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One of the most affected sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic was the travel and tourism industry. In fact, many travel-tech startups in India faced months of no business. 

For EaseMyTrip — which offers travel booking services such as flights, hotels, visa processing, etc. — this posed a challenge. Brothers and co-founders Nishant Pitti, Rikant Pitti, and Prashant Pitti, initially set out to launch the company’s IPO in 2020, which didn’t happen. 

But, amidst every crisis lies an opportunity. On March 8, 2021, EaseMyTrip made its stock market debut by leveraging its lean cost model and no convenience fee strategy. 

According to Prashant, “We could never raise any capital, so we had to be frugal about everything we did, and being bootstrapped also meant thinking of profitability. Until December 2020, we didn’t think of an IPO. But the same month, we saw a 76 percent rise in our numbers, touching the pre-COVID levels. We have been extremely resilient because of our early bootstrapping days.” 

The co-founders diluted their 25 percent stake and issued shares worth Rs 510 crore, which was oversubscribed by 159 times, putting in a demand worth Rs 44,881 crore. The company was valued at Rs 2,040 crore during the IPO. 

Each share of EaseMyTrip was sold for Rs 187 at the IPO, and as of now, its shares are trading at Rs 230, generating 23 percent profit for investors within two months. 

Read all about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

Here are some useful tools to help you find the nearest vaccine centres in real-time.

You can also share a tribute to COVID-19 warriors, saviours, and survivors here.

The Interview

ICICI Bank recently launched ‘Merchant Stack’, a comprehensive stack of digital and contactless banking and retail services for merchants.

In an interaction, Pankaj Gadgil, Head – Self Employed Segment, ICICI Bank, explains the various pioneering features offered by the stack that allows merchants to bank and grow their business digitally safely and securely during these challenging times.

Editor’s Pick: Funding in India’s spacetech sector 

The Indian spacetech startup sector has long been regarded with caution by the investment community. But now, no longer.

The year 2021 has already seen three big deals in the Indian spacetech startup ecosystem, with Agnikul and Skyroot each raising $11 million — the most raised in the sector to date. Industry experts say this is only the beginning as investor interest continues to grow. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

The startup building a ‘Shopify for India’

Today, D2C brands have to work with almost 10 different partners to manage pieces of their ecommerce value chain, including tech agencies, marketing firms, and warehouse operators.

Gurugram-based startup ANS Commerce — started by Vibhor Sahare, Sushant Puri, Nakul Singh, and Amit Monga — is bringing all these different aspects on one platform with deep expertise and a technology-based approach. Read more.

News & Updates

• Edtech startup upGrad has acquired Impartus, a video-enabled learning solutions provider. As part of the deal, upGrad has committed over Rs 150 crore for the buyout and to invest in Impartus’ growth.

• In a blog post, Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) said that the digital financial institution emerged as the top beneficiary bank for UPI transactions for the period between February and April this year.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“Globally, some of the companies are finding it difficult to raise money in the travel sector. But at the same time, if there is one sector that will see growth once the lockdown eases, it is the travel segment.” 

— Sreedhar Prasad, Advisor, Analyst, ex-KPMG, and ex-Kalaari Capital

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