Breaking into the US market with some help; Super.money climbs UPI rankings

Hello,

Happy Holi!

Even as the country gets ready to celebrate the festival of colours, the markets are steeped in red and remain a strong concern for retail investors as the bear market spells trouble for consumer spending.

Investors trying to catch a breather may have to wait longer for the selloff to ebb from India’s longest equity slump in 30 years, which wiped out roughly $1 trillion in market capitalisation.

Speaking of Holi festivities, one celebration has emerged as a symbol of societal transformation. This year, over 2,000 widows in Vrindavan broke traditional norms and congregated to celebrate Holi with colours and flowers. Take a look at those smiles!

As you get older, it’s important to keep your inner child alive … literally. In fact, a recent study suggests it might just help you live longer. 

A study on the microbiome and DNA of the world’s oldest living person before she died last year at age 117, determined that her genes allowed her cells to feel and behave as if they were 17 years younger, and her gut flora mirrored that of an infant’s.

Talk about being young at heart!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Opportunities to break into the US market
• Super.money climbs UPI rankings
• Empowering women entrepreneurs to go global

Here’s your trivia for today: In which city do residents play ‘Laddu Holi’, where people throw sweets at each other?

Investment

Opportunities to break into the US market

Startups aspire to have marquee clients and a meaningful presence in larger economies. However, it is easier said than done. To help early-stage Indian startups in this journey, Arise Ventures is building an India-US corridor.

“A lot of startups can do much better if they get the right tools at the early stage, and then the acceleration becomes faster,” Founder Ankita Vashistha remarks, who has worked globally in the US, Singapore, and India markets.

Around the world:

• According to Vashistha, once a tech startup gets its first few orders in India, Arise Ventures can help it unlock newer customers in the US. It also helps startups raise VC funds from the US market.
• By the end of 2025, the VC firm plans to raise Rs 500 crore, and it has already made the first close. It plans to invest in 15-20 startups in the enterprise tech, deep tech, SaaS and consumer tech sectors, with cheque sizes ranging from $250,000 to $2 million.
• At the same time, Arise Ventures aims to support women startup founders with its accelerator programme that sees 50% women participation. So far, 400 startups have participated in its programme.

Funding Alert

Startup: Purple Style Labs

Amount: $40M

Round: Series E

Startup: Scimplify

Amount: $40M

Round: Series B

Payments

Super.money climbs UPI rankings

Super.money surged two spots to become the fifth-largest UPI payments platform in February, overtaking Cred and Axis Bank Apps. The Flipkart Ventures-backed fintech app processed 139.1 million transactions, up from 124.8 million in January, with a total transaction value of Rs 4,812.4 crore.

Key takeaways:

• While PhonePe and Google Pay continued to dominate, in February, almost every major UPI player saw a dip in transaction volumes compared to January.
• Paytm retained its third-place ranking, processing 1,079.6 million transactions in February, slightly down from 1,152.3 million in January.
• In contrast, CRED slipped to sixth place, despite handling 126.4 million transactions—down from 137.4 million in January—while still recording a high transaction value of Rs 45,127.7 crore.

Women entrepreneur

Empowering women entrepreneurs to go global

On International Women’s Day 2020, Madhura Dasgupta Sinha founded Aspire for Her as a response to the declining participation of women in India’s workforce and in an attempt to address their financial dependence. Among many things, it was conceptualised as a community-driven platform aimed at motivating women to enter and stay in the workforce through mentorship, skilling, role models, and networking.

Making it happen:

• SheExports was developed to help women entrepreneurs scale their businesses internationally​. It offers a structured accelerator programme that provides mentorship, market access, and hands-on learning.
• The first season of SheExports worked with 42 women-led businesses, primarily solopreneurs in handicrafts, fashion, and niche consumer goods​. The second cohort expanded to 84 participants and included consulting, coaching, and SaaS ventures.
• SheExports ensures that after training, its alumni remain connected through Aspire For Her’s EntrepreNaari community, where they continue receiving support, visibility, and guidance on funding and other things.

News & updates

• Delayed return: NASA and SpaceX on Wednesday delayed the launch of a replacement crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station that would have set in motion the long-awaited homecoming of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams.
• Postponed: Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand pushed back its profitability target by three years as the carmaker contends with muted sales and the costs of slimming down its bloated operations.
• Stepping down: Donatella Versace will step away from her role as chief creative officer and move into the position of chief brand ambassador, said Capri Holdings. Capri, owner of brands including Michael Kors, Versace, and Jimmy Choo, said Versace will assume the chief brand ambassador role effective April 1.

In which city do residents play ‘Laddu Holi’, where people throw sweets at each other?

Answer: Barsana, near Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

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