Month: August 2023

Cashfree Payments’ Zecpe rebrands as Ecom360: Bets big on D2C businesses with Growth Solutions


 

Cashfree Payments, India's leading payments and API banking company, has announced the rebranding of its subsidiary, Zecpe, to ‘Ecom360’. Ecom360 caters to the end-to-end growth challenges faced by D2C businesses across their customer and product lifecycles. With Ecom360, businesses gain access to a comprehensive set of solutions built to elevate customer shopping experiences, prevent returns, streamline operations, and offer exceptional post-order support.

 

In early 2023, Cashfree Payments acquired Zecpe, a one-click checkout solution which tackled the checkout conversion challenge, a core problem faced by D2C businesses. Keeping to the same mission, Ecom360 will address a broader set of core problems, unlocking value and facilitating exponential growth. Ecom360 will operate as a distinct brand within Cashfree Payments, offering tailored solutions for the D2C ecosystem.

 

Indian customers have become accustomed to a refined ecommerce journey as large marketplaces have optimised their online shopping experience. However, D2C businesses lack this capability due to multiple growth challenges such as complex check out, lack of order tracking, inventory management hurdles, and returns on COD orders. Ecom360 will bridge this gap by offering solutions that address these obstacles directly on the brands' websites, empowering Indian ecommerce retailers to deliver enterprise-grade experiences and build customer trust.

 

Hriday Agarwal, General Manager, Ecom360 said, We are thrilled on the launch of the all-in-one e-commerce suite, Ecom360. The D2C and e-commerce sector in India has grown and expanded to remarkable heights and we anticipate that it will continue to do so. At the same time, we are aware of the numerous issues these D2C companies face as they expand. With Ecom360 by Cashfree Payments, we hope to address the growth difficulties faced by D2C and e-commerce enterprises, including improving checkout and payment processes and enabling them to provide seamless pre- and post-order experiences for customers.”

 

Akash Sinha, CEO and Co-Founder, Cashfree Payments said, “We are excited to introduce Ecom360 to D2C merchants in India, providing a comprehensive solution to address all their end-to-end growth challenges. This is a significant step in our mission to empower businesses with enhanced payments capabilities, allowing them to scale-up rapidly. It is also a testament to our commitment to the nation’s Make in India initiative, by helping businesses to grow sustainably. We have always focussed towards innovating and introducing effective payments products for our merchants. Ecom360, aligns with this notion, as we aim to revolutionise e-commerce for businesses.”

 

With over 50% market share among payment processors, Cashfree Payments today leads the way in bulk disbursals in India with its Payouts and is also among the leading online payment aggregators. India’s largest lender, SBI invested in Cashfree Payments underscoring the company’s role in building a robust payments ecosystem. Cashfree Payments works closely with all leading banks to build the core payments and banking infrastructure that powers the company’s products. Cashfree Payments is also integrated with major platforms such as Shopify, Wix, Paypal, Amazon Pay, Paytm, and Google Pay. Apart from India, Cashfree Payments products are used in eight other countries including the USA, Canada, and UAE.

 

Ecom360 by Cashfree Payments: https://ecom360.club/ 

Ministry Of Women And Child Development, Government Of India – G20 EMPOWER summit inaugurated at Gandhinagar, Gujarat today

G20 EMPOWER summit celebrates Key Outcomes to Accelerate Women-Led Development

 

Make women a priority if you want to grow with equity and equality ; Make women a priority if you want an empowered future: Smt Smriti Zubin Irani

 


The G20 EMPOWER Summit took place in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 1st August 2023.  This followed on from the Inception Meeting held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh on 11th and 12th February 2023 and the 2nd meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 5th and 6th April 2023. During India's G20 Presidency, women-led development has emerged as a crucial focus area on a life-course approach basis marking a shift from women’s empowerment alone.

 

The Summit had a total participation of over 300 participants (263 domestic participants and 70 international delegates). The international delegates were from 13 G20 and 4 guest countries and 8 International Organisations. These included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UK, USA, Bangladesh, The Netherlands, Spain, UAE, WTO, ISA, UN Women, UN, UNICEF, ILO, World Bank and ADB.

 

The Inaugural session of the EMPOWER Summit was addressed by Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani;  Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel; Minister of State for Women & Child Development, Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai; CEO NITI Aayog, Shri B.V.R. Subramanyam; Secretary, Women & Child Development, Shri Indevar Pandey; Chair, G20 EMPOWER, Dr Sangita Reddy; Chief of Staff, Office of Executive Director, UN Women, Mr Mohammad Naciri; and President FICCI, Mr Subhrakant Panda.

 

The Summit marked the achievement of tangible outcomes alongside identification of commitments and recommendations encompassing all three themes of G20 EMPOWER under the Indian presidency – Education: A Game-changing Pathway to Women’s Empowerment, Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Win-Win for Equity and Economy, and Creating a Partnership for Promoting Women’s Leadership at all Levels including Grassroots. An essential enabler for all three has been Digital Inclusion. Over this year, G20 EMPOWER scaled up several ongoing initiatives, while also developing concrete new outputs.

 

Chief of Staff, Office of Executive Director, UN Women, Mr Mohammad Naciri lauded India for undertaking a women-led development approach. He highlighted that this shift in semantics from development for women to women-led development creates a seismic shift in power which turns women from beneficiaries to contributors. To the 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' motto of G20 announced by India, he added ‘One Chance’ to signify that we have one more chance to get back on track to a future that is sustainable and the key to doing so lies in gender equality.

 

The Minister of State, Women & Child Development, Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai recognized that narrowing the digital gender divide is crucial for empowering women to contribute more effectively to economic growth and for that, we need to focus on improving women’s access to basic and advanced digital resources, education, entrepreneurship opportunities, and leadership roles for women and girls. There is also an urgent need to collect gender-disaggregated data to understand the dynamics of the digital gender gap.

 

Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, expressed the hope that TechEquity, a Digital Inclusion platform developed and launched at the Summit under India’s G20 Presidency would be of value and use for women around the world in education and subsequently as an enabler for transition and progression in careers, particularly in STEM. The platform has been designed to enable women from across the world to educate and upskill themselves on digital literacy, financial literacy and technical areas through training programs and resources provided on the platform. With courses being submitted by G20 Members and Guest Countries, it is envisaged that these courses will be available in 120 international and Indian languages. The platform envisages an outreach of 1 million users, internationally.

 

G20 EMPOWER serves as a platform to learn from insights and best practices across industries and businesses and strengthen knowledge sharing across the public and private sectors. Towards this end, the G20 EMPOWER Best Practices Playbook has been substantially scaled up under India’s Presidency. With extensive outreach and surveys, 149 best practices from 19 G20 countries have been added to the Playbook. The Playbook has been digitised to make it easily accessible. With the Indian Presidency having focused on women entrepreneurs and community leaders at the local level as a key theme, a fourth new focus area was added to the Playbook for encouraging the private sector to increase initiatives for women at local or grassroots level.

 

While congratulating the G20 EMPOWER team for its various successes, the  Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani observed that India’s presidency has given a voice to women at the grassroots by successfully focusing on India’s SHG revolution wherein 80 million women in 8 million Self Help Groups manage 34 billion dollars of monetary value. She observed that the Playbook would now provide a glimpse into the lives and achievements of women at grassroots, stories which would otherwise have been unheard. For the first time, the KPI Dashboard would also for the first time look at the role of women in Small and Medium Enterprises.

 

Chair, G20 EMPOWER, Dr Sangita Reddy highlighted that to truly empower women, there is need to nurture their roles in leadership and decision-making across all levels of society, with the G20 EMPOWER recommendations representing a significant stride towards that goal.

 

Working Groups under EMPOWER have developed three papers on important themes – corporate women empowerment, STEM and financial inclusion.

 

In order to drive the participation and progression of women, G20 EMPOWER has onboarded advocates from amongst CEOs and organisation heads to promote the G20 EMPOWER messages within their companies, sectors, networks and countries. Under India’s Presidency, the number of advocates has increased from 380 to 544, with over 100 of the additions coming from India.

 

The Chair G20 EMPOWER, Dr Sangita Reddy also remarked that the measures proposed by EMPOWER are about enabling women entrepreneurs to become strong pillars of the economy. EMPOWER is encouraging the private sector to step up, not only as financiers and procurers but also as mentors and enablers of growth. A mentorship platform has been designed to bring together mentors and mentees as an outcome of the EMPOWER alliance.

 

As a first under India’s Presidency, 73 Inspirational Stories from 9 countries have been curated on the G20 EMPOWER Website to highlight success stories of women achievers from across G20 nations and invited countries to motivate the next generation of girls and women.

 

India has emphasized Citizens’ Engagement across its policy action. With the goal of making this a truly people’s G20, 51 Jan Bhagidari or citizen engagement events were held under EMPOWER to disseminate the message of women’s empowerment and underlying actions to over 100,000 people.

 

Shri Indevar Pandey, Secretary Women and Child Development remarked that the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, envisions a new India where women play an equal and pivotal role in driving robust, sustainable, and inclusive growth. During India's presidency, there has been a strong determination to uphold the commitment to global progress, with women at the core of achieving success in the interconnected pillars of People, Planet, and Prosperity.

 

Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel highlighted various schemes and initiatives of the Government of Gujarat towards the empowerment of women. He highlighted the centrality of women’s empowerment towards achieving inclusive and sustainable growth. He also emphasized on the need to bridge the gender digital divide and empowering women with the digital skills needed to succeed in the evolving job market being conditioned by new technologies.

 

Through the several commitments and initiatives, the G20 EMPOWER outcomes, commitments and recommendations will accelerate the creation of a world where women have the necessary skills, access to resources, supportive infrastructure and environment, and mentorship for a transformational shift towards women-led development.

 

Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani concluded the inaugural session with her inspiring words “Make women a priority if you want to grow with equity and equality. Make women a priority if you want an empowered future”.

 

Meesho empowers over 1.3 lakh small businesses from Uttar Pradesh, making hundreds crorepatis and lakhpatis

●        In 2022, there was a 77% increase in suppliers onboarded from the state, of which ~73% started their e-commerce journey with Meesho

●        More than 14,000 sellers from the state became lakhpatis and nearly 700 sellers became crorepatis

●        Meesho recently became India's fastest e-commerce company to cross the 1 million seller milestone, a feat  it achieved in less than 8 years

 Meesho, India’s only true e-commerce marketplace, announced that more than 130,000 small businesses from the state of Uttar Pradesh are now registered on the platform.

An increasing number of MSMEs from Uttar Pradesh have joined Meesho in the last couple of years as a result of the company’s industry-first initiatives such as zero commision. In 2022, the platform recorded a 77% increase in suppliers onboarded from the state, of which ~73% started their e-commerce journey with Meesho. Additionally, nearly 700 sellers from Uttar Pradesh  became crorepatis while more than 130,000 sellers have become lakhpatis so far.

The top categories preferred by suppliers in the region include Women’s Apparel, Kidswear, Home & Kitchen, Consumer Electronics, Personal Care & Beauty.

Since its inception, Meesho has played a vital role in supporting and enabling Small & Medium Businesses (SMBs)  across the country, especially those from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. In fact, nearly 50% of all Meesho sellers hail from tier 2+ cities such as Amritsar, Rajkot, Hubli, Kozhikode, Jamshedpur and Tiruppur. Meesho also recently became the fastest  e-commerce company in India to cross the 1 million seller milestone, amassing this formidable seller base within just eight years of inception. Out of the total 1.1 million sellers on the platform, more than 80% of them are new-to-ecommerce and selling online for the first time.

On its mission to democratise internet commerce for everyone, Meesho has been instrumental in digitising small businesses, allowing them to tap a much larger market. It is India’s only true e-commerce marketplace with an asset-lite business model that provides:

●        0% seller commission – Sellers on Meesho saved Rs. 3,700 crores in commissions in 2022

●        No tiering and differentiation of sellers, ensuring absolute fair play and equal opportunities for everyone

●        No private labels competing  with our sellers, no inventory-led play. On an average, sellers on Meesho have seen their business grow by 82% in two years.

●      An integrated e-commerce app (one app for both sellers and consumers) on Google Play Store, the lightest in India at  13.6 MB

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Commenting on this growth, Sourabh Pandey[1] , Director Fulfilment & Experience at Meesho, said, “It's inspiring to see over 1.3 lakh MSMEs from the state of Uttar Pradesh witnessing tremendous growth on Meesho, with hundreds achieving the status of crorepatis and lakhpatis. Our commitment to empowering entrepreneurs through initiatives like zero commissions, and uncomplicated business operations has resulted in a tangible and positive impact on their businesses. This success story is a testament to the transformative power of e-commerce in uplifting businesses and livelihoods, and we are honoured to be part of this journey along with our sellers.”

Lucknow-based Sandeep and Rishi Singh, who sell jewellery on Meesho, added, “Joining Meesho was a game-changer for our business. The platform provided us with the right tools and exposure to a vast customer base, which resulted in substantial sales growth. We want to thank Meesho for the unwavering support offered to us throughout our entrepreneurial journey.”

In 2022, Meesho recorded 140 million annual transacting users on its platform – a sizable portion of India’s internet population. Access to Meesho’s large and diverse user base, state-of-the-art tech and low-cost pan-India shipping through third-party logistics providers has helped sellers log 3X growth in average revenue. With 1.1 million sellers and ~100 million active product listings across 30+ categories, Meesho is fueling discoverability of a wide assortment of products at the lowest prices for customers across the country.

ICICI Bank opens a new branch at Rabupura Village

·         It has an ATM cum Cash Recycler Machine (CRM), available 24×7

                                            

ICICI Bank has set up a new branch at Rabupura village in Greater Noida. This is the first branch of the Bank in the village. The branch has an ATM cum Cash Recycler Machine (CRM) to offer cash deposit and withdrawal services to the customers. The machine is available round the clock.

 

Mr. Abhay Singh, SDM Jewer, Uttar Pradesh inaugurated the branch.

 

The branch offers a comprehensive range of accounts, deposits, and loans including savings and current accounts, fixed and recurring deposits, business loan, home loan, personal loan, auto loan, gold loan, and forex services along with card services. It operates from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Monday to Friday and on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays of the month.

 

The Bank has a network of over 340 branches and over 1,170 ATMs in Uttar Pradesh.

 

ICICI Bank services its large customer base through a multi-channel delivery network of branches, ATMs, call centres, internet banking (www.icicibank.com), and mobile banking.

For news and updates, visit www.icicibank.com and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ICICIBank

For media queries, write to: corporate.communications@icicibank.com

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON INDIA: SENIOR MANAGEMENT APPOINTMENTS


Rahul Goswami joins as CIO & Managing Director – India AMC Fixed Income

Santosh Kamath appointed President & CIO of Franklin Templeton Alternatives India

 

Franklin Templeton is pleased to announce senior management appointments in the India AMC Fixed Income team and the India Alternatives business. 

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Rahul Goswami has joined Franklin Templeton effective August 1, 2023 as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) & Managing Director (MD) – India AMC Fixed Income. Rahul will oversee the fixed income functions of the locally managed and distributed debt schemes of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Rahul was the CIO of fixed income at ICICI Prudential Asset Management. Rahul brings a wealth of experience from his time at well-regarded asset management firms and banks. He will be supported by a seasoned group of fixed income investment professionals at Franklin Templeton. He has over 24 years’ experience managing fixed income funds investing in government securities, corporate bonds, besides monitoring key economic developments. 

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Santosh Kamath, current Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of India AMC Fixed Income funds will assume a new role as the President and CIO of Franklin Templeton Alternative Investments India Pvt. Ltd (Alternatives) effective August 1, 2023. The India Alternatives business led by Santosh will initially focus on alternative credit, covering listed and unlisted corporate bonds and structured credit. This will complement and expand Franklin Templeton’s global alternatives capabilities and allow for more diverse solutions to meet the evolving needs of clients in India.

 

Commenting on the appointments, Avinash Satwalekar, President, Franklin Templeton–India, said, “We thank Santosh for the contributions he has made to our India business since joining the firm in 2006. In his new role as President and CIO of Franklin Templeton’s Alternatives business in India, Santosh’s focus will be on developing and launching Credit Alternatives products targeted at the sophisticated investor.”

 

He added, “As we embark on a new phase of growth in India, we are excited to have Rahul bring his tremendous experience and strong track record in the industry to Franklin Templeton to lead our fixed income capabilities. Rahul will work closely with me in formulating the India fixed income strategy and I am confident that this strategic addition to our India leadership team will provide exceptional value to our clients in the fixed income space.”

 

Rahul Goswami, CIO & MD, India Fixed Income, Franklin Templeton, said, “I am delighted to join Franklin Templeton, a well-known and respected brand with a strong track record spanning nearly three decades. This is my second stint with the firm, and I look forward to working with the team to expand the existing suite of fixed income funds as we look to grow our India fixed Income business.”

 

Santosh Kamath, President & CIO of Franklin Templeton Alternative Investments India said, “I am excited to take on the new role to lead our foray into the Alternative credit space. We believe Alternate Funds are likely to witness strong growth as they offer high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals with additional sources of yield and diversification in portfolios. Franklin Templeton is one of the largest managers of alternative assets globally, with USD 257.2 billion in alternate assets under management as of June 30, 2023 and we are confident of building a strong alternatives business in India.”

 

– ENDS –

                                                                                                   

Motorola disrupts the sub 10K market – launches moto g14 with a super-premium design, immersive 6.5” FHD+ Display, Stereo Speakers with Dolby Atmos and more at an effective price of just Rs. 9,249*

 

  • The moto g14 comes with a super premium acrylic glass design that is extremely slim and lightweight (only 7.99mm and 177g). The product will also be available in the segment’s first and uber premium vegan leather finish in the subsequent weeks.
  • The moto g14 also brings an exceptional entertainment experience with an incredibly sharp and vivid 16.5 cm (6.5”) FHD+ display, plus stereo speakers tuned with Dolby Atmos.
  • moto g14 also comes with various segment leading features such as a 5000mAH battery with a 20W TurboPower charger in-box, 50MP Quad Pixel Camera, IP52 water repellant design, UFS 2.2 storage and more.
  • moto g14 will be available for pre-orders on Flipkart, starting today with an exclusive screen damage protection plan for a screen worth Rs.3,200 at an effective price of just Rs. 9,249* including a Rs. 750 instant discount on ICICI bank cards.
  • The product will go on open sale starting 8th August, on Flipkart, Motorola.in and leading retail stores.

 

Motorola, India’s best 5G smartphone brand, today announced the launch of its latest entry level smartphone in the g series franchise, the moto g14. A smartphone with an extremely premium design that is super sleek and lightweight and is sure to make heads turn. The rear panel is made of attractive acrylic glass material (PMMA) which makes this device stand out in its segment. The device will also be available in the segment's first vegan leather finish later in the month.

 

The stunning 16.5cm (6.5”) Full HD+ display brings visual content with picture-perfect clarity allowing the user to immerse themselves in the beautiful details without compromising on image quality. moto g14 redefines high definition, featuring a 20:9 aspect ratio, punch hole design with extremely slim bezels, leaving more room to work and play. It also goes easy on the eyes, thanks to Night Light which tints the screen amber, making the display easier to view in dim light. Along with a stunning display, the device also gives users a new auditory dimension to dive into with its remarkable speakers. The stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos® enhance the overall sound experience. With Spatial Sound by Moto, the audio output feels more immersive and filling. 

 

Under the hood, users will find a powerful UNISOC T616 octa-core processor with 4GB RAM powering the moto g14. Engineered to deliver an ultra-smooth experience, the 4GB LPDDR4X RAM makes the phone respond instantly to every single touch, tap, and swipe. It also comes with a large and 128GB storage with segment leading UFS 2.2 technology to enable faster read write speeds. For those who need more space, the device comes with a dedicated micro SD slot that can be expanded up to 1TB, in addition to two SIM slots.

 

Furthermore, the moto g14 comes with a robust 5000mAH battery which also fuels up fast, owing to the 20W Type-c TurboPower™ charger that comes in the box.  

 

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Prashanth Mani, Executive Director – Motorola Asia Pacific, said, “We are delighted to announce the launch of our latest offering in the g series franchise, the moto g14. Through our g series smartphones, we democratise premium smartphone experiences by offering advanced features at affordable price points, catering to the growing demands of the Indian mobile phone consumer. Staying true to this promise, the moto g14 comes with segment leading, premium design and an exceptionally immersive entertainment experience. We are confident that this product will set new benchmarks in the affordable segment of the Indian smartphone industry.”

 

With such multimedia prowess, one is bound to expect an equally incredible camera and the moto g14 does not disappoint, it comes equipped with a dual camera setup. A 50MP primary camera featuring Quad Pixel technology to get 4x better low light sensitivity for sharper, more vibrant photos – day or night, and a dedicated Macro Vision camera that captures all the tiny details a standard lens would miss. On the front, consumers get an 8MP sensor to shoot beautiful and picture-perfect selfies and videos every single time.

 

Additionally, the moto g14 also comes with an IP52 rated water repellant design, latest Side fingerprint sensor and face unlock, dual band WiFi, all your favourite moto gestures and more. The device also comes with the latest Android 13 and comes with an assured upgrade to Android 14 plus 3 years or security updates.  

 

 

Availability & Pricing 

 

Moto g14 will be available in two beautiful colours, in a super-premium acrylic glass finish, namely – Sky Blue and Steel grey, on Flipkart, Motorola.in and leading retail stores at an incredible launch price of just Rs. 9,999.

 

Pre-order Offers:

 The product will be available for pre-orders starting 1st August, 12 PM onwards, with the following exclusive pre-booking offers, only on Flipkart:

–          Free Screen Damage protection worth 3200*

–          Rs. 750 Instant Discount on ICICI Bank Cards, making the effective price just Rs. 9,249*

 

Launch Offers:

The product will go on sale starting 8th August, 12PM onwards, with the following limited period offer, exclusively on Flipkart:

–          Rs. 750 Instant Discount on ICICI Bank Cards, making the effective price just Rs. 9,249*