Global mobility fintech startup <keyword id="20582833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="moove" source="keywords">Moove</keyword> on Wednesday said it has raised $10 million in new debt funding from leading venture debt fund <keyword id="19952355" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stride-ventures" source="keywords">Stride Ventures</keyword> to expand its <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword> footprint. The fresh capital will be utilised to scale the Indian fleet to over 5,000 and expand into new markets including Delhi, Pune and Kolkata, the startup said in a statement. "Our vehicles have completed over 4.2 million trips, significantly impacting India's mobility sector. With the robust support of Stride Ventures, we stand on the cusp of transforming vehicle ownership nationwide, propelling our mission forward," said <keyword id="20582834" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="binod-mishra" source="keywords">Binod Mishra</keyword>, Regional Managing Director, India and South Asia, Moove. Gurugram-headquartered Moove has established its presence in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad. "Our alliance with Moove is set to transform vehicle ownership accessibility throughout India, marking a significant leap towards social and economic advancement," said <keyword id="20582835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="apoorva-sharma" source="keywords">Apoorva Sharma</keyword>, Managing Partner at Stride Ventures. Operating in nine markets across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia, Moove has emerged as Uber's top vehicle supply partner in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and its largest global fleet partner. Currently, over 30 million trips have been completed in Moove-financed vehicles globally, said the startup. The company uses technology and productivity data to build an integrated, revenue-based vehicle financing platform for mobility entrepreneurs in emerging markets around the world who have limited or no access to a vehicle or vehicle financing. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/poco-oneplus-top-indian-smartphone-shipment-growth-but-overall-reading-flat/articleshow/107681294.cms">Poco, OnePlus top Indian smartphone shipment growth but overall reading flat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/seven-out-of-top-10-smartphones-sold-worldwide-in-2023-were-iphones/articleshow/107617907.cms">Apple domination: Seven out of top 10 smartphones sold worldwide are iPhones</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/upcoming-smartphones-launching-in-india-in-february-2024/slidelist/107220575.cms">Samsung to Nothing – The upcoming smartphones hitting Indian market in February</a>

Mobility fintech startup Moove raises $10 mn to expand India footprint

<ul><li>Venture debt firm <keyword id="9353689" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="stride-ventures" source="Orion">Stride Ventures</keyword> sanctioned over ₹1600 crore to over 70 companies across various sectors. </li><li>Strides has diverse investments across sectors such as consumer, fintech, agritech, B2B commerce, healthtech and more. </li><li>Venture debt disbursed in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> last year stood at $538 million. </li></ul> Venture debt firm Stride Ventures today closed its Stride Ventures India Fund II after raising $200 million. The fund’s portfolio includes startups like CredAvenue (<keyword id="14257101" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yubi" source="Orion">Yubi</keyword>), <keyword id="3030142" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="myglamm" source="Orion">MyGlamm</keyword>, <keyword id="12437554" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zepto" source="Orion">Zepto</keyword>, BluSmart and more. Stride said that the new fund saw participation from leading banks, marquee family offices, corporate treasuries, sovereign funds, PE funds, insurance firms and HNIs. "The growing investor trust in the Indian start-up ecosystem provided us with a great opportunity to develop a strong pipeline of deployments that we have utilized across various sectors. Stride Ventures goal is to continue being a preferred lender while developing innovative alternate financing solutions for founders,” said <keyword id="13803875" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ishpreet-singh-gandhi" source="Orion">Ishpreet Singh Gandhi</keyword>, founder and managing partner at Stride Ventures. The fund saw its first close back in August 2021. Strides has diverse investments across sectors such as consumer, fin-tech, agri-tech, B2B commerce, health-tech, B2B SaaS, mobility &amp; energy solutions (EV). It has sanctioned over ₹1600 crore to over 70 companies across these verticals. “The current economic environment has made growing businesses more amenable to debt transactions than ever before, giving India's venture lending industry a chance to grow and evolve,” added <keyword id="1946603" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="apoorva-sharma" source="Orion">Apoorva Sharma</keyword>, partner at Stride Ventures. According to an India Venture Debt <a href="https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/www.strideventures.in/Stride+Ventures+India+Debt+Report+2022.pdf">Report</a> 2022, the firm released in May, venture debt disbursals stood at $538 million last year. The fund facilitated joint-lending structures with leading banks over three years. It claims to have built innovative alternate financing solutions within venture debt for founders to allocate capital efficiently. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/akasa-air-has-enough-capital-to-induct-72-aircraft-thanks-to-rakesh-jhunjhunwalas-visionary-role-says-ceo/articleshow/93616737.cms">Akasa Air has enough capital to induct 72 aircraft thanks to Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s visionary role, says CEO</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/workplace-recognition-and-not-salary-is-top-criteria-for-job-seekers-in-india-report/articleshow/93615940.cms">Workplace recognition, and not salary, is top criteria for job seekers in India: report</a>

Venture debt firm Stride Ventures closes a $200 million fund

<ul><li>The event will be attended by <keyword id="6358887" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="amitabh-kant" source="Orion">Amitabh Kant</keyword>, <keyword id="158171" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="aman-gupta" source="Orion">Aman Gupta</keyword>, Rajan Anandan and other speakers. </li><li>A report named Indian start-up Ecosystem: Road to Hyperscale TiE - BCG – Times Bridge Report, will be launched at the event. </li><li>Discussions will be held around topics like Path to Profitability, India G20 Presidency, Future of mobility, White Spaces Where India Can Win, Building for Bharat and more. </li></ul>The Delhi-NCR chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs is organizing a startup conference <keyword id="6069165" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tiecon-delhi" source="Orion">TiEcon Delhi</keyword> 2023 between March 17-18, 2023. This year’s theme ‘Navigating the New World’, is based on the challenges thrown up by the post-pandemic geopolitical scenario, marked by a serious economic downturn. Two reports will be launched at the event – ‘Indian start-up Ecosystem: Road to Hyperscale TiE-BCG–Times Bridge Report’ and ‘Creating 10x Women Founders - Women Entrepreneurship Report’. Geetika Dayal, executive director, TiE Delhi-NCR shares, “We are thrilled to be hosting our annual flagship conference, TiEcon Delhi 2023 themed, Navigating the New World. We have designed sessions, masterclasses and networking formats to equip entrepreneurs and startup founders with the tool kit and knowledge they need to thrive in an ever-changing landscape." TiEcon is a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and mentorship for entrepreneurs globally. It offers a diverse lineup of speakers including feted founders, key stakeholders, sessions on engaging topics, networking opportunities and curated pitching initiatives. Some of the speakers at the conference include Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, Government of India; Deep Kalra, founder &amp; chairman at MakeMyTrip; Aman Gupta, co-founder and CMO, boAt Lifestyle. It also has speakers like Aditya Ghosh, founder, Homage &amp; co-founder, AkasaAir; Shikhar Dhawan, Indian Cricketer; Alok Mittal, co-founder &amp; CEO at Indifi Tech; Apurva Chamaria, head startups &amp; VC at Google India; Prashant Tandon, co-founder &amp; CEO at TATA 1mg; Lathika Pai, country head, VC &amp; PE Partnerships at Microsoft. The list of speakers also includes Arvind Kumar, director general - STPI; <keyword id="1487014" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="suchi-mukherjee" source="Orion">Suchi Mukherjee</keyword>, founder &amp; CEO of LimeRoad; Arjun Vaidya, co-founder of V3 Ventures; Dr Apoorva Sharma, co-founder of Venture Catalysts &amp; 9Unicorns; Shridhar Rajgopalan, MD and lead, Accenture Song and Sustainability, Advanced Technology Centers, India, Accenture; <keyword id="164919" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="padmaja-ruparel" source="Orion">Padmaja Ruparel</keyword>, co-founder of IAN &amp; Founding Partner of IAN Fund; Rema Subramanian, co-founder &amp; managing partner at Ankur Capital; Vikram Gupta, founder and managing partner at IvyCap. The event will provide funding opportunities via the ‘TiE the Knot’ platform now in its twelfth season and specialized curated pitches. A set of awards will be presented to recognize exceptional startups like – Knights of Supply Chain award, 15th TiE Lumis Entrepreneurial Excellence Award and 9th TiE - Power2SME Spirit of Manufacturing Awards. "We are looking at very turbulent and very exciting times ahead. As entrepreneurs, we see immense opportunity in everything we are doing, and we see challenges, short-term and long-term, that we have to be ready for what to do, what not to do, how to decide, how to prioritize, how to survive, and then how do we thrive,” said Prashant Tandon, CEO &amp; Cofounder, Tata 1mg &amp; Co-chair, TiEcon Delhi 2023. Google, Sequoia and Microsoft are key partners at this year’s conference. Suchi Mukherjee, founder &amp; CEO, Limeroad &amp; co-chair, TiEcon Delhi 2023 said, “At TiEcon Delhi 2023 you will have ten hours of intense learning, authentic conversations where you can meet founders from across the country. It's a place where founders curate the agenda for other founders. It's a place where corridors are filled not just with pleasantries, but also with deep, authentic conversations about people's experiences. Where breakout rooms are filled with not just standees, but masterclasses of questions that founders often face day-to-day.”

Startup community to come together for TiEcon Delhi 2023 on 17-18 March

<ul><li>Cockroaches are startups that can survive a long period of <keyword id="6412154" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="funding-winter" source="Orion">funding winter</keyword>, like the pests that can live through a nuclear war. </li><li>Most startups pass through the cockroach phase at least once, gaining experience and knowledge as well as strategizing their business, say experts. </li><li>For those startups that cannot survive without external funds, the future is bleak leading to mergers, acquisitions and in worse cases even shutdowns, experts say. </li></ul>The Indian startup ecosystem has been maturing but it is also getting the chills with the onset of the funding winter. In these circumstances, venture capitalists (VCs) have turned their focus from the unicorns – companies valued at $1 billion, to cockroaches – companies that can survive the test of times. The name is a reference to the fact that cockroaches are known to survive even a nuclear war. Anirudh A Damani, CEO of Artha Group defines a cockroach as a startup that does not require external support to survive. “It can run forever on the cash it generates from selling its products or services at a profit – something a loss-making startup cannot afford to do since its biggest customer is the venture capital investor,” he says. Struggling for funds is not an unknown challenge for most startups starting from the pre-seed level. However, this time around a long funding winter has set in and is expected to last anywhere between 6-18 months as per many experts. And the funding started drying up six months back – dropping to $2.7 billion in the quarter ending September 2022 from a peak of $15.9 billion in the year-ago quarter, according to a Venture Pulse report. A good startup can persist through these changing dynamics, experts say. “Startups following the cockroach approach persist despite changing market conditions, environments, and investment scenarios. Most of the startups pass through the cockroach phase at least once, gaining experience and knowledge as well as strategizing their business despite changing market conditions,” said Mitesh Shah, partner at Physis Capital. To ensure that a startup turns into a cockroach, businesses will have to make tough changes in their models – founders will need to pivot focus from valuations to cash flows. “Those unicorns sitting on cash always survive but those at the end of their runway struggle. However, the good thing is because of these times, companies have begun to focus on the businesses in terms of unit economics and the path to profitability rather than merely looking at fundraise and vanity valuations,” said Bhaskar Majumdar, managing partner, Unicorn India Ventures. <div type="image" title="bhaskar-Majumdar" msid="95734327" hostid="261"></div> Sustainable unit economics is key For the VC ecosystem, which has seen hits and misses in good measure, the funding winter will be an acid test. “In these winter periods, the businesses solving a fundamental human problem thrive at the expense of the companies that are buying revenues in the guise of deep discounting leading to unsustainable unit economics,” says Damani. For those startups that cannot survive without external funds, the future is bleak leading to mergers, acquisitions and in worse cases even shutdowns. “In the current environment, where the funding parameters have become tougher and valuations are under pressure, startups (their founders and investors) are looking at alternative survival strategies. Some startups which are heavily dependent on funding for survival and growth tend often to do distress sale or shut ship,” said Majumdar. Sectors like edtech, which have raised a lot of funds during the pandemic, are also in trouble because of overestimates of TAM or the total addressable market. Those consumer-facing sectors which show the ‘need’ to spend money to acquire customers also might reduce a startup’s ability to turn into a cockroach. “As their marketing spend is key for customer onboarding and a significant contributor to burn, unless they are able to pivot into models that can sustain existing business operations without discretionary marketing spend, it is highly likely such businesses are in most trouble,” said Ankur Bansal, co-founder and director of BlackSoil. <div type="image" title="ankur-bansal" msid="95734341" hostid="261"></div> Late-stage startups in most trouble Cockroaches who intend to survive will also have to cut down their valuation expectations, experts say. This is especially true with late-stage startups, which will require more funds, and also need to demonstrate a path to generate cash. According to Shah, late-stage startups will face the most amount of trouble obtaining additional investment, as valuations reset and there’s renewed emphasis on profitability. There also needs to be moderation in valuation expectations, in line with the changing market dynamics. “Good companies will definitely get access to capital but they have to be more accepting of the valuation multiples. Some correction in multiples is needed for efficient markets, every once in a while. But yes, many companies have and should be open to strategic outcomes from larger peers or established corporates,” said Apoorva Sharma, partner at Stride Ventures. <div type="image" title="anirudha-Damani" msid="95734360" hostid="261"></div> How to turn into a cockroach? Sharma believes that Indian startup founders will channel their strong survival instincts. “They are pruning costs to ensure they have longer runways. Some companies have actually demonstrated improved unit economics,” she told Business Insider India. As per Shah, many of those who might fail the test are the ones with a Utopian vision of scaling up beyond their capacity. Cockroaches must have sound fundamentals like product demand, a short product development cycle, and controlled capital expenditures. “A key component of a successful cockroach startup is focusing on a specific niche or target market, at least early in its journey. A targeted, long-term business concept and a captive market are necessary for becoming a successful cockroach startup. A value-based proposition is crucial if an organisation wants to reach its target clients. A company needs a distinctive selling proposition in the business to get investors to reach for their pockets,” Shah says. Bansal believes that a strong focus on fundamentals and cash flows is of the essence– cockroaches are those startups that can shy away from the concept of growth at all cost and focus on capital efficiencies. Most VCs also say that it’s the founders who will have to go through the mindset change along with the startup. Majumdar lists the traits of a good cockroach that can thrive when funding is slow –“Survival instinct of the founders, ability to morph the business to a clear profitable path, inherently low key and not in the business of building profile for the sake of it.” SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/article/tatas-mega-aviation-merger-is-poised-for-flight-but-the-skies-are-not-clear-yet/articleshow/95526116.cms">Tata's mega aviation merger is poised for flight, but the skies are not clear yet</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/indias-gdp-growth-forecast-continues-to-see-cuts/articleshow/95664894.cms">India's GDP growth forecast continues to see cuts</a>

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Mobility fintech startup Moove raises $10 mn to expand India footprint

IANS

Venture debt firm Stride Ventures closes a $200 million fund

Eetika Kapoor

Startup community to come together for TiEcon Delhi 2023 on 17-18 March

BI India Bureau

Unicorns are passé, cockroaches are the new favourites of venture capitalists

Katya Naidu