News Roundup: 11 Startup Stories You Don’t Want To Miss This Week [18 July – 23 July]

Fashion and ecommerce startup Jabong is in the midst of controversy over allegations of financial irregularities by its top brass. A forensic audit commissioned by German ecommerce investor Rocket Internet has unearthed several apparent corporate governance violations by former top executives at its fashion portal.

There are also reports that suggests that Jabong is shifting to a marketplace model from an inventory-based model amid a long-drawn sale process. The company is gradually moving to a marketplace model under Mohanty’s leadership, who was appointed as Jabong’s CEO and MD in December last year.

Important Developments Of The Week

Commerce Ministry Launches Online Marketplace For Goods Procurement

The Commerce Ministry launched a marketplace for online purchase of goods and services by various central government ministries and departments. The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) has developed the portal to bring in more transparency.

Ecommerce Websites Alleged Facilitating Illegal Animal Trade

In a response to the allegation by the government on selling rare animals and their body parts on ecommerce sites, Anil Dave said that several websites are seen advertising sale of rare animals and their parts. There are about a total of 106 websites, collated by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), that are allegedly involved in the trade on animals and their parts, including Snapdeal, Quikr, Olx, Ebay, Amazon and Alibaba.

Madhya Pradesh Government To Impose 6% Entry Tax

The MP government plans to impose 6% entry tax on the ecommerce firms by amending the legislation to increase revenue. It has planned to introduce a Bill in the upcoming monsoon session to amendment laws, so as to bring ecommerce firms under the tax regime.

ShopClues Launches ADZone

AdZone is a dedicated sellers’ platform where merchants can enter a bidding process to initiate an ad campaign to advertise their products on ShopClues’ platform. This will help the merchants enhance their business by promoting products using native and custom ads on ShopClues.

16 Companies Qualify Under The Startup India Programme

The government on Wednesday announced that only 16 applicants have been incorporated under the  Startup India programme after April 1, 2016. This makes them eligible for tax benefits as per the Finance Act 2016.

‘Startup Booster Kit’ To Be Launched

The Karnataka government recently announced to come up with a startup booster kit. It will help companies register their startups with Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS). It also promises to address various problems that startups encounter.

Flipkart To Launch Digital Wallet

Flipkart announced that it will launch a digital wallet to build an independent digital payments business. For which it plans to invest over $100 Mn (INR 670 Cr), in the next three years.

Myntra To Launch Offline Stores

Myntra is planning to launch its offline stores in the next three months. It will opt for the omnichannel strategy with private brands — Roadster, HRX and All About You.

Govt Asks 5 States To Share Their Action Plan

Aiming at the success of ‘Startup India Action Plan’, the government has asked five states to share the policies and initiatives taken by them to boost startups during the last one year. The five states are Gujarat, Telangana, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Kerala.

One97 To Take Its Digital Business To Western Europe & Us

One97 Communications, the digital goods and value-added services arm of Paytm, will take its digital business to Western Europe and the US markets through strategic acquisitions. With a presence in Africa and a scheduled launch in Indonesia, Malaysia and Middle East markets through tieup with telcos, the company is actively scouting for marketing analytics platforms for inorganic growth.

Other Developments Of The Week

BiteClub Halts Operations

Online marketplace for chefs prepared meals BiteClub halted its operations. Founder Prateek Agarwal, said that they are on a temporary halt as they faced certain problems regularly while scaling up.

Ixigo Launches ‘Ixibaba’

Ixibaba is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot designed to simplify the lives of travellers. The bot provides quick and quirky answers to all the travel planning and booking related queries.

JetSynthesys Launches Startup Co-Working Space

JetSynthesys, backed by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, launched a co-working space, Garage, in Mumbai. JetSynthesys has invested over $3 Mn in creating this facility. JetSynthesys has invested over $3 Mn in creating this facility.

Pipa+Bella Launches Mobile Application

Jewelry e-tailer Pipa+Bella launches its mobile application this July with an aim to increase its footprint to over 75 cities across India with a dedicated online and app presence. The startup forecasts a min growth of 15% growth in overall sales via app-only transactions with a 20% month-on-month growth in these numbers.

Webengage Launches Journey Designer

WebEngage launched their latest product, Journey Designer. The product is a marketing automation tool which will let online businesses, from ecommerce to BFSI to travel to everything in between, visually design and implement their engagement plan across user’s lifecycle.

DriversKart Partners With QuikrServices

Driverskart partnered with QuikrServices to provide on-demand driver solutions. As per this exclusive tie up, any queries in the on-demand driver segment for Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai on the Quikr platform would be redirected to DriversKart.

Tolexo Brings Down The Order-To-Cancellation Ratio

In a bid to enhance customer experience in B2B ecommerce, Tolexo made significant headway in plugging gaps in supply chain management & logistics. It brought down its order-to-cancellation ratio to 5% from 13% within a span of six months. It further plans to lower this ratio to 2%, which will be the best metric across B2B and B2C e-commerce platforms in the country.

TO THE NEW Joins Acquia Community Partner Program

TO THE NEW, a premium technology company that combines the power of technology, analytics, digital marketing and video solutions for digital transformation, announced its partnership with Acquia, a leading digital experience company. As Acquia’s Community Partner, TO THE NEW will leverage Acquia’s products and services to deliver best-in-class digital experiences for its clients across the globe.

Wixifi Launches Algorithmic Stocks Advisory

Wixifi launched online stocks advisory service with quarterly rebalancing. The product gives a list of stocks to invest and optimizes the changes in the portfolio for tax and trading costs.

Jugnoo launches Dodo Deliveries in Gurgaon

Scaling its B2B logistics unit, Dodo Deliveries, Jugnoo forays into Gurgaon. Optimally utilizing its well-established network of auto-rickshaw fleet, venturing into Gurgaon is a part of the company’s natural progression. Dodo has added two-wheelers and commercial vehicles to their fleet in Gurgaon, making it an omni-channel service through which vendors can customize their delivery experience.

Industrybuying unveils ProcMan

Industrybuying unveiled a customised product solution for enterprises that eliminates the inefficiencies and centralises their industrial product procurement process, ProcMan. The product includes an Online Catalogue Interface (OCI) that has the ability to integrate with most of the ERP systems available in the market.

EDUGILD, VIT Tie-up

Startup accelerator EDUGILD has partnered with Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) to facilitate and support startups in the space of education technology (Edtech). The collaboration will help startups combine Edtech know-how, design, business acumen and technology to scale up.

Lendingkart ties up with Wydr

Lendingkart, a fintech startup entered into partnership with Wydr, a B2B mobile marketplace to provide short term credit for inventory purchase to retailers and shopkeepers. Wydr will provide the technology interface to its buyers to seamlessly apply for Credit from within its App. The maximum amount of loan that an SME can apply for is INR 10 Lakhs.