mumbai, was founded in 2017 with the goal of bringing financial inclusion to rural populations. The platform provides digital financial services especially to farmers and small enterprises involved in agriculture. Jai Kisan provides agricultural loans for income-generating activities, ensuring that farmers have access to the capital they require for growth. 

Jai Kisan has established a solid ecosystem that helps over 150,000 rural clients through collaboration with over 700 organized and unorganized institutions. In May 2021, the firm raised $30 million in Series A funding, establishing its status as a major player in rural fintech.

3. Hesa: Transforming Rural Commerce

Hesa is a cutting-edge agri-fintech firm that uses both digital and physical ways to empower farmers. The website connects farmers to merchants and enterprises, increasing their earning potential by up to 20%. Hesa provides access to financial services, market linkages, and e-commerce solutions tailored for rural communities.

By leveraging a vast network of village-level entrepreneurs known as Hesaathis, Hesa facilitates transactions and helps farmers digitally trade their produce. This model not only improves financial access but also enhances market transparency and efficiency, driving economic growth in rural areas.

4. BankSathi: Facilitating Financial Literacy

BankSathi is a social commerce fintech platform that aims to increase financial literacy among rural populations. BankSathi enables people to make informed financial decisions by making banking services and educational resources easily accessible. Farmers can apply for Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) through the platform's app, which streamlines the loan application procedure.

BankSathi simplifies the KCC application process and provides support through business correspondents, allowing even non-technical users to access official banking services. This focus on education and accessibility is crucial for promoting financial inclusion in underserved areas.

5. Aggois: Affordable Financing for Farmers

Aggois is another agri-fintech startup dedicated to providing affordable financing solutions for farmers throughout India. The platform offers hassle-free loans with transparent terms designed specifically for agricultural needs. Aggois assures that even persons with no formal credit history can obtain funding by using technology to assess creditworthiness based on alternative data sources.

The company's commitment to transparency and affordability makes it an appealing choice for farmers looking for dependable financial support.

Conclusion

The achievement of these new fintech companies demonstrates how technology has the ability to alter rural finance in India. These companies are leading the path for greater financial inclusion and economic empowerment by tackling the unique difficulties that farmers experience, such as limited access to finance, a lack of financial awareness, and inadequate insurance alternatives.

Rugr stands out for its complete strategy for agricultural loans and crop insurance, while other firms like as Jai Kisan, Hesa, BankSathi, and Aggois make major contributions to closing the credit gap and increasing market access for rural areas. As these fintech solutions mature and spread, they will play an important role in promoting sustainable farming practices and driving growth in India's rural economy.

To summarize, the combination between technology and agriculture through these successful fintech startups is not only transforming access to financial services, but also increasing farmer resilience in rural India. With continued improvements in mobile banking and digital finance, the future appears bright for both the agricultural sector and rural populations in general.

[hiringteam]

Company Name: BharatPe

Website: https://bharatpe.com

Required Skills: Team Management,Revenue generation,Achieve Targets, Experience in Top Line, building product depth/ Distribution and Transaction,Sales and Distribution

Description

Candidate should have experience in Swipe and Speaker business from Fintech or Banking Industry only

Only Local candidates (Mumbai) are required 

 

In this role, you have the opportunity to:-

● Work at an organization which encourages to test and learn enabling you to experiment.

● Work closely with cross functional & support teams i.e. Marketing, Product and Support to ensure smoother business operations

● Responsible for annualized TPV of over 1 Bn & Merchant base of over 500K

● Responsible for handling the strategy and operations across 50+ cities spread across 5 states

● Impact BharatPe’s top line and bottom line at the same time

● Drive sustainable/profitable growth

● Lead a team of highly capable individuals

Responsibilities will include:-

Functional Expertise:-

● Deliver targets for business as aligned with Management in AOP across Loans, Targetable merchants, Swipe & Speakers

● Lead the agenda across business lines that drive long term growth.

● Responsible for Top Line, building product depth/ Distribution and Transaction volume and value

● Responsible for business achievement for respective area to achieve assigned targets.

● Identify and implement business growth opportunities through constant market working and feedback

● Facilitate hiring of CH/ASM /TMs to ensure 100% manning in their territories

Interaction:-

● Manage a team of 3-6 ASM’s and about 15 Territory managers

● Work closely with cross functional teams like Marketing, Data Science, Product and Support to ensure smoother business operations

Problem Solving:-

● Provide competition insights and analysis on an ongoing basis to work towards improvement of internal product and processes

● Preparing AOP’s at different product levels with focused approach and assumptions basis the market dynamics

To succeed in the role:-

Impact::

● Revenue potential : 10-12 Crores annual achievement, Potential is much higher

● Long term impact : East is one of our fastest growing & impactful region, with enormous potential for growth given the opportunity that exists there.

 

Challenges & Decisions:-

● Working in a highly commoditized & competitive landscape

Qualification & Experience:-

● Expert at Sales & Distribution

● Experience in Telecom, Fintech, Consumer tech, FMCG and Ecommerce are preferred

Skills & know-how:-

● Atleast 8 years of Sales experience

● Startup experience is highly valued but not necessary

Behaviors:-

● Team management experience is a must – will be handling a team of high performers across Sales

● As a marketing leader understanding of fintech business model in India is highly valued for this role.

 

If interested kindly drop me your updated CV to serviceshr208@gmail.com

Thanks and regards

Snehashree Panda