Health worker collect swab sample testing for Covid-19 at CP in new Delhi on Monday March 22, 2021.(Photo:Wasim Sarvar/IANS)
Blinken , American businesses leaders, the US Chamber of Commerce and the US-India Business Council held talks on assistance towards India fight against Covid19…reports Asian Lite News
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US pointpersons for Covid-19 relief have met with business leaders to discuss mobilising the private sector to help efforts in India to fight the pandemic, according to State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
Blinken held a virtual meeting on Monday with leaders of American businesses, the US Chamber of Commerce and the US-India Business Council “to discuss how the US and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the US private sector to support urgent Covid-19 relief efforts in India,” Price said.
Blinken was accompanied by the Coordinator for Global Covid Response and Health Security, Gayle Smith, and the National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell, at the meeting.
Productive conversation with @USIBC today on how the United States and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the U.S. private sector as we urgently work toward solutions for India's COVID-19 crisis.
They gave the business representative an update on US assistance and welcomed coordinating the assistance efforts with US industry, Price said.
The USIBC tweeted after the meeting that the US businesses are mobilising to meet the critical needs in India.
In a tweet, Blinken called the meeting “productive” and said they discussed how the US and India can leverage the expertise and capabilities of the US private sector to meet the Covid-19 crisis.
Investment platform Groww, messaging bots startup Gupshup, digital pharmacy API Holdings Pvt., app developer Mohalla Tech and social commerce startup Meesho Inc are latest entrants, reports Asian Lite News.
It was an historic week for India’s technology industry as in the space of four days, the country minted at least six new startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more.
The investment platform Groww raised money at a valuation of more than $1 billion, messaging bots startup Gupshup hit $1.4 billion, digital pharmacy API Holdings Pvt. was valued at close to $1.5 billion, app developer Mohalla Tech surpassed $2.1 billion, social commerce startup Meesho Inc. also reached $2.1 billion and financial-technology provider Cred rounded out the blessing of unicorns at $2.2 billion.
Global investors such as Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. and South Africa’s Naspers Ltd. see growing opportunity in the country’s startup scene.
India has long trailed well behind the U.S. and China in the amount of venture capital money invested in startups. The total value of deals in 2020 was $11.8 billion, compared with $143 billion in the US and $83 billion in China, according to researcher Preqin.
But several startups have emerged recently to signal the potential. Digital payments giant Paytm reached a valuation of $16 billion, making it the most valuable in the country, according to CB Insights. Online-education startup Byju’s is rasing money at a $15 billion valuation, Bloomberg News reported last week.
Flipkart, the e-commerce giant acquired by Walmart Inc. in 2018, is targeting an initial public offering in the fourth quarter that could value the company at more than $35 billion.
The report noted that the venture investments are helping to diversify India’s industry, long best known for tech services companies such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of online technologies in India, perhaps even more than in other countries. During the coronavirus pandemic and the stringent lockdowns of last year, more than 1,600 new startups were founded, taking the total in the country to over 12,500, according to a January report by Nasscom, the country’s technology industry trade body.
More than 55 of these are potential unicorns, the report said, what the venture industry refers to as “soonicorns.”
“The surge of funding and the breeding of unicorns is not a surprise because India has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world and the third-largest market for such startups,” managing partner at 3one4 Capital Advisors LLP Pranav Pai was quoted as saying.
Pai said he knows of at least six new unicorns that will be minted in the next few months. While $20 million rounds were notable five years ago, startups are scaling very quickly and raising $100 million to $200 million rounds nowadays, he said.
Startups begin to shun Chinese investment
Paying heed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to build a self-reliant India amid the new normal, Indian tech startups have begun to shun Chinese investment as Indian corporates and wealthy individuals, along with investors from other countries, are funding desi companies more than ever.
In 2019, Chinese investors poured $3.9 billion into India, up from $2 billion in 2018. This investment scenario took a turnaround from May last year amid face-offs and skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops at locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
India rolled out a new policy last year to block “opportunistic takeovers”, requiring all foreign direct investment (FDI) from neighbouring countries to be directly approved by the government.
As a result, the investment from China in Indian companies fell down to $263 million across 15 deals in the first half of 2020.
The Indian tech startup base has witnessed a steady growth at a scale of 8-10 per cent (year-on-year) with over 1,600 tech startups and a record number of 12 additional unicorns added in 2020 — the highest ever in a single calendar year, according to the latest Nasscom-Zinnov report.
Sensing the atmosphere, homegrown tech startups have started to look around for investments within the country, and their calls have been answered.
In mid-March, the existing investors, along with a few prominent Indians, bought out Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital’s minority stake in Twitter’s homegrown rival Koo’s parent company Bombinate Technologies.
EDB’s move to provide support to businesses and start-ups set to drive the national economy, reports Asian Lite News
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved the Emirates Development Bank (EDB) Strategy to provide a sizeable AED30 billion financial support to businesses and start-ups in a major step to drive the national economy.
Launched to support “Operation 300bn”, the EDB Strategy aims to leverage the Bank’s role as a key driver of the national economy to provide the largest support network for the industrial sector.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “Advancing the national economy is a top priority that requires a joint effort of all our economic entities in the coming phase.”
He added, “We must adopt a distinctive vision that meets global trends and sustains development to maximise the industrial sector’s revenue and boost the broader economy. The Emirates Development Bank Strategy presents a giant leap that will leverage the bank’s role as a key driver of the national economy. Providing effective financial solutions will support the role of SMEs as main players in shaping our national economy.”
The EDB Strategy was launched in the presence of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; and H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, among other delegates and officials.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid had launched Operation 300bn earlier in March as a 10-year comprehensive strategy to more than double the industrial sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP, positioning the UAE as a global industrial hub by 2031.
Supporting Operation 300bn Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of EDB, presented the Bank’s strategy pillars and objectives.
Under the strategy, the Bank allocated a portfolio of AED30 billion to support priority industrial sectors over a period of five years, which will contribute to financing more than 13,500 SMEs and creating 25,000 jobs.
Al Jaber noted that the launch of the strategy is based on the Bank’s role as a key driver of the national economic development that provides a large support network for the industrial sector in line with the Industrial Strategy 2021-2031 objectives.
He said, “Operation 300bn is a comprehensive national programme aimed at enhancing the contribution of the industrial sector to the UAE’s sustainable economic growth. Through close collaboration, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Emirates Development Bank will extend support to large corporations, SMEs and entrepreneurs across various industries including healthcare, infrastructure, food security and technology.”
Al Jaber noted that EDB will act as a critical financial engine for the national industrial strategy Operation 300bn, alongside its continued mandate to provide Emiratis with housing finance. “The new EDB strategy will help accelerate industrial development and the adoption of advanced technology through dedicated financing programmes and will also provide dedicated investment funds that will support entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs.”
In addition to providing flexible housing solutions, EDB will complement its offering to companies and entrepreneurs with training, counselling and guidance for UAE citizens and residents. “EDB aims to cultivate a spirit of innovation, with a focus on the industries our leadership have identified as critical to the nation’s long-term sustainable growth,” he said.
Al Jaber noted, “EDB will provide other tools including supply chain support, project financing, long-term financing, business accelerators, equity capital financing, and a business growth support fund.”
He added that maintaining and furthering sustainable economic development in the post-COVID-19 era is a priority for the UAE’s leadership.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Dubai
“We are grateful to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for approving the Emirates Development Bank’s new strategy, which aims to stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation across the UAE’s vibrant industrial sector by providing financing solutions to large companies, entrepreneurs and SMEs. Through the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE continues to reinforce its global reputation for progress and ingenuity as it prepares for the next 50 years.”
He added, “His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is confident our country will reach many important milestones in the next 50 years. And His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has emphasised the need for a unified national effort, calling on the entire country to multiply their efforts ten-fold to ensure the nation’s ambitious goals are met.”
Al Jaber stated that “Alongside the close cooperation between the Ministry and the EDB, Operation 300bn is the result of a tremendous collaborative effort with our stakeholders, which has in turn enabled and allowed us to develop practical, integrated solutions that we can begin implementing right away.” The Bank will also launch an AED1 billion investment fund for start-ups and SMEs in 2022 and targeting industrial companies in priority sectors that need financing and investment
