Archive: July 13, 2022

Sasarwadi won the Best Maharashtrian Cuisine Restaurant of the Year award at Restaurant Award 2022, Mumbai

Mumbai, July 12, 2022: Sasarwadi, an authentic Maharashtrian restaurant in Seawoods, Navi Mumbai, gets the “Best Maharashtrian Cuisine Restaurant of the Year” award at Restaurant Award 2022, Mumbai. Sasarwadi is the Marathi translation of “in-law house”- To amplify the extraordinary hospitality and generosity we get at our in-law’s place with a focus on sustaining the authenticity and the Maharashtrian food culture.

The Award ceremony took place in the presence of Chef. Ranveer Brar and the award was received by the founders of Sasarwadi from the Indian model and actress, Preeti Jhangiani and Indian actor Parvin Dabas. The award event was organised by Franchise India and is held every year in different regions to bestow honour upon the greatest in the industry who have tirelessly dedicated their lives to walking an extra mile to raise the bar of the Food & Beverage Sector.

Hailing this achievement, Ms. Sonali Dhamnikar, Founder, Sasarwadi, said, “We are extremely honoured to receive the award and proud to successfully maintain our business to the highest quality possible despite the pandemic and other challenges. We will maintain consistency to provide authentic Maharashtrian food and follow all the traditional service rituals, adding a whole new layer to the eating experience.”

While maintaining a balance between a welcoming ambience and maximum seating capacity, Sasarwadi has a unique taste in the authentic Maharashtrian approach and follows all the traditional Maharashtrian service rituals, which adds a whole new layer to the eating experience.

The Managing Partner of Sasarwadi and a Chef turned entrepreneur, Chef. Naved Patel said, “It is truly an honour for our team to be recognized as the Best Maharashtrian Restaurant in Mumbai. This award is a symbol to encourage the team for their commitment to providing guests with a well-rounded experience of Maharashtrian tradition and culture. We have worked hard to restore the authentic taste of Maharashtrian cuisine and culture through proper R&D for months and special attention to even minute things. For example, we procured spices and key ingredients from the farmers’ doors and obtained bronze Cutlery & crockery to get the feel of rural Maharashtra. Also, to bring out the lost recipes and dishes, we conducted months of research to explore new dishes by going to distant villages of Maharashtra, beyond the cities like Mumbai and Pune. As a result, we offer from home necessity food to luxury food on our menu serving every customer’s demand. And we maintain the goodness of homemade food by strictly avoiding preservatives in our food.” 

Further, Sasarwadi plans to open more outlets in major cities, where there is demand for authentic Maharashtrian food with a goal to open limited outlets so that they do not lose hands-on quality.

CDPQ and CLP reinforces Strategic Partnership in Apraava Energy

CDPQ, a global investment group, and CLP Group (CLP), one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in Asia, today agreed the sale by CLP of a 10% stake in Apraava Energy to CDPQ, bringing their respective stakes in the company to 50%.

This transaction reinforces CDPQ’s and CLP’s joint commitment to support the acceleration of the transition to a greener economy in India. CDPQ first became a strategic shareholder in Apraava Energy in 2018 through acquiring a stake of 40%. Since then, Apraava Energy has successfully undertaken a number of energy transition related investments. Building on this, Apraava Energy will have a sharper and dedicated focus in the investment and development of clean energy and power transmission projects. Following this transaction, CDPQ will also have increased governance rights, equal to those of CLP, with respect to Apraava Energy.

Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure at CDPQ, said, “Ever since our investment in Apraava Energy nearly four years ago, CDPQ has strived, alongside CLP, to transform Apraava into a true sustainability leader equipped with a clear plan to transition to renewable energy. We are delighted to increase our stake in the company, helping drive this agenda forward while supporting India’s ambition of providing clean and sustainable energy to all.”

Richard Lancaster, Chief Executive Officer at CLP Holdings, said, “This transaction underlines the success of our partnership with CDPQ that has been built since 2018, and reflects the strategic alignment and commitment shared by us. We are aligned in seeking investment opportunities for zero-carbon infrastructure projects to support India’s energy transition, and strongly believe this change creates a stronger platform for capturing these opportunities.”

Rajiv Mishra, Managing Director at Apraava Energy, said, “We are grateful to our shareholders, CLP Group and CDPQ for their unwavering support and trust in Apraava Energy. Together with them, Apraava Energy will support India’s ambitions of providing clean and reliable energy to all in the development of a greener economy. We will continue to focus on building a sustainable power company that will invest only in low-carbon growth areas, including renewable generation, transmission, distribution, as well as other customer-focused energy businesses. As we move forward, all of our decisions and efforts will epitomise energy in action, thereby creating value for all our stakeholders.”

The total consideration for the transaction is the US$ equivalent of INR 6.6 billion (approximately HK$653 million or US$83 million at the current exchange rate conversion). Completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfilment of various conditions precedent including regulatory approvals.

For further details, please click here to download CLP Holdings’ announcement on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

Bikayi partners with WhatsApp to launch BIK.ai, aims to revolutionize e-commerce marketing globally

July 13, Bengaluru: Bikayi, India’s leading e-commerce enabler, has launched its new marketing platform BIK.ai in partnership with WhatsApp to become its first official e-commerce partner in India. This powerful marketing tool aims to revolutionize the way e-commerce brands target, re-engage and manage their customers on WhatsApp, helping them drive higher conversions and increase revenue by 11x through its AI-powered intelligent platform.

Businesses and e-commerce brands today are unable to effectively engage with potential customers through conventional channels such as SMS, emails and ads. With the personalised messaging that BIK.ai provides, there is a 70% higher probability of customers making purchases, thus assisting brands in boosting their sales. In the ever-expanding market, BIK.ai enables brands to gain a higher reach by targeting over 2 billion active WhatsApp users everyday.

To tap the tremendous potential WhatsApp offers, Bikayi partnered with the global platform and created BIK.ai to help these brands drive traffic and re-engage with their customers. In alignment with Bikayi’s vision, BIK.ai aims to help businesses and brands effectively reach out to intelligently segmented audiences, create trust among them with verified WhatsApp accounts and drive maximum ROI.

One of the biggest strengths of BIK.ai is its ability to re-engage with lapsed customers and encourage them to complete their purchases. Buyers hesitate to make purchases because they lack personal touch with the brands they purchase from. BIK.ai helps brands build relationships with customers through personalised messaging and drive up customer engagement by 3x.

Speaking about the partnership, Sonakshi Nathani, Co-founder and CEO, Bikayi said, “With changing trends in customer shopping behaviour and technological advancements, there is a major shift towards conversational commerce. Brands are now using messaging channels to sell directly to customers. Our partnership with WhatsApp was a strategic decision since it is one of the most widely used messaging platforms globally with a high open rate of 95 percent. Hence, customers are more likely to respond on WhatsApp.”

Ashutosh Singla, Co-founder and CTO, Bikayi said, “BIK.ai is a high-engagement platform optimised for global usage as it allows brands to go international with cross-country messaging and a user-friendly interface. Any brand from any part of the world can now avail our platform to reach wider audiences with seamless communication. With the launch of this marketing platform, Bikayi is set to capture the global market.”

BIK.ai will enable brands to target customers through intelligent audience segmentation, a pre-designed collection of templates, automated bot messaging and insight-driven marketing strategies. As of today, about 52 brands have been onboarded with BIK.ai, and about 150 more are in the process of being onboarded.

CSR Leaders discuss new strategies for Women Entrepreneurship

Bengaluru 13th June: The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India [EDII], headquartered at Ahmedabad, organized a round table meeting of CSR Leaders, on 12th July 2022, in Bengaluru, to discuss strategies and solutions for promoting cost effective and easily scalable, high impact, innovative ideas by women entrepreneurs. 22 leaders from Accenture, Bayer, BEML, Bhoruka, BIAL, Brillio, Capgemini, Continental Automotive, Embassy group, HAL, HP, SVR Group, 247.ai. attended the Meet.

EDII, a Centre of Excellence, as recognised by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India is a key player in the domain of women entrepreneurship development. This National Resource Institute promotes income generation and sustainable livelihood options for women through training, skill building and hand holding support.

The round table meeting on 12th July 2022 at hotel Royal Orchid Central, Bengaluru was organized with the goal of exchanging concepts, ideas and most effective and affordable models of eco-friendly as well as technology enabled income generation initiatives for women.

Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General of EDII apprised all about the contribution of EDII in accentuating women entrepreneurship by its involvement in the CSR initiatives of noted corporates. Dr. Shukla emphasized how there is immense potential among women and how they need to be oriented towards sustainable livelihood options. Director General talked about some of the progressive schemes of the Government and how women could benefit from these. In this process, Dr. Shukla, committed to training women in line with the needs and requirements, thus assigning them financial independence.

Dr Raman Gujral, EDII’s Southern Regional Director moderated the session on Emerging Trends in Eco – friendly Income Generation Opportunities and Trends. Dr. Gujral showcased how EDII, through its involvement with corporates had been training women to harness local resources, aligning their skills with identified opportunities and equipping them to float sustainable, eco-friendly small and micro enterprises.

Faculty – EDII, Mr Shibin Mohammed anchored the discussion on low-cost technology in micro and rural enterprises for women.

The participating CSR leaders shared ideas on improving women entrepreneurship and expressed their willingness to contribute to undertake joint initiatives that ensure a higher incidence of New Enterprise Creation by women. They committed themselves to collectively work for the cause of increased women empowerment in line with new and emerging trends and opportunities.

Trajectory Growth of Third Eye Blind Productions as an End-to-End Media Solutions Company

July 12, 2022, Mumbai – There has been fierce competition in the modern era when it comes to influencer marketing or production house work. As one of those production houses, Third Eye Blind Productions has always provided the best results for its associated brands. As an end-to-end media solutions company, Third Eye Blind Productions have created that extra room for brands to attain the simple objective they had in mind before the deadline. Manpreet Singh (Founder & Director – Third Eye Blind Productions & 6th Street Artist) is the one who is leading these companies with his incomparable leadership and sharp thinking.

From being an assistant director to becoming a renowned director, Manpreet Singh has been walking on the path of success for a long time. Working with great personalities like Naseeruddin Shah, Sukhwinder Singh, Aamir Bashir, Naveen Kasturia, Sonali Kulkarni, Sharman Joshi, Zareen Khan, and others who gave birth to his ideas, he developed a sense of responsibility towards his work. He gathered many campaigns, shoots, and ad films for notable brands such as Hindustan Times, T-Series, GetUSCart, MX Player, ZEE5, Upstox, Happn, Rummy Passion, B612, thereby creating a creative ideation roof in the industry. The aspiring director didn’t back down after this move.

The combination of Manpreet Singh’s content creation, conceptualization, and unique direction landed him into the production of MX Takatak Famehouse – Season 1 – The Battle of Fame. On this enlarged podium, many influencers gathered for 7 days to compete for the title. Among the brands with which Third Eye Blind Productions collaborated was MX Player. Manpreet Singh has always been loyal to the fine vision, curative talent, creative intensity, and continuity of the Influencer Marketing industry. As a result of these notable talents, he received a massive project for Hindustan Times, which is entirely based on YouTube content creation for more than 100 artists and 20 different content IPs. It is Third Eye Blind Production’s goal to achieve that extra margin which helps to elevate a brand’s identity.

Manpreet Singh had always said that,“It does not matter how slow you leap, but what matters the most is, how much distance have you covered while performing this jump over. Your skills and dedication will keep you intact”.

Website – https://thirdeyeblindproductions.com/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/3rdeyeblindprod/

Fincare Small Finance Bank Introduces Video Banking Services for customers

India, 13th July, 2022: Fincare Small Finance Bank announced an expansion in its state-of-the-art banking services with the launch of its video banking services for customers.

Aimed at reducing waiting lines and offering location agnostic banking services, the Bank launched the video banking platform whereby customers can connect face-to-face with a customer service representative of the bank and also chat, simply by initiating a video call using the Bank’s WhatsApp channel.

The channel supports increased drive towards modern, digital means of banking with elements of higher personalization, quick and convenient, with the pleasure of a full interaction without having to visit a physical branch. This channel not only brings the bank closer to the customer, but also helps bespoke services possible.

Talking about the new proposition, Mr. Ashish Misra, Chief Operating Officer – Retail Banking, Fincare Small Finance Bank, said “Fincare Bank has been at the forefront of using innovative technologies to simplify the lives of customers and provide them with convenient platforms. As a digital bank, we are always looking to build capabilities that cater to the ‘convenience banking’ needs of customers. Video Banking is one such capability which aims to redefine the banking experience for millions of retail customers’’.

Chic yet comfortable – TARA C TARA

What can be more enchanting than ethnic dress with a splash of colour, soft fabric, skilful and artistic designs?

Tara C Tara’s ethnic wear looks great for all body shapes and can be paired up with different accessories to enhance one’s look effortlessly. They designed and thoughtfully handcrafted the apparel in the beautiful pink city (Jaipur) of Rajasthan.

They believe in premium products yet comfortable and affordable. The team of creative minds with good knowledge in clothing and arts was established in 2018, who have an immense love for tie dye, block printing, hand screen printing.

According to the founder, “We are on a mission to give freshness in the Indian fashion industry with vibrant colour, bold prints in soft and comfortable fabric. When people think about Indian wear, they think of heavy fabric and that’s what makes us different from the other brands. We kept the price range from Rs.2000 to above so that our piece can reach out to more people. We’re planning to go global by the end of this year.”

Indian fashion is famous for their long flowy garments to bright patterns, huge choice of fabric and ethnic designs which you can easily find on Tara C Tara’s online portal.

The entry of the brand infused a fresh approach into ethnic wear. From a 19 years old to a 60 years old lady will get their favourite piece here. It has a various collection of 3-pieces, co-ords and gowns for different occasions.
Dusty hues and contemporary style of printing adds a glamorous factor to the brand.

Apparel in vibrant hues like fusia, lilac mustard and tones of maroon will be highlights for the upcoming festive season.

Ig Link: https://instagram.com/tara_c_tara?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Website: https://taractara.com/