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On the path to profitability.

Tiger Global-backed BharatPe has had a fruitful fiscal. The fintech startup narrowed its losses by around 83% to Rs 941 crore in FY23 from Rs 5,615 crore a year ago while its revenue surged to Rs 1,028 crore in FY23, up from Rs 456 crore in FY22. 

In related news, BharatPe has reportedly concluded a $100-million debt round. And, its NBFC arm Trillion Loans reportedly secured a separate debt round from Credit Saison.

Moving on, ecommerce company Meesho’s Chief Product Officer Kirti Varun Avasarala is set to leave the company, multiple people aware of the matter told YourStory. 

This is the second CXO-level exit at Meesho in recent months. In October last year, the company’s CXO of Business Utkrishta Kumar quit the SoftBank-backed company to start up. 

Elsewhere, Bounce Infinity has partnered with Sun Mobility to deploy swappable batteries in 30,000 units of its scooters across key markets, including Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Lastly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated Boeing’s new global engineering and technology centre campus near Bengaluru. Built at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore, the 43-acre state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering and Technology Centre (BIETC) campus is the planemaker’s largest such investment outside the US, the company said.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Paytm’s Q3 revenue rises amid festivities
• TechSparks Mumbai is back for round 2
• Actor Shakeela on Malayalam cinema

Here’s your trivia for today: What was Namibia called before 1968?

Fintech

Paytm’s Q3 revenue rises amid festivities

Fintech 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%.

Top Deals of the Week

Startup: Wow! Momo Foods

Amount: $49M

Round: Equity

Startup: FinAGG Technologies

Amount: $11M

Round: Series A

Startup: AquaExchange

Amount: $6M

Round: Series A

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.

Celebrity

Actor Shakeela on Malayalam cinema

On the sidelines of the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode, Shakeela talks about arriving like a storm in Malayalam films in the 90s and being unapologetic about doing a series of soft-core pornographic films leading to her cult status.

“I was the hero, the heroine, and the story,” she said.

No regrets:

• “I am good at acting—if I have to cry on screen, I take inspiration from Manoramji (yesteryear Tamil actor); if I have to do a funny role, I think of Urvashi,” Shakeela said.
• Shakeela revealed that for Kinaara Thumbikal, she was paid Rs 20,000 for a five-day shoot. After it became a big hit, she realised that she was not being paid enough.
• She also believed that the #MeToo movement did not serve any kind of justice to the women.  “I am telling the film industry, make me a part of the ICC, I will ensure every complaint is taken seriously,” she said.

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.
• Shut down: Tata Steel will close its two blast furnaces in Britain by the end of this year, with the loss of up to 2,800 jobs at its Port Talbot steelworks plant in Wales.
• Stock rout: A punishing sell-off for Chinese equities has worsened in recent days as international investors, who bet on a rebound, lose faith that economic stimulus from Beijing is on the way. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index, a closely followed gauge of large Chinese listings in Hong Kong, has dropped about 11% so far this month after diving 14% last year. 

What was Namibia called before 1968?

Answer: South West Africa. The country was officially renamed Namibia in 1968.

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