Zoomcar’s income doubles, profits tumble

Hello,

After nine years, Manu Jain bids goodbye to Xiaomi as the global vice president of the group. 

“Over the next few months, I will take some time off, before taking up my next professional challenge," Manu, who had earlier co-founded fashion ecommerce company Jabong, said in a statement. 

The seasoned entrepreneur joined Xiaomi in 2014 and served in various roles at the consumer electronics company before he was appointed as the global VP in 2017. 

Now, some good news. 

PW (Physics Wallah) stands as a beacon of hope amid massive layoffs in the Indian startup ecosystem, especially in the edtech sector. 

The Delhi-based edtech unicorn plans to hire 2,500 employees across verticals within the first quarter of 2023, which will include hiring faculty members and professionals for allied roles like business analysts, data analysts, counsellors, operations managers, batch managers, teachers, and many more. 

With only a day to go, here’s what India Inc expects from Budget 2023.

ICYMI: Right before the Winter Solstice, photographer Goran Strand captured the most beautiful picture of the Sun. We bet you have never seen it before! 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Zoomcar’s income doubles, profits tumble
• Bringing a 'yellow revolution' with banana
• The story of India’s largest export house

Here’s your trivia for today: Who created the world’s first functional LEGO prosthetic arm?

Earnings

Zoomcar’s income doubles, profits tumble

Car-sharing marketplace Zoomcar clocked a net profit of Rs 74 crore for FY22, down from Rs 160 crore in the previous year. Meanwhile, its total income grew to Rs 230 crore from Rs 113 crore in FY21.

Key points:

• Zoomcar's employee expense increased to Rs 119 crore in FY22 from Rs 75 crore in FY21.
• The company says it has processed over 7 million transactions in the country since its inception.
• It is seeking a public listing via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Innovative International Acquisition Corp.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: IndoSpace

Amount: $205M

Round: Equity

Startup: Enzene Biosciences

Amount: $50M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: CapGrid

Amount: $7M

Round: Series A

Startup

Bringing a 'yellow revolution' with banana

Fariq Naushad and Previn Jacob Varghese are developing greenikk as a banana farmer-centric digital ecosystem. The startup aims to solve problems for every stakeholder—from banana farmers and processing units to commission agents, bulk B2B buyers, and fibre buyers.

Banana bonanza:

• Greenikk has built enablement centres to provide farmers with the required support such as finance, seeds, crop advisory, insurance coverage, agri inputs, etc.
• The company sells bananas to bulk B2B buyers like chips manufacturers, export agents, and large wholesalers.
• It has a network of 10,000 farmers and grew 300% in FY 2022.

Woman entrepreneur

The story of India’s largest export house

Started from a makeshift unit in Delhi in the 1970s, Shahi Exports is now an Rs 8,244 crore revenue company, employing a workforce of 115,000—68% of them women. Its founder, 86-year-old Sarla Ahuja, retired just two years ago after building India's largest export house.

Women power:

• With a capital of Rs 5,000, Sarla established Shahi’s production unit in Delhi in 1974, with a capacity of around 200 pieces a day.
• Shahi Exports has a customer base that includes Walmart, Gap Inc, Abercrombie & Fitch, PVH, Kohl’s, H&M, Target, etc.
• It became the first company to pilot Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement, a proprietary life skills programme for women by Gap Inc.

News & updates

• Royals back Adani: Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Co. will invest about $400 million in Adani Enterprises’ follow-on share sale, saying it was confident in Gautam Adani’s business empire even after almost $70 billion was wiped off its market value. The funding will represent about 16% of Adani Enterprises’ offering and follows an almost $2 billion investment in Adani’s companies last year.
• Restructuring: Automobile giants Renault and Nissan have agreed to a sweeping restructure of their decades-long alliance, in place since 1999. As part of the overhaul, Renault will transfer 28.4% of Nissan shares into a French trust. 
• Queen of Clean: Marie Kondo has said she has “kind of given up” on tidying since the birth of her third child. The world-renowned Japanese decluttering expert admitted that with three children to look after, her family home was “messy”, and tidying up was less of a priority now.

Who created the world’s first functional LEGO prosthetic arm?

Answer: David Aguilar (Andorra), aka "Hand Solo", in 2017.

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