Ecosystem Update: Weekly Updates From The Tech Ecosystem [2-7 March]

As it is said every drop in the ocean counts. Our startup ecosystem is becoming that pool of ocean where in every drop of passionate, ambitious and zealous entrepreneurs counts. With innumerable investors, VCs ready to bathe in the startup sunshine it is becoming hard to keep a record of all what’s happening around.

So, here we bring forth our new section “Ecosystem Update” to  ensure our readers that nothing is missed out and best is sourced to bring updates at one stop. Ecosystem Update will bring weekly updates on the related stories that matter the startup ecosystem.

Let us read the this week’s development:

Flipkart Hires Ex-McKinsey Director As COO & former Googler & Motorola VP As Chief Product Officer

Ecommerce giant, Flipkart has hired former McKinsey director Saikiran Krishnamurthy, a leading strategy expert, as chief operating officer of its commerce division which comes under a newly carved-out unit under Mukesh Bansal. The company has also hired former Googler and Motorola VP Punit Soni as its chief product officer. Soni had spent eight years at Google in the U.S., the latter part of which he was VP of Product Management for Motorola.

It is to be noted that Flipkart is on the task of strengthening its top executives team of various fields. The company set aside an additional 2.5% of its capital for expanding its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) as it scouts for top executives to join its newly reorganised senior leadership team.

 Askme hires Advertising Agency J Walter Thompson

Online search engine Askme.com, that provides information almost everything from restaurants to matrimony to jobs, has hired J Walter Thompson for an advertising budget of INR 350 Cr which could further make it the largest advertiser among Indian online companies, ahead of ecommerce biggies like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India. The JWT will help position Askme brand as a destination of choice across company’s target consumers in this category that full of clutter comprising competition with huge marketing budgets.

Caratlane.Com Launches Its Second Store In Delhi

The online jeweller portal, Caratlane.Com launched its second brand store in Delhi making the total number of stores in the country to five. It deals in every type of jewellery and has a varied collection of modern and artistic jewels like rings, pendants, earrings, necklaces, bangles etc. The platform also lets customers to customize the product as per their requirements like type of diamond cuts, shapes, by weight, by purity, by design.

Jabong launches curated fashion clothing under Jabong Boutique

Jabong, an online shopping giant, has launched a wide variety of fashion clothing sourced from different boutiques from all over the country under Jabong Boutique. It aims to connect the user to a wide variety of fashion and trends in all over the country with Jabong Boutique and also help small artists to showcase their work. The newly launched section offers a range of elite limited-edition pieces ranging from apparel and swimwear to exquisite handmade footwear.

WeChat Partners With Lybrate To Spread Swine Flu Awareness

Social messaging app, WeChat has partnered with Lybrate, a healthcare startup, to spread awareness about  the Swine Flu epidemic in India. WeChat has launched an official ‘Swine Flu Help’ account in India to help users find information on various aspects of Swine Flu like its symptoms, precautions and treatment. This account is powered by Lybreate. Users can also look for medical services nearby, book appointments and get quality medication with the help of Lybrate.

Tyroo Launches Product Ads For App Developers at MWC Barcelona 2015

The New Delhi-based mobile ad-tech platform, Tyroo has announced the launch of Native Product Ads for app developers at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, 2015. The product is currently available on Android and will enable constant monetization for app developers through transactional advertisers (Ecommerce and mobile first businesses). Product ads will appear natively in an application with product recommendation for consumers targeted through millions of data points. App developers will benefit from curated product feeds, programmatic solution, strategic placements of ads, 100 % fill rate, 25 % increase in user engagement and 2X lift in eCPM.

Ebay India Ties Up With SMEcorner.com

The online marketplace, eBay India has partnered with SMEcorner.com, India’s first online platform for Small and Medium Enterprises which addresses the diverse financial requirements of entrepreneurs in this sector. The tie up will benefit Ebay to expand its bandwidth and give confidence to penetrate the growing ecommerce sector even deeper. With the help of this partnership Ebay will narrow the gap between SME enterprises and lenders by guiding and providing them access to avenues to meet their funding requirements. SMEcorner.com offers loan accessibility options in six online steps which help combat challenges of endless follow-ups, arduous documentation, unprofessional intermediaries and more, it said.