Tag: Amit Agarwal

Business

Howden India Expands Regional Presence with Inauguration of Gujarat Office

Jan 9, 2024 by Sujata Muguda 0 Comments #Amit Agarwal, #Howden India

Ahmedabad, 9th January 2024: Howden Broking (India), a premier specialist broker in bespoke risk management solutions, announces the opening of its Gujarat regional office, a significant step in its growth journey. As a valued part of Howden Group, Europe’s leading insurance intermediary, Howden has left an indelible mark on India’s insurance sector since its inception in 2004.

In the dynamic landscape of resilience and progress, Howden’s unwavering dedication to excellence shone brightly in 2023. Ranking as the 6th Largest Specialty Broker in India, it showcases the company’s dedication to creating unmatched solutions for its diverse clientele. With a robust presence across 11 locations and a dedicated team of 335 professionals, Howden has expanded both its reach and human resources substantially.

Amit Agarwal, CEO & MD of Howden India, shared his excitement, saying, “Our Gujarat office’s launch embodies our dedication to delivering innovative risk solutions tailored to local needs. Our growth journey, powered by our exceptional team, aligns with our mission to offer premier insurance services.” This ethos highlights Howden’s commitment to provide value-centric solutions, promote collaboration, and harness cross-selling opportunities.

The 2022 IRDAI approval for Howden India’s 100% ownership further cements the company’s vision of forging a premier broking enterprise in India, emphasizing long-term client relationships and investments in people, technology, and data. Eager to embrace future prospects, Howden India is set to utilize its Gujarat office, further extending its reach and enhancing insurance solutions for its regional clients.

Business World

Amazon India to cover COVID-19 vaccine cost for more than 10 lakh people; to include employees, associates, SMB sellers, Operations Partners and their dependents

Apr 13, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Amazon India, #Amit Agarwal, #Senior Vice President & Country Manager

As COVID-19 vaccines become available to individuals above 45 years of age in India, Amazon India is encouraging its employees, associates, sellers on Amazon.in and partners to get vaccinated at the earliest appropriate time to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. Amazon India will cover the COVID-19 vaccination cost for not only all its India employees and associates but will also cover the costs for operations partner network of Delivery Service Partner associates, including Amazon Flex drivers, I Have Space (IHS) store partners, trucking partners and also their eligible dependents. Amazon India announced that the benefit will also be available to all sellers, on Amazon.in with an active listing since last year.

The company has also set up comprehensive support mechanisms for employees and associates working with Amazon and hired through staffing agencies. Amazon India supports cost coverage for COVID-19 treatment, hospital search and coverage of prescribed COVID-19 tests. Initiatives have been scaled and evolved to address the prevailing situation.

Speaking about this development, Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President & Country Manager, Amazon India, said, “Over the last year, it has been humbling to see the way our teams, sellers and partners have responded to the challenging situation posed by COVID-19 across the country. We have seen so much innovation, and most importantly across teams we have seen a strong urge to serve the people of India and keep customers safe. Health and safety of our teams and partners continues to be our top priority. We are encouraging eligible individuals to get vaccinated, and will cover the cost of vaccination for  our employees, associates, Operations partner network, sellers and their eligible dependents to ensure their continued safety.”

These new benefits are on top of the $2.5 billion Amazon has invested in special bonuses and incentives for teams globally over the last year, and the $11.5 billion the company has invested in COVID-19-related measures overall. This investment has enabled the company to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and extensive safety measures for employees and partners throughout the global network along with other financial support initiatives.
In 2020, Amazon had rolled out a number of measures to support SMBs in its ecosystem in India to navigate the economic challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic including a variety of fee waivers, relaxation of policies, and we worked with an insurance provider to facilitate COVID-19 health insurance coverage for eligible sellers on Amazon.in. The company had also enabled ‘on demand disbursement’ to enable sellers to get their disbursements daily.

The Amazon Relief Fund (ARF) was launched in India in April 2020 with a $25 million relief fund for partners and continues to provide support to all eligible individuals. ARF can be utilized by qualifying individuals who have been quarantined or diagnosed with COVID-19. The company extended the ‘Amazon Relief Fund’ to all eligible delivery associates who are part of the Delivery Service Partner Program, Amazon Flex program and trucking partners providing transportation support in the event of financial hardships.

Amazon India also announced a Partner Support Fund for the Small and Medium Business enterprises part of the company’s logistics network who were financially impacted due to the nationwide lockdown in April 2020. This enabled their Delivery Service partners and select transportation partners to support thousands of their associates through financial hardships, and to help cover critical fixed costs and liquidity concerns of these entrepreneurs.

Business World, News

Amazon partners with Startup India to boost ecommerce exports from India

Jan 20, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Amit Agarwal, #Global Senior Vice President and Country Head Amazon India, #Invest India, #MD & CEO, #Mr. Deepak Bagla

Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP), an initiative designed to provide dedicated support to emerging Indian brands and startups to reach customers around the world. Amazon has partnered with Startup India to launch an accelerator program to help early-stage startups in the consumer products space to launch in international markets and create global brands from India through Amazon’s Global Selling program.

As part of the Startup Accelerator, Amazon has constituted a mentorship board consisting of Amazon leaders from India and across the world, VCs and senior leaders from Startup India, Invest India who will engage with emerging brands and provide them tailored resources, 1:1 mentorship on the global demand patterns and insights on building successful exports business through ecommerce. Amazon will also host open virtual mentorship sessions focused on peer learning by inviting veteran entrepreneurs and members from its mentorship board for startups, to network and learn from their existing ecosystem. The accelerator program will provide startups an opportunity to showcase their business proposition to partner VC firms – Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures anda chance to win a total equity free grant of $50,000 from Amazon.

“The adoption of technology and digital transformation has paved the way for India to be at the forefront of innovation, giving rise to some of the best startups in the world. There are many promising, emerging brands that have the capability to become big and go global. This is a timely initiative by Amazon which can prove to be a big stepping stone for startups to build their business and get access to global markets.” said Mr. Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India.

 Amit Agarwal, Global Senior Vice President and Country Head Amazon India said, “Amazon Global Selling, our flagship program to grow Exports from India is witnessing tremendous momentum with increasing interest from exporters across India. Our partnership with Startup India to launch this accelerator program will provide emerging brands an opportunity to bring their business propositions to life and help create globally popular brands from India. With Amazon Global Selling we will continue to make Exports simple and accessible to businesses of all sizes and fulfill our commitment of enabling $10 billion in e-commerce exports from India by 2025.”

 More about the Startup Accelerator

The entries for the startup accelerator open today until 7th February 2021. The interested startups can log on to http://www.amazon.in/propeland complete their application. Early stage startups in the consumer products space (raised funding in the post seed to pre series A stage, if funded) with a vision to expand their business to global markets can apply to be a part of the accelerator program. The entries will be evaluated by an Amazon led panel on the basis of the business idea, scalability and strength of the business plan/model, business metrics in launched markets, founding team credentials amongst others. Ten shortlisted applicants will be inducted into the startup accelerator.

The program will feature a six week 1:1 mentorship module for the shortlisted participants where they will get to interact with Amazon leaders from India and worldwide and get firsthand knowledge on building and scaling up exports business through ecommerce. Amazon will provide the support for these startups to launch their products worldwide through its Exports program – Amazon Global Selling. The accelerator program will provide startups a chance to showcase their business proposition to partner VC firms – Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures. The top 3 winners will get a total equity free grant of $50,000 from Amazon.

Business World

Post-pandemic living: NoBrokerHood app set to make society living safer and efficient in 50 new cities by June 2021

Nov 26, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Amit Agarwal, #Chandigarh, #Coimbatore, #Lucknow, #NoBrokerHOOD, #Post-pandemic living, #Raipur, #Surat, #Vizag

Building on its post-COVID-19 growth trajectory, NoBrokerHood – the visitor, society, and payments management app by NoBroker.com – is set to launch its services in 50 new cities over the next six months. Already available in 11 cities, the new expansion drive will see the innovative app making inroads in high-density urban markets such as Surat, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Raipur, Lucknow, Vizag, etc. The expansion is estimated to provide secure and convenient living services to about 1,00,000 housing societies spread across these regions.

NoBroker has set aside INR 150 crore towards its expansion plans. Since the novel coronavirus outbreak, NoBrokerHood has made it safer for residents in housing societies to function as a part of the community through its society management application. When the first lockdowns were implemented, the app launched a grocery store overnight to help people procure daily essentials by partnering with grocery giants such as Bigbasket and ITC.

Its array of features also enables residents to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spread. One such feature, Touchless Entry, uses facial recognition to detect residents and frequent visitors such as domestic help, drivers, and other staff, helping them minimize physical contact. The app also comes with a health tracker feature, integrated with Aarogya Setu, to optimize physical distancing efforts at the individual level.

NoBrokerHood’s features fall in line with its parent organisation’s mission of leveraging advanced technologies to enhance the consumer experience. Underscoring its unique value is the fact that the app has experienced 8x growth over the last 4-5 months, growing from less than 700 societies in March to 6000 societies currently.

Commenting on the next phase of expansion, Amit Agarwal, CEO and Co-founder – NoBroker.com, said, “NoBrokerHood provides an integrated application for visitor, society, and payment management services. This cross between world-class technology, customer-centric thought, and service enablement is why we have received an enthusiastic consumer response since its launch in 2018. New features, such as Touchless Entry and health tracker, were also introduced in the wake of the pandemic to cater to the emerging needs of society residents. The surge in the app’s adoption during the viral outbreak and ensuing lockdowns highlights its relevance in the ‘new normal’. Our decision to expand its geographical presence is built on this solid reception.”

“More importantly, the cities we plan to cover under the next phase of our growth have about 1,00,000 housing societies looking for innovative solutions to the pandemic-induced social distancing and lockdown regulations. We believe that, through our unique value proposition, we can make their residential experience safer as well as more convenient,” he added.

Society living is finding greater favour among new-age families on account of the benefits and amenities packaged within gated communities. NoBroker.com believes that the demand for robust security features will continue to rule the roost, especially with the pandemic factor now present in the residential equation. With more than 2 lakh societies in India, the company is optimistic about the limitless potential for disruption and growth and aims to be serving the needs of residential societies in 100 cities by end of 2021.

Business World

5 new cities can now avail society management app Nobrokerhood’s services

Oct 29, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Ahmedabad, #Amit Agarwal, #Bangalore, #Chennai, #Delhi-NCR, #Hyderabad, #Jaipur, #Kochi, #Kolkata, #Mumbai, #Nagpur, #NoBrokerHOOD, #pune

NoBrokerHood, the visitor, society, and payments management app by NoBroker has been steadily gaining ground over the past few months. It is now available in a total of 11 cities including Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Nagpur. As the app offers convenient and secure living with numerous helpful features, the growth is fueled by imperatives such as social distancing and staying home due to pandemic scare.

As India entered into first lockdown and uncertainty regarding procuring daily essentials sent people into a state of frenzy, the app launched a grocery store overnight and was quick to partner with grocery giants- Bigbasket and ITC, to help society residents by optimizing deliveries.

Not just that, it has also launched an array of features to help residents mitigate the risk of Covid-19. Many of these features are first of their kind such as Touchless Entry using facial recognition that detects residents and frequent visitors such as domestic help, drivers, and other staff without physical contact. The app is also integrated with Aarogya Setu to ensure that visitors entering the society do not bring in any risk of infection. The Health tracker feature on the app which was also launched in the interest of safety gives hyperlocal details about containment zones near the society and if a visitor is coming from one.

NoBroker is a tech-driven platform and uses advanced technologies to the benefit of the customers. As a testimony to the tech innovations in NoBrokerHood, the app has experienced 8x growth over the last 4-5 months. It grew from less than 1000 societies to over 6000 societies quickly. Expanding to more cities was the next natural step and it has already been onboarded by famous societies across the newly launched cities; Silver Crown in Jaipur, DLF Galleria in Kolkata, Indraprastha Tower in Ahmedabad, Empress city in Nagpur and Trinity World in Kochi.

Commenting on the fast expansion, Amit Agarwal, CEO and Cofounder of NoBroker said, “We have launched over 11 new features in the NoBrokerHood app over the last 4 months in the interest of resident safety during these trying times. We want more and more cities and more and more societies to benefit from it. The scope of growth in cities where the app is newly launched is immense. Combined they have over 8500 gated societies and over 11,00,000 flats. We saw this opportunity amidst the pandemic and quickly launched NoBrokerHood in the interest of convenience. We are very humbled by the warm reception that we have received from these cities. We have always been a customer-centric company and all of what we do and innovate hinges on customer experience. We are happy to be able to bring the safety experience to more and more societies.”

City Number of Societies Number of flats
Ahmedabad 2822 366860
Jaipur 1215 97,200
Kolkata 2500 4,00,000
Nagpur 1010 99,990
Kochi 1252 1,40,224

Society living is increasingly becoming the preferred option by most people today because of the many benefits and amenities that are packaged with gated communities. NoBroker believes that the pandemic necessitated the launch of these security features. India has over 2 lakh societies and NoBroker feels it has just scratched the surface and there is a lot more to conquer. The app which went live in 2018 is onboarded by over 6000 societies across Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, and Kochi. It is aiming to be present in 20 cities by 2021.

Business World

Covid Fuels NoBrokerHood Expansion to 5 more cities

Sep 30, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Amit Agarwal, #NoBrokerHOOD

September 30, 2020: NoBrokerHood, the visitor, society, and payments management app by NoBroker has been steadily gaining ground over the past few months. It is now available in a total of 11 cities including Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Nagpur. As the app offers convenient and secure living with numerous helpful features, the growth is fueled by imperatives such as social distancing and staying home due to pandemic scare.

As India entered into first lockdown and uncertainty regarding procuring daily essentials sent people into a state of frenzy, the app launched a grocery store overnight and was quick to partner with grocery giants- Bigbasket and ITC, to help society residents by optimizing deliveries.

Not just that, it has also launched an array of features to help residents mitigate the risk of Covid-19. Many of these features are first of their kind such as Touchless Entry using facial recognition that detects residents and frequent visitors such as domestic help, drivers, and other staff without physical contact. It is also integrated with Aarogya Setu to ensure that visitors entering the society do not bring in any risk of infection. The Health tracker feature on the app which was also launched in the interest of safety gives hyperlocal details about containment zones near the society and if a visitor is coming from one.

NoBroker is a tech-driven platform and uses advanced technologies to the benefit of the customers. As a testimony to the tech innovations in NoBrokerHood, the app has experienced 8x growth over the last 4-5 months. It grew from less than 1000 societies to 4500 societies quickly. Expanding to more cities was the next natural step and it has already been onboarded by famous societies across the newly launched cities; Silver Crown in Jaipur, DLF Galleria in Kolkata, Indraprastha Tower in Ahmedabad, Empress city in Nagpur and Trinity World in Kochi.

Commenting on the fast expansion, Amit Agarwal, CEO and Cofounder of NoBroker said, “We are consistently working to better our app to offer better customer experience. We have launched over 11 new features in the NoBrokerHood app over the last 4 months in the interest of resident safety during these trying times. We want more and more cities and more and more societies to benefit from it. We are very humbled with the warm reception that we have received from our newly launched cities. We have always been a customer-centric company and all of what we do and innovate hinges on customer experience. We are happy to be able to bring the safety experience to more societies.”

Society living is increasingly becoming the preferred option by most people today because of the many benefits and amenities that are packaged with gated communities. NoBroker believes that the pandemic necessitated the launch of these security features. India has over 2 lakh societies and NoBroker feels it has just scratched the surface and there is a lot more to conquer. The app which went live in 2018 is onboarded by 4500 societies presently and is aiming to be present in xx societies by 2021.