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Hello,

Holi was colourful indeed, even for quick commerce platforms.

Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa shared on X that the platform hit the highest order per minute on Sunday, surpassing Valentine’s Day’s record. Also, the highest-selling gulal colour was yellow.

Also, Instamart head Phani Kishan Addepalli posted that one in five orders on Swiggy’s grocery delivery vertical in Mumbai was for pichkaris.

On Zepto, as Holi celebrations were winding down, the sale of juices and mixers was spiking. CEO Aadit Palicha posted that their sale was expected to double by EOD, while the sales of laundry essentials were also at a record high.

In other news, Amul’s fresh milk will be available outside India for the first time.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation will be launching four variants of milk in the US market within a week. It will target NRIs and the Asian population in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Washington, and Texas.

Oh, and did you see the dog who invaded the pitch during the IPL match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians?

It dodged security like Messi! 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Helping women attain financial freedom
• Inside the world of content creation
• India’s e-mobility to grow in 2024

Here’s your trivia for today: Which city has the highest density of roundabouts?

Women empowerment

Helping women attain financial freedom

Fintech startup slice collaborated with Pollinate Group, an NGO that empowers women to become entrepreneurs, to launch Project slice-Shiksha as a six-month-long training programme in digital literacy.

“We also train them in selling products and made them economically independent so that they can express themselves freely and make decisions for the family as well,” says Sujatha Ramani, CEO of Pollinate Group.

Digitally equipped:

• The teams of slice and Pollinate conducted a survey of 103 women and found that about 34% had no prior digital transaction experience.
• The training focuses on digital literacy, including how to use UPI, cash and time management, business management, marketing strategies, and customer relations.
• After conducting a basic community need assessment, the women were provided with clean energy products like solar fans, lights, women’s hygiene-related products, and more.

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The first cohort consisted of 100 women

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TechSparks

Inside the world of content creation

In content creation, everyone expects to be a T20 star, but the space is like an ongoing test match, said Niyati Mavinkurve, Co-founder, Abhi and Niyu, at TechSparks Mumbai.

Niyati and her husband Abhiraj Rajadhyaksha started their official YouTube channel, Abhi and Niyu, in 2020. It has amassed 2.8 million followers on Instagram and 5.7 million YouTube subscribers.

Creator’s journey:

• Niyati emphasised the absence of a definitive rulebook, stressing instead the significance of consistency and the drive to make an impact.
• “Monetising content isn’t exclusive to creators; it merely captivates outsiders. Creating impactful content hinges on fulfilling a need, not necessarily a groundbreaking idea,” Abhiraj said.
• He noted that positive feedback often eludes creators while negative comments can prove overwhelming. He stressed the importance of developing immunity to negativity.

Mobility

ICYMI: India’s e-mobility to grow in 2024

With major policy overhauls, the industry-defining initial public offering of Ola Electric, and increasing investor interest in the sector on the anvil, 2024 is set to become a defining year for the Indian electric mobility industry. 

Although the EV sector is still quite young, e-mobility will remain an investor favourite in 2024. Anita Rehman, Partner at Celesta Capital, says that while late-stage deals—Series A and upwards—will be struck, investors will “favour established businesses showcasing robust growth metrics.”

Electrified:

• Logistics players and last-mile delivery companies have been switching over to electric vehicles, in conjunction with startups such as Zypp Electric—and this will pan out more meaningfully in 2024, says Mayuresh Raut, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Seafund.
• The need for sustainable disposal methods of batteries, as well as setting up a circular economy model within the EV sector will further spur activity and investments in battery recycling companies, says Atul Gupta, Co-founder of e-Sprinto.
• It is expected that FAME III will provide subsidies to boost the country’s charging infrastructure either directly to private entities, or via public-private partnerships.

News & updates

• More probes: The European Union opened an investigation into Apple, Alphabet, and Meta, in its first probe under the sweeping new Digital Markets Act (DMA) tech legislation. Under the DMA, tech firms are not allowed to block businesses from telling their users about cheaper options or subscriptions outside of an app store.
• Tit for tat: China has introduced guidelines that bar the use of US processors from AMD and Intel in government computers and servers. The new rules also block Microsoft Windows and foreign database products in favour of domestic solutions.
• Heads roll: Boeing Co-CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by year-end in a broad management shakeup brought on by the planemaker’s sprawling safety crisis stemming from a January mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX plane. Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, would retire and Stephanie Pope would lead that business. 

Which city has the highest density of roundabouts?

Answer: Carmel, USA, where one in every 17 intersections is a roundabout.

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