Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (September 23, 2024)

Salt Oral Care appoints Dr Nisha Sancheti as Chief Dental and Wellness Officer

Salt Oral Care, a luxury oral beauty brand, has appointed Dr Nisha Sancheti, as its Chief Dental and Wellness Officer. In her new role, Dr Sancheti will spearhead the development of Salt’s chemical-free oral care products. 

Dr Sancheti, a dental professional with over 16 years of experience, will join the SALT Board alongside Karan Raj Kohli and Viraj Kapur, the founders of SALT Oral Care. 

She has a background in dentistry and a Master’s in Health Administration. Dr Sancheti’s leadership and scientific acumen have been instrumental in developing SALT’s chemical-free formulations.

BHIVE ropes in Venkatesh Shenoy as Chief Operating Officer

BHIVE, a provider of managed office spaces and enterprise coworking solutions, has named Venkatesh Shenoy as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). 

In his new role, Shenoy will focus on enhancing BHIVE’s operational strategies and expanding its footprint across India.

With a career spanning over 18 years in operations and supply chain management, Shenoy is set to steer BHIVE through its next phase of growth and expansion. He brings a wealth of experience from leading roles in both corporate and startup environments. 

Shenoy served a long stint at Delhivery as the Senior Director and South India Operations Head. His most recent position was as the Vice President of Operations at Ecom Express. His career also includes over a decade of impactful contributions to Bajaj Auto and the RPG Group.

BigBasket launches initiative to make organic food more accessible, affordable

BigBasket, a Tata enterprise, has launched an initiative that will offer organically grown fruits and vegetables, and staples at the same price as conventionally grown products. 

This move aims to make organic food more accessible and affordable for consumers while enhancing the livelihoods of over 30,000 farmers involved in its supply chain.

BigBasket has also introduced a digital labelling system that enhances traceability by linking every product to its respective farmer. This system tracks the journey of produce from the farm to the customer, guaranteeing transparency and the freshness of each item.

Over the past financial year, BigBasket’s organic category has seen steady growth, with a 15-17% month-on-month increase in sales. Organic products now account for 22% of its staples sales, while organically grown fruits and vegetables have grown by 50%, contributing 8% of total fresh produce sales.

build3 announces Impact Startup Academy

build3, an ecosystem to build impact startups, has announced a collaboration with impact entrepreneur Gaurav Singh to introduce the inaugural cohort of its virtual Impact Startup Academy. 

The 5-week cohort-based online course will begin on October 7 and aims to guide over 100 potential impact founders to build startups for profit and purpose.

The virtual course will equip individuals with the necessary knowledge and inspiration to start, while also providing the opportunity to meet like-minded entrepreneurs. Upon course completion, build3 will provide participants with a certificate, however, eligible participants may also opt for a UGC-recognised certificate from Srishti Manipal Institute.

BharatPe onboards ONDC Network to offer food ordering, delivery

BharatPe and ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) have announced an integration that would enable BharatPe customers to order and get their food delivered via its app. 

This is the first integration that BharatPe has announced post the launch of consumer payments last month. This feature will be enabled for 15 million BharatPe customers.

The customers will have access to over 1.4 lakh restaurants across over 400 cities listed on ONDC Network on the BharatPe app. The app enables the users to browse through a list of local restaurants and cuisines. BharatPe app will also be able to offer tailored food recommendations based on user preferences and order history.

ONDC is a network of 99 apps, 24 buyer apps and 75 seller apps. Shoppers can choose from one of the 24 buyer apps to buy their desired products based on categories of products those apps have enabled. Sellers can choose from one of the 75 to be listed on the Network. Any buyer on any buyer app can buy from any seller on any seller app.

Magenta Mobility deploys over 2,000 EVs across 18 cities in India

Magenta Mobility, an integrated electric mobility solutions provider, has deployed over 2,000 electric vehicles (EVs) across over 18 cities in India.

Magenta has expanded its fleet to over 2000 three-wheelers (3W) and more than 250 four-wheelers (4W), strategically deployed across cities, including Gurugram, Delhi, Manesar, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bengaluru, Chennai and  Hyderabad, with new cities planned such as Jaipur and Lucknow. 

With a client portfolio across sectors—including ecommerce, courier services, grocery delivery, 3PL, and FMCG—Magenta serves industry players such as Flipkart Grocery, Amazon UFF, D-Mart, Zomato Hyperpure, Delhivery, and DHL.

Magenta aims to further scale its fleet, targeting 4,000 three-wheeler EVs and 1,000 four-wheeler EVs by March 2025.

Stride Ventures now part of PRI network

Venture debt firm Stride Ventures has announced its commitment to adopting the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

The PRI is a global network of asset managers, owners, and service providers working to implement responsible investment practices. Its voluntary principles provide a framework for integrating ESG considerations into investment and ownership decisions.

A statement said by aligning with the PRI guidelines Stride Ventures will further strengthen its commitment to responsible investment.

Stride Ventures Founder and Managing Partner Ishpreet Singh Gandhi said, “As we go global, this alliance marks a key milestone in our journey. Becoming a PRI signatory underscores our commitment to a holistic approach, including a focus on ESG issues across all facets of business, and reinforces our role as responsible investors."

Stride Ventures has supported more than 150 companies and has 15 unicorns under its portfolio. 

Print2Block joins LF Decentralized Trust

Print2Block has announced its membership in the Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LF Decentralized Trust), the leading open-source foundation supporting decentralized technology ecosystems. As a founding member, Print2Block will take an active role in the LF Decentralized Trust community, driving innovation in blockchain, identity, cryptography, and other related technologies.

This new umbrella organisation is focused on fostering innovation and collaboration across decentralized technologies. LF Decentralized Trust enables a growing ecosystem of blockchain, ledger, identity, interoperability, cryptographic, and related technologies.

Print2Block joins other organisations like Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture, Hashgraph, Polygon and others to advance the collective mission of decentralising technology and building secure, interoperable systems.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)