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|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

SAP SE announced the launch of a Startup Accelerator Program in partnership with CIIE to strengthen the local entrepreneurship ecosystem and provide mentorship to early-stage entrepreneurs. Through this program, SAP & CIIE aim to catalyse assistance from several support organizations such as angel networks, co-working spaces, fabrication labs, incubators, industry associations, and, technology and academic institutions, which have been working towards creating a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Gujarat.

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Speaking about the association, Adaire Fox-Martin, President, SAP Asia Pacific Japan said

Entrepreneurs are the emerging leaders of the Digital Economy. They generate tremendous employment opportunities and contribute to the country’s growth. The program seeks to help entrepreneurs from tier II and tier III towns drive sustainable economic growth and innovation, and make Digital India real.

The program will be a significant catalyst of growth for entrepreneurs from emerging towns. Entrepreneurs will undergo a three-month, non-residential boot camp and monthly training workshops. They will be paired with domain experts from SAP Labs Bangalore to get insights into the latest technology innovations. The Startup Accelerator Program aims to create a pipeline of investable startups from this region by scouting for entrepreneurs from Gujarat and providing them with mentorship opportunities.

Kunal Upadhyay, CEO, CIIE at IIM – Ahmedabad added

Innovation and economic growth are directly linked to Gujarat’s ability to develop individuals with the skills to become a successful entrepreneur. We are pleased to collaborate with SAP on this initiative, and we will support this by leveraging our past experience and expertise to fast-track startup growth through operational guidance, mentoring and access to capital.

Believing in the power of small business and enterprises to drive innovation and job creation, SAP India is committed to finding unique ways to accelerate the growth of enterprises across the nation through training and technology consulting.

Apart from establishing best practices in the area of entrepreneurship, the Startup Accelerator Program will work towards building stronger collaboration between entrepreneurs and different stakeholders. In addition, this program will help develop a robust ecosystem and support entrepreneurs in areas such as Social Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, Education, Sports, Internet, Mobile, Internet of Things, Clean Technology, Smart City and Food & Agri Business by providing them with operational guidance and access to capital.

About CIIE

IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship [CIIE] helps entrepreneurs solve India’s most difficult problems in areas like energy, agriculture, healthcare and affordable technology. Set-up in collaboration with Government of India and Gujarat Government, CIIE is one of India’s leading entrepreneurship centre and operates different initiatives including incubators, accelerators and venture funds to support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit CIIE India

|In: e-commerce|Last Updated:

Funtuse announces the launch of its subscription-based marketplace specifically developed to provide children with appropriate online content and as a platform for publishers to effectively monetize their catalogs. The Funtuse all-in-one service offers children 5 to 12 years of age an ad-free, curated content platform featuring games, audio books, e-books, videos, and music.

All Funtuse content is specifically selected by experts and child psychologists to ensure that anything published is age-appropriate and suitable for young viewers. By creating a platform that offers parents piece of mind in regards to the content their kids are watching, Funtuse’s cross-platform service also allows users to access content on desktops, iPads & iPhones.

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Content producers who are searching for an alternative and secure way to distribute and monetize their digital media can leverage the Funtuse platform to gain a worldwide audience. With full, country-specific distribution and copyright control, content makers can now easily upload their content on Funtuse for free and receive a 50% share of subscription revenue generated by the platform. The more subscribers that view their content, the more revenue content providers receive.

Speaking at the launch, Funtuse Founder & Business Development Manager Sidharth Dhingra said

We look to offer children all over the world a secure and trusted digital environment to read, watch, and play the best quality content that can educate as well as entertain.

What we have developed is a platform that is beneficial for the end-user as well as the content provider who spends hours writing a great children’s e-book, or filming an insightful educational video series.

Funtuse is live, and we are constantly looking for content partners — whether they be publishing houses, independent animators, self publishers or game developers to help us grow and offer a unique media platform to children all over the world.

Content producers can also follow specific user trends via Funtuse’s detailed analytics dashboard, making the feature a powerful tool that can be leveraged to turn insights into effective product and marketing strategies. For parents, the analytics feature enables them to track their child’s interaction with Funtuse’s content and gain a deeper understanding of their interests.

Additionally, content providers can benefit from Funtuse’s expansive PR network giving them invaluable exposure in a global market that — according to IT research and advisory firm Gartner — has increased to $20 billion.

Funtuse is also uniquely positioned to provide access to content providers looking to tap the vast Indian market, where 30% of the country’s 1.27 billion people are under the age of 12 and are increasingly following the footsteps of their western peers.

About Funtuse

Founded in 2014, Funtuse is a subscription-based content marketplace for a wide range of media, including e-books, video, audio books, music and games perfect for kids aged 5-12. The all-in-one solution also offers content providers a powerful platform to distribute and monetize their existing and new content. For more information visit Funtuse

[Image Credit – Funtuse]

|In: Blogging|Last Updated:

Audiomatic is a podcast network focused on building a flourishing community of like-minded, mindful, discerning listeners by providing a wide variety of unique and exciting digital audio content. Started by media professionals with a background in print and radio, Rajesh Tahil & Tariq Ansari bring their considerable experience to Audiomatic. The shows package entertainment, knowledge and insights across genres to create memorable pod-casts that are an inimitable listening experience.

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Launched on April 8, the podcast network attracted over 100,000 listeners in its first month with its initial line-up of unique, genre-defining audio shows.

Audiomatic is the only place where a stand-up comedian and writer, a food writer, an actor and a journalist, all unite with one objective – to revive the old art of telling stories using new digital platforms and technology to reach a million ears.

Drawing on radio’s ability to be the theatre of the mind, Audiomatic’s portfolio has something for every listener. Ask Aakar Anything, features senior journalist and columnist Aakar Patel, who answers questions on just about everything from Apple to Air India, India’s corruption to PM Modi’s vision & Chetan Bhagat on TV to Twinkle Khanna in the newspapers.

Audiomatic podcast Our Last Week features the two funny men Anuvab Pal & Kunaal Roy Kapur and their candid conversations. They catch up on their personal and worldly encounters in the last week and ensure an audio experience as striking as their trademark logical reasoning.

Food writer Vikram Doctor with his life-size appetite for stories presents The Real Food Podcast, a fortnightly feast for the food-lovers.

Duo of Padmaparna Ghosh & Samanth Subramanian duo narrates stories that meld science, culture and history in India, in their signature ‘all pun intended’ ways on The Intersection every fortnight.

The podcasts, timed well within a modern day listener’s attention span, are uploaded weekly or fortnightly on Audiomatic, Apple iTunes as well as Android apps such as Stitcher, Podcast Addict etc.

Whether it is food [The Real Food Podcast], current affairs [Ask Aakar Anything] or Science [The Intersection], Audiomatic’s edge lies in its ability to tell compelling stories and be every listener’s ‘go-to’ destination for engaging, authentic & outstanding content.

[Image Credit – Audiomatic]

|In: Mobile|Last Updated:

TechProcess Payment Services Ltd, India’s leading payment solutions company, has announced the launch of Paynimo – the next generation mobile-first payment platform.

Paynimo powers a consistent user experience across different platforms, channels and devices. Its superior payment checkout experience enables an end consumer to complete transactions securely, and with minimal taps. It is India’s first truly revolutionary payment gateway that allows offline businesses to collect e-payments. Paynimo converts regular SMS and email reminders into actionable payment links, allowing merchants to e-collect from consumers. With ready-to-use APIs, it can be instantly integrated with billing systems for quick go-to-market!

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Launching Paynimo, Mr. Kumar Karpe – CEO, TechProcess Payment Services Ltd. said

Despite having 420 million plus debit and credit cards, the acceptance of electronic payments in India has been a challenge due to lack of POS penetration.

Paynimo empowers a merchants’ existing smartphone to collect e-payments without them having to invest in any additional infrastructure including a POS machine. As a ‘Super Wallet’, our solution will spur the activation of debit, credit and prepaid cards.

Our goal is to harness the potential of existing payment methods in the consumers’ hands and facilitate cashless transactions. Paynimo is a step in this direction as the platform operates independent of stashing cash in it. Hence, both consumers and merchants can opt for a secured ecosystem to transact without cash.

The salient features of this mobile payment offering are

  1. Effective and secure alternative to cash-on-delivery with anytime, anywhere, any device e-payment
  2. No Website, No POS, Converts your existing smartphone into Virtual POS
  3. With state of the art dashboard for effective consumer service, users no longer need to go through the hassle of creating a separate prepaid wallet and load cash each time
  4. It’s configurable UI support merchant branding guidelines and can be integrated with social network
  5. Instant Integration for quick go-to-market
  6. Instant and simultaneous payment confirmation to the merchant, consumer and delivery boy
  7. PCI DSS 3.0 certification for best in class security

To experience the process of sending, receiving and requesting money via Paynimo, have a look at the video below

About TechProcess Payment Services Ltd

TechProcess Payment Services Ltd. has been pioneering electronic payments in India since 2000 by setting up BillJunction, India’s first electronic bill presentment and payment service. TechProcess has been building, managing and servicing the e-payments ecosystem through its innovative cloud based payment platforms which have been adopted by leading brands. The service offerings cover the entire gamut of non-cash modes of electronic payments such as card payments, Net-banking, NACH, NEFT/RTGS, IMPS, e-wallets and the like. For more information, please visit their website

|In: Business|Last Updated:

State Bank of India & PayPal, the world’s leading open digital payments company have entered into a strategic partnership to promote cross border trade and facilitate payments for SBI & PayPal users both in India and abroad.

The partnership will enable SBI Debit cardholders to use PayPal when buying products from overseas websites and allow SBI’s Micro Small and Medium Enterprise [MSME] customers to gain access to PayPal’s secure payment solutions.

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The announcement reiterates the importance of India as a strategic market for PayPal. In addition to having a strong engineering workforce based out of India, PayPal also has a very robust and growing cross border business in the country.

The partnership will help PayPal work closely with SBI to make it easy for Indian exporters and consumers gain access to a global audience. One of the key aspects of the partnership is the impetus that will be provided to e-Governance projects of the Government of India.

Mentioning about the strategic-partnership Shri B. Sriram, Managing Director, SBI said

SBI has been bringing value to its customers by providing them innovative financial solutions. SBI is very pleased to have this tie-up as it provides a perfect opportunity to both of us to collaborate and offer a wide gamut of customized financial solutions to merchants across the board. This would bring new opportunities for our SME customer base.

Speaking at the event, Vikram Narayan, Managing Director and Country Manager (India), PayPal said

It is an honor for PayPal to partner with the State Bank of India which is India’s largest bank. We foresee exciting times ahead as the economy is poised to pick up and support Indian citizens and, businesses to evolve through global transactions.

We understand the Government’s focus on the MSME and believe PayPal has a strong role to play in the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Collaborating with us gives SBI’s customers global access to businesses and consumers alike.

Key highlights of the partnership

Helping SBI Debit Cardholders buy from global merchants using PayPal

PayPal & State Bank of India will work together to provide SBI debit cardholders additional options for international spending. The partnership will enrich customer experience and provide them safe and secure payments method through PayPal for buying goods from international merchants who offer PayPal as a payment option.

Helping Indian merchants gain a global audience

PayPal & SBI will work closely to offer PayPal’s payments solutions to SBI’s MSME customers who can reach PayPal’s 165 million active accounts globally. They would also work on providing innovative financial solutions to the merchants who are using PayPal services.

PayPal and SBI will also create a joint coordination committee to grow and implement this strategic partnership.

About PayPal

At PayPal, we put people at the center of everything we do. Founded in 1998, we continue to be at the forefront of the digital payments revolution, processing almost 11.6 million payments for our customers per day. PayPal gives people better ways to connect to their money and to each other, helping them send money without sharing financial information and with the flexibility to pay using their PayPal account balances, bank accounts, PayPal Credit and credit cards.

More information about PayPal can be found here & here.

|In: startups|Last Updated:

Eka Software Solutions, the leading global provider of Smart Commodity Management software solutions, announced today the general availability of Commodity Analytics Cloud, an advanced analytics solution for commodities companies in the agriculture, manufacturing, energy & metals industries. With Commodity Analytics Cloud, traders, risk managers, analysts, supply chain/logistics managers, IT specialists, back office personnel and executives gain previously unavailable insights into key business areas and can take action before competitors.

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Speaking about Commodity Analytics Cloud; Manav Garg, CEO at Eka said

Commodities markets are characterized by risk, volatility and complexity. Business users can no longer afford to wait days and weeks to understand market changes, analyse the alternatives, and make decisions. Every business user needs the power to analyse data the way they want, and that’s exactly what they get with Commodity Analytics Cloud.

Harnessing data from internal systems such as ETRM, CTRM, ERP, CRM & spreadsheets, and external sources such as market curves and weather data, Commodity Analytics Cloud brings all the data together in one place to answer the most important questions. Information is displayed in an easy-to-understand way that facilitates deeper inquiry. Business users can focus on data analysis, not data collection.

Backed by years of deep domain experience, Eka has created a series of apps specifically designed for the commodities markets that address high value business issues. Providing an end-to-end analysis of the entire enterprise, these apps span multiple categories including positions, P&L, trading, risk, credit, finance, supply chain, reconciliation, counter parties, and more.

Users can download the specific apps needed for their area of the business, and even customize apps for their individual needs. Analytics are no longer restricted to the realm of the IT department or other specialists. Commodity Analytics Cloud opens analytics to everyone.

Eka’s revolutionary next-generation technology, Pace, processes millions of data entities in seconds which enables users of Commodity Analytics Cloud the ability to move through data at unprecedented speed. Users can mix and match different data sets and perform real-time analysis on extremely large volumes of data.

Available on both smartphones and tablets as well as desktops and laptops, Commodities Analytics Cloud can be deployed on-premise in an internal company network or externally on a public cloud. More information about Commodity Analytics Cloud is available at this link.

About Eka Software Solutions

Eka is the global leader in providing Smart Commodity Management software solutions. Eka’s analytics-driven, end-to-end Commodity Management platform enables companies to efficiently and profitably meet the challenges of complex and volatile markets.

The company’s best-of-breed solutions manage commodity trading, enterprise risk, compliance, procurement, supply chain, operations, logistics, bulk handling, processing, and decision support. Eka partners with customers to accelerate growth, increase profitability, improve operational control, and manage risks and exposures.

|In: Mobile|Last Updated:

National Instruments [NI], the provider of solutions that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, announced the opening of the new Wireless Innovation Lab at its Austin headquarters.

In the lab, NI supports ongoing collaborations with top academic and industry research groups participating in its RF/Communications Lead User program. Researchers at Intel, Lund University, Nokia Networks, NYU Wireless, Samsung, The University of Texas at Austin & TU Dresden are driving significant advances in the development of next-generation wireless systems and furthering research in 5G. Current demos and projects on display in the lab include mmWave cellular systems, the 5G Massive MIMO Test-bed & the LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite.

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“At the Wireless Networking and Communications Group [WNCG], we have had several research projects with the RF/Communications Lead User team that range from MIMO interference alignment to interference cancellation,” said Robert Heath, professor, PhD, PE, IEEE Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin. “We’ve seen accelerated prototyping on all of these projects and we’re eager to build on the latest research.”

The Wireless Innovation Lab showcases NI’s commitment and investment to help researchers define next-generation wireless communication systems using the power and capability of the NI software defined radio platform with LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite. This platform-based approach helps reduce the time from theory to results by testing designs in a real-world environment.

To learn more about the new Wireless Innovation Lab, please visit this page

About the RF/Communications Lead User Program

NI established several lead user programs to facilitate research in areas including controls, mechatronics and robotics with a common goal of rapidly moving from theory to prototype. Established in 2010, the RF/Communications Lead User program currently includes more than 10 research institutions working on multiple 5G communications projects.

|In: Funding|Last Updated:

Akosha, a messaging platform for all consumer-to-business interactions, announced that Sequoia is leading a new Rs.100 crore Series B round. This new round of financing will be used to hire over 200 software engineers and product managers to build out the platform & fund the exponential growth of Akosha’s new mobile app for connecting users and businesses.

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Akosha was founded on the insight that the quality and channels of consumer’s interactions with businesses are broken and outdated. Akosha handles 30,000+ consumer inquiries every day over the web, telephone and its Android chat app. Akosha monetizes these inquiries by providing Akosha’s enterprise software OneDirect to brands.

Brands are able to leverage Akosha’s software to have a fast and personalized interactions with their consumers. Over 130 large brands use Akosha’s OneDirect platform to respond to consumer inquiries every week. Around 30 of these enterprises have become paying customers who subscribe to a premium version of the OneDirect Enterprise Suite. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Voltas, Aircel, Snapdeal, Micromax and Makemytrip are some of the leading brands currently using Akosha OneDirect enterprise solutions.

140,000 users have downloaded Akosha’s new android app in just 4 months with an average rating of 4.5. Consumers use the Akosha app for product discovery, pricing information, discounts, customer service, booking appointments, travel research and so on. Currently, the app supports more than 18,000 chat sessions per day and have been growing 20-25% week-on-week.

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Over the last year, the company has grown its employee base from 180 to well over 300 and recently opened a technology and product office in Bangalore. Building on this momentum, Akosha will use the additional financing to continue to expand its software engineering teams, accelerate product development, and invest in growing its user base. Akosha’s expects to add 400-500 people to its team this year.

Akosha was co-founded by Ankur Singla, a National Law School, Bangalore graduate who was deeply moved by the poor quality of customer service in India.

Quote from Ankur Singla, Chief Executive Officer, Akosha

We started 4 years ago to help consumers with post purchase issues. With the growth of mobile, we aim at building a messaging platform for all interactions between consumers and businesses including discovery, buying, appointments and customer service.

We hope to be doing 100,000 customer interactions/day within 3 months. But I think we’re just getting started. We are confident that in the near future, Akosha chat will be a competitive customer service differentiator for businesses

Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India Advisors said:

We have always believed in the thesis that consumers need a better way to interact with businesses. We are inspired by Ankur’s vision for becoming a single destination on the smartphone for users to interact with hundreds of businesses and online services.

We are delighted to lead our third round of investment in Akosha, starting with a $200,000 seed investment in 2011.

About Akosha

Akosha is a horizontal platform for all consumers to business interactions. Customers can connect with any businesses using an Akosha mobile app, dedicated customer care helpline and website.

Akosha has received over 40,00,000 consumer queries across sectors, including telecom, consumer appliances, ecommerce, mobile, banking and insurance in 2014. The company has 350+ employees and 3 offices in India.

On the B2B side, Akosha OneDirect is a social CRM platform that helps brands in managing their customer experience across all online channels.