Archive: August 9, 2022

White Rivers Media celebrates the 10-year milestone

The agency marked its anniversary; announces a second location in Mumbai amid week-long celebrations.

Mumbai, 9th August 2022: Independent integrated digital marketing agency White Rivers Media (WRM), headquartered in Mumbai, celebrated its 10-year anniversary on 7th August.

WRM took a pit stop and looked back with gratitude for the journey so far and geared up for the future with a vision to create more impact and recognition on the global stage.

The agency that started with a team of 3 is today a family of over 350+ creative individuals. It has been on a hot streak of impactful, exciting results through its branding, strategy planning, and successful digital media campaigns. From working closely with the likes of Netflix amongst others to working with the world’s leading influencers like Khaby Lame for his first-ever campaign in India, WRM’s journey has been a creative adventure.

Shrenik Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO, White Rivers Media, said, “The 10-year milestone is good, but the 10-year journey was fantastic. The decade was full of compassion, creativity, and hard work. We are grateful to all our stakeholders who have been instrumental in this journey.”

In line with its vision of expansion, the agency also announced the opening of its second Mumbai office ‘Delta’ in Goregaon for clients, partners, and talent in the city’s western suburbs.

“After working on various industry-first campaigns and leading MarTech in the creative space to international influencer collaborations, we are now geared up to create more impact on a global scale,” said Mitesh Kothari, Co-founder and CCO, White Rivers Media.

ReshaMandi unveils its new venture ReshaMudra to offer personalised credit solutions for the textiles industry…

Bangalore, Aug 09, 2022: ReshaMandi, India’s largest farm-to-fashion natural fibre digital ecosystem, unveiled its new venture ReshaMudra, which offers personalised credit solutions for the textiles industry. ReshaMudra will give business partners across the ecosystem access to working capital solutions as well as long-term loans, enabling them to secure crucial funding to help them grow their businesses or tide over challenging times. All of these offerings are subject to regulatory approvals from respective authorities.

The suite of services offered by ReshaMudra are aimed to be cost-effective with quick turnaround time, thereby creating an engaging customer experience.

A majority of India’s micro, small and medium enterprises currently face working capital pressures as they lack access to credit. Today, only 20% of their credit needs are met by the formal sector and 40% by the informal sector. ReshaMudra aims to bridge this need gap, enabling MSMEs to expand their operations and thereby boost revenues, margins and profits.

ReshaMandi’s Founder and CEO, Mayank Tiwari said, “India’s textile sector is on course to becoming a $190 billion powerhouse by 2025-26. But lack of access to credit could stifle that potential as nearly 80% of the country’s MSMEs today are faced with this challenge. Our vision is to be the partner of choice to stakeholders across the textile industry by providing customised, financial products that are cost-effective and easy to use. ” 

Kshitij Kuthiala, AVP, ReshaMudra, says “With the textile industry picking up pace, it is imperative to provide the stakeholders in the supply chain with credit solutions that cater to their needs and facilitate their growth. With 75% of their costs being towards the inputs they purchase, working capital support is crucial for their growth. At ReshaMudra, our aim is to address the credit needs of Bharat-first textile entrepreneurs across the country so their businesses can thrive and the textile industry can fulfill its immense promise. We aim to provide financing solutions that are less dependent on a wide range of documents and bring more awareness around efficient use of credit to increase their annual turnovers. With more than 70 lakh+ stakeholders, half of which are underserved or under banked, ReshaMudra aims to become the go to player for all things credit across this complex market.”

ReshaMudra with its strong focus on PSL and MSME segment for lending across Tier II – IV cities aims to have exclusive tie- ups with banks and NBFCs to facilitate business growth with moratorium period upto 3 months, attractive interest rates and a turnaround time of seven days for farmers, yarn manufacturers, manufacturers, exporters, traders/distributors and mill owners.

In an industry-first, ReshaMudra will also offer short-term financing in the form of the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) scheme. This is a type of financing that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them at a future date. Buy Now, Pay Later in B2B is the key to unlocking SME growth, as it frees up inclusive credit to the underserved SMEs in India.

The pandemic has reinforced the need for a planned health insurance programme at organisations. In addition, when employees feel they are being taken care of, they are motivated and committed to the company’s success. ReshaMudra’s customised solutions also include a health and wellness insurance policy, developed in collaboration with Onsurity, called ReshaSuraksha. This will also help SMEs insure their employees and enable them to give the right healthcare benefits for their employees.

Capital A invests in Oorja for safe EVs in India

Bangalore, 09^th August, 2022: In order to boost the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industry, Capital A, a venture seed fund for early-stage start-ups has made a strategic investment in Oorja, a company that aims to empower automotive companies to design better batteries. The money will be made available from “Evolve”, a $10-million cleantech fund that Capital A had launched earlier this year.

The global EV evolution is directly dependent on the enhancements in the battery technology. With emphasis on sustainability, governments all over the world are rolling out ambitious EV goals in tight timeframes which leads to severe pressure on the EV manufacturers. They are compelled to quickly enter the market despite having limited success in battery optimization and safety research.

‘Temperature’ or ‘Heating up’ of batteries has been a major reason behind numerous incidents of EVs catching fire, and that’s a major challenge for the ecosystem as it scampers for getting more vehicles on the roads. It is this fundamental problem that Oorja is aiming to solve through its innovative and cutting-edge integration of physics with machine learning. It eliminates the need for data intensive research or costly infrastructure for battery optimization. Thus, Oorja’s technology enables a faster, safer and significantly more energy efficient battery performance for the EVs.

Speaking about the investment, Ankit Kedia, Founder, Capital A, said, “Through our cleantech fund ‘Evolve’ and this strategic investment in Oorja, we are working towards the larger goal of cementing the safety, effectiveness and productivity of the EV battery ecosystem. Through Oorja, Vineet Dravid has built a system that reduces time and costs for EV OEMs as well as charging solution providers alongside significantly improving safety and accuracy. We are happy to be a part of their efforts to propel the Indian EV industry further and support the Indian government’s efforts in this segment as well. Our strong network of national and global resources will always be there for them whenever they need it.”

Adding his comments, Vineet Dravid, Founder, Oorja, said, “We at Oorja believe in design processes that help in devising products focusing on specific customer problems.  We have built an easy to use and interactive interface based on a maintenance free SaaS model, the first in the industry. Our solution is unique and beneficial to the ecosystem in many ways. It is a faster and highly accurate solution for heat and capacity fade prediction, an area that has been the Achilles heel for the EV industry. With Capital A’s investment, we will be able to expand our market access and reach out to OEMs with the game-changing solution and our expert support as well as calibration services in a highly cost-effective manner”.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Oorja combined physics and machine-based learning to answer various questions around batteries, their life cycle, manufacturing, etc. The current battery optimization approach is time and data intensive and prone to errors. Oorja’s first-of-its-kind technology uses physics and math-based solutions supplemented by an algorithm grounded in reality which uniquely positions us to solve customer problems with greatest accuracy.

The EV ecosystem is growing at an incredible pace in India as well as in all leading markets internationally. The unique, economical and extremely effective proposition of Oorja makes it an ideal candidate for massive growth in the years ahead. Oorja is the second investment for Capital A in the cleantech and electric mobility segment after an investment of $2.5 million in Chargeup, the company building Bharat’s largest network of Battery Swapping Stations.

Capital A offers equity, engagement and network capital to early-stage startups. The cleantech fund ‘Evolve’ is part of the larger corpus of a $25-million proprietary fund and aims to help early-stage start-ups with capital infusion to develop products and technologies to boost the EV ecosystem in the country.

Delhivery clocks 30% YoY growth in revenue in Q1FY23

Gurugram, Haryana, August 2022: Delhivery Limited (NSE: DELHIVERY) reported Rs. 1,746 Crrevenue from services in Q1FY23, up 30% YoY from Rs 1,344 Cr (proforma) in Q1FY22. Revenue from Express Parcel services grew 34% YoY from Rs. 785 Cr in Q1FY22 to Rs. 1,051 Cr in Q1FY23 on the back of robust shipment growth and new client acquisitions. Express Parcel volumes grew 50% YoY from 102 million shipments in Q1FY22 to 152 million shipments in Q1FY23.

Revenue from Part Truckload Services were lower by 16% YoY at Rs. 259 Cr in Q1FY23, from Rs. 307 Cr (proforma) in Q1FY22. The Company undertook the final phase of integration of Spoton, a complementary PTL business it acquired in FY22, in Q1FY23, one of the largest integrations in the Indian logistics industry, temporarily impacting volumes as communicated in its shareholder letter dated July 26, 2022. Owing to phased restarting of key customer accounts into the newly integrated network, PTL freight volumes for Q1FY23 stood at 239,000 tonnes v/s 279,000 tonnes (proforma) in Q1FY22.

The Company’s other service lines continued to demonstrate robust growth in Q1FY23, with over 100% YoY growth in the combined revenues of Supply Chain Services (SCS), Truckload Services (TL) and Cross Border Services (excluding COVID-19 traded goods revenue). “We continue to see strong demand for our integrated supply chain solutions across industry verticals including auto, industrial goods, chemicals and consumer durables”, said Sandeep Barasia, Chief Business Officer and Executive Director, Delhivery. Truckload Service Revenue grew 121% in Q1FY23 over Q1FY22 and the Company added over 1,000 new fleet partners to its Orion marketplace. Cross Border Services grew 53% 1 YoY in Q1FY23 as the Company continued to strengthen its market position through its partnership with global leader FedEx Express, which is also a minority shareholder.

Overall, the Company incurred an Adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs. 217 Cr in Q1FY23 vs. Adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs. 58 Cr (proforma) in Q1FY22. “Our EBITDA margins were temporarily affected through the integration phase with Spoton as a result of inherent seasonality in the PTL business, slightly slower than planned phasing of customer restarts and retention of capacity to maintain service quality and in anticipation of H2 volumes”, said Abhik Mitra, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Delhivery and CEO of Spoton. 

“H1 is the period during which we commission new capacity in preparation for seasonally higher volumes in H2. As PTL Freight volumes continue to recover and Express Parcel shipments continue to grow, we expect capacity utilization to improve”, said Ajith Pai, Chief Operating Officer, Delhivery. 

“We continue to be extremely well-capitalized, with cash and investments of over Rs. 6,000 Cr as of June 30, 2022, and will continue to invest in building infrastructure, technology, and operational capacity to deliver high-quality service to our customers”, said Sahil Barua, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer,Delhivery.

Delhivery will host an earnings call to discuss its results at 4 p.m. IST on Tuesday, August 09, 2022. The link to the audio replay will be made available on the Investor Relations website at https://www.delhivery.com/investor-relations/ following the earnings call.

Non-GAAP measures

1. Revenue from Cross-Border Services in Q1FY22 included freight revenue of Rs 39 Cr from the shipment of Covid related traded goods. Excluding this revenue, the YoY growth rate of Revenue from Cross-Border Services in Q1FY23 was 53%

2. Not adjusted for any non-cash deferred taxes

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding back to the Company’s PAT any non-recurring expenses, any non-cash expenses, depreciation & amortization, finance costs, tax as well as adjusting for any IndAs 116 related adjustments to lease rentals.

This metric reflects the operating cash profitability of the Company’s business and is used by the management team for overall assessment of the business, to make operating decisions, preparation of annual operating plans, and to communicate to the stakeholders about the financial performance.

Blue Dart to launch 15 retail stores on 15th August 2022 to facilitate trade in the nation

Mumbai, 9th August 2022: Joining the, ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative, Blue Dart, South Asia’s premier express air and integrated transportation & distribution company strengthens its presence by introducing 15 new retail stores across the country. The stores will be launched on 15th August and will be located in Odisha, Assam, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

The new stores will widen Blue Dart’s presence in Tier I & II markets in India. The expansion will act as an advantage for customers enabling Blue Dart to cater to 55,000 plus locations. With around 700 retail stores(with DHL) across India, Blue Dart offers the most reliable, resilient and responsive service providing a quick turnaround time and an enhanced direct reach to pin-codes in the country.

Ketan Kulkarni, Chief Commercial Officer, Blue Dart says, “As pioneers in Express Logistics and the Nation’s trade facilitator we understand the growing logistic needs. The retail expansion will widen our network and improve accessibility to our customers. We will continue to identify new locations and will further expand our reach in order to improve last mile logistics to the remotest parts of the country.”

Integrating with the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, Blue Dart has planned multiple patriotic activities which will be executed at all stores. India’s 75th Independence will be celebrated with much grandeur and most importantly will connect with the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. 75,000 flags will be distributed at all Blue Dart stores in the country to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of all creating awareness about the Indian National flag.

Commenting on the Independence Day campaign Ketan Kulkarni says, “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is a historic movement that will decode India 2.0 for the future generations. Blue Dart is a, ‘People Centric’ brand and we want to be an integral part of all the festivities that our customers, our employees and our stakeholders celebrate. India’s 75th independence is a celebration of patriotism which we would like to rejoice. Our new stores will illustrate special independence day appeal and will ensure that we keep the Tiranga flying high as we participate in the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign.”

Customers visiting Blue Dart stores will also receive specially designed merchandise like taffeta bags, key chains and much more. Adding to the festivity, Blue Dart will conduct a National Quiz themed on the freedom movement on all its social media platforms. To keep up the patriotic spirit, all the front-liners will also wear an, ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ badge.

As a part of the DPDHL Group, Blue Dart aligns itself with the Group’s Sustainability Roadmap and continues to work towards clean operations for climate protection (Environment), being a great company to work for all (Social) as well as being a highly trusted company (Governance). As a Sustainable Provider of Choice, Blue Dart was the among the first to set a quantified carbon-efficiency target. In 2011, Blue Dart was the first in the country to launch an end-to-end GoGreen Carbon Neutral Service, on all its products; domestically and internationally. To add to this achievement, this year on World Environment Day, 05th June, 2022, Blue Dart also signed the Climate Neutral Now pledge, an initiative by the UNFCCC towards achieving a climate neutral future.