TechSparks Mumbai is back for round 2; Aquaconnect’s ocean of opportunity

The most interesting news selected specially for you! 21 January 2024 [View in Browser]( Hello, Now, startups and enterprises can enhance their brand engagement by partnering with YourStory and advertising on our YS Buzz and Weekly Wrap newsletters. [Click here]( to know more. In today's newsletter, we will talk about: - TechSparks Mumbai is back for round 2 - Aquaconnect’s ocean of opportunity - A kidswear brand that targets mothers - Wow! Momo Foods’ global dreams - Paytm's Q3 revenue rises amid festivities Here’s your trivia for today: What was Namibia called before 1968? --------------------------------------------------------------- Event TechSparks Mumbai is back for round 2 TechSparks, India's foremost startup-tech conference, is gearing up for its eagerly awaited second iteration in Mumbai, scheduled to unfold on February 29 and March 1, 2024, at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai. Over the years, YourStory's TechSparks has been instrumental in fostering over 15 lakh connections, creating employment opportunities for more than 50 lakh people, and helping companies secure $2 billion in funding. What to expect: - Continuing the narrative of 'The Great Indian Techade', TechSparks Mumbai 2024 will delve into the pivotal sectors shaping the nation's tech landscape, including fintech and banking. - A key highlight of this edition is the PitchFest, providing a platform for startups to showcase their groundbreaking ideas to a live audience, investors, and a distinguished jury. - TechSparks Mumbai 2024 has partnered with Maharashtra State Innovation Society to advance forward-looking policies, and Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai to put valued high-growth companies in the spotlight. Keen to come on board as a sponsor or partner? [Get in touch with us]( with your requirements and we'll get back to you with further details. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- From the CapTable How a chance encounter on a train led to India’s largest aquaculture startup Before his "serendipitous" meeting with a shrimp farmer on a train, Rajamanohar Somasundaram thought aquaculture—the rearing and harvesting of freshwater and marine life—was mostly a cottage industry. However, the chance meeting, long conversation, and eventual visit to the farmer’s home forced him to sit up and take notice of the industry’s huge and largely untapped potential. India is the world’s third-largest fish-producing country, accounting for 8% of the world’s aquaculture production. It contributes just over a percent of India’s gross value added (GVA) and nearly 7% of the country’s agricultural GVA, according to the government’s investment promotion agency, Invest India. India is also the world’s fourth largest exporter of fish and fisheries products. For all of this, as Somasundaram learned, the space was still largely unorganised. Somasundaram was already tinkering with the idea of doing something "impactful" in the agricultural industry, but his chance meeting with the shrimp farmer is what led him to found Aquaconnect in 2017. Six years on, Aquaconnect has grown into India’s largest aquaculture company, both in terms of funding raised as well as revenue. Thus far, the Chennai-based company has raised just north of $20 million, and is looking to do close to Rs 300 crore in revenue in the current fiscal year. Key Takeaways: - Aquaconnect has navigated some rough waters to create a solid business model for the largely fragmented Indian aquaculture industry. - It has positioned itself as the connective tissue of the aquaculture industry, linking farmers to input retailers and seafood buyers. - Its patent-pending remote satellite sensing technology plus on-the-ground executives add a layer of visibility and traceability that Indian aquaculture has traditionally lacked. - The startup is looking to end FY24 with nearly Rs 300 crore in revenue—2X that of the previous fiscal—and expects to be EBITDA-positive by FY25. [Continue Reading]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Startup A kidswear brand that targets mothers in April 2023, Includ was born out of the need to cater to women or mothers who are the key decision-makers in most Indian households. “There are several sub-categories in the online retail space. While electronics is largely male-dominated, kidswear, womenswear, and home improvement are driven by women,” Ashwin Rastogi, Founder and CEO of Includ, tells YourStory. Ecommerce influence: - Includ has a portfolio of apparel for children aged 2-14 years, and presents over 5,500 styles. With prices starting from Rs 449, Includ hosts a variety of accessories for kids such as hair bands, handbags, and hats. - The company—with the help of its 25-member team—is making sales up to Rs 2 crore each month, and is working actively towards expanding its product line to keep up with the purchase frequency. - Includ intends to go offline over the next few years. The plan is to master the kidswear category and then venture into western womenswear and ultimately home products, the founder notes. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Funding Wow! Momo Foods’ global dreams the tough macroeconomic situation, it’s rare to hear of a quick-service restaurant securing a big cheque in venture capital funding. But Delhi-based Wow! Momo Foods has done it by raising a whopping $42 million from Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. Existing investors OAKS Asset Management pumped in an additional $7 million. Co-founder and CEO Sagar Daryani tells YourStory about the company’s upcoming plans. Fresh capital: - The funding has arrived at an opportune time—when the company expects its FY24 revenue to cross Rs 500 crore and aims to carve a presence in Southeast Asia and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). - Khazanah has invested in companies such as logistics firm Xpressbees, women’s apparel brand Zivame, and ecommerce behemoth Flipkart. - Founded in 2008 by Daryani and Binod Homagai, Wow! has managed to raise upwards of $78 million in funding to date. Some of the firm's early investors include Tiger Global and Value Quest Capital. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Fintech Paytm's Q3 revenue rises amid festivities giant Paytm pared its loss to Rs 222 crore in the October-December 2023 quarter on the back of a 38% rise in its revenue. Its revenue rose to Rs 2,850 crore mainly due to strong performance in its payments and financial services business unit amid the festive season. Earnings: - Paytm disbursed 1.15 crore loans in the quarter—up 10% from a year ago. The value of its loans was Rs 15,535 crore in Q3 FY24, versus Rs 9,958 crore in the comparable period a year ago. - The company reported a 31% rise in its direct expenses to Rs 1,331 crore, while indirect expenses, which include marketing, employee, software, cloud and data center-related costs, rose by 28%. - Paytm's shares on Friday closed at Rs 766.20—2.5% higher from yesterday's close. Over the last year, its stock has risen 45.4%. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- News & Updates - [Milestone:]( BlackRock's spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) hit $1 billion in assets in the first four days of trading, the first to clinch the milestone among a batch of newly launched ETFs tracking spot bitcoin prices, JP Morgan data showed. - [Not required:]( Sam Altman was “surprised” by The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI, saying its AI models didn’t need to train on the news publisher’s data. Describing the legal action as a “strange thing,” Altman said OpenAI had been in “productive negotiations” with the Times before news of the lawsuit broke. - [Mega deal:]( Chip design software maker Synopsys said on Tuesday it would buy Ansys (ANSS.O) in a $35 billion cash-and-stock deal, snapping up the maker of software used in creating products from airplanes to tennis rackets of players like Novak Djokovic. Did you know? What was Namibia called before 1968? Answer: South West Africa. The country was officially renamed Namibia in 1968. We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail nslfeedback@yourstory.com. If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, [sign up here](. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our [Daily Capsule page here](. [Feedback]( [Unsubscribe]( [Newsletters](