Platform for Buy Now and Pay Later In 2021, ZestMoney saw a 300 percent increase in transactions, driven primarily by young borrowers. According to the firm’s report, borrowers in tier-1 and tier-2 cities borrowed to buy fashion, lifestyle, and electronics, as well as to spend on online education courses to improve their skills. While the majority of customers (median) were between the ages of 23 and 26, BNPL emerged as the preferred option for people of all ages, with the youngest customer being 18 and the oldest being 66. The…

La Renon Healthcare, a pharmaceutical company backed by Sequoia Capital and A91 Partners, has acquired a 51 percent stake in Enaltec Labs. The transaction values Enaltec at Rs 180-200 crore post-money. “This is a structured deal where—based on Enaltec’s performance between October 2021 and September 2022, and after achieving about 15-18% Ebitda—the conversion of stake will be ascertained..,” La Renon’s Chief Financial Officer Amit Jain said. La Renon will end up with a higher stake than 51% if Enaltec fails to achieve those business targets, he said. “This is entirely…

M2P Fintech, based in Chennai, provides API infrastructure solutions to banks primarily in Asia, and has raised $56 million in a C1 series round led by Insight Partners. The Mitsubishi Group’s MUFG Innovation Partners, as well as existing investors Tiger Global and Better Capital, took part in the round, according to a press release from M2P. M2P recently raised $35 million in a Series C round led by Tiger Global. Since early 2021, the company, formerly known as Yap, has raised more than $100 million. The firm did not disclose…

Corporate learning and development (L&D) will thrive in 2022 as companies invest more in upskilling their executives in high-tech domains such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. According to a survey conducted by edtech firm Simplilearn on January 20, AI and machine learning are the highest priority skill domains for 2022, followed by cyber security, project management, digital marketing, cloud computing, and data science. “These skills will receive the highest budget priority from organisations for internal upskilling initiatives and external hires,” the survey added. According to Simplilearn, at least 80%…

Fyp, one of India’s fastest growing neobanks for teenagers, has acquired EdTech startup Edunify as part of its expansion plans. With this acquisition, the company hopes to broaden its user base through school collaborations across India. Edunify, which was founded in 2018, operates a pan-India school discovery platform with 1.2 lakh schools in 725 cities, has assisted 1.5 million parents in their admissions journey since its inception, and has empowered 100+ schools in 7 cities with admission and fee management services. Commenting on the acquisition, Kapil Banwari, Founder and CEO,…

Industry body Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA) proposed a new definition for startups while also reiterating some older demands such as allowing local firms to directly list overseas , in a note to the government ahead of the Union budget. According to multiple sources familiar with the situation, IVCA has proposed that a company be considered a startup if it is less than ten years old and is not a subsidiary or the result of a merger or spin-off, regardless of revenue. “Currently, the amended provisions by…

The last fiscal year (FY21) was fantastic for Indian edtech companies, as their usage skyrocketed due to the pandemic. As a result, edtech startups raised record amounts of money while increasing their revenue by multiples. Toppr (now a part of Byju’s) stood out as an outlier. In FY21, the company’s revenue fell by 40%. Toppr, which has been in business for eight years, is comprised of two companies: Toppr, which provides a learning platform for students, and Haygot Services, which acts as a support service provider, facilitating educators for the…