Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week (see the previous edition here). Share these 25 gems and insights from the week of October 17-23 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See our special compilation of quotes related to India’s coronavirus responses here.
The rate at which the country’s going, the rate at which the tech industry is growing, everything is an opportunity, perhaps a challenging opportunity. You just need to have the money and the plan to execute it. – Ashish Anthony, JUSTDOGS
Indian SaaS companies are able to build global businesses far more efficiently—they spend less than half the amount of money for every dollar of ARR (annual recurring revenue) earned compared to global peers. – Mohan Kumar, Avataar
India has skills to build software for not only customers outside of the country but also for India-specific problems. – Arjun Sethi, Tribe Capital
We have about 400 million students and 55,000 higher education institutions in India, making us one of the largest education ecosystems in the world. – Sunil PP, AISPL
A recent study by WCS India highlighted the scale of illegal trade of marine species. It is feared that if this trade continues, we may lose some species forever and many beyond their ecologically functional thresholds. – Rushikesh Chavan, The Habitats Trust
Indian MSMEs lag far behind their international counterparts in terms of technical expertise due to their reliance on low wage, informal workers who do not possess the necessary education and training to contribute significantly to production. – Vikram Gera, ANZIBA
India needs a place where women and LGBTQIA+ community can talk openly about their sex lives, their desires, traumas, and health issues. – Aishwarya Dua, Sassiest
When we look at the health challenges endured by women over the age of 40, there is nothing much being done. – Swathi Kulkarni, Elda Health
CSR will play a key role in India meeting sustainable development goals (SDG) by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2070. – Anas Rahman Junaid, Hurun India
The used two-wheeler market, which by all accounts should be a thriving, well-orchestrated market, is plagued by issues that make it a classic market for lemons. – Piyush Kharbanda, Vertex Ventures
Electric three-wheelers have a market share of over 50% of sales nationally. We expect the two-wheeler market to follow a similar trend in the next two to three years, with four-wheelers following shortly after. – Sameer Aggarwal, Revfin
The demand [for drones] is sure to rise and we are expecting high demand from the coming rabi season. – Deepak Bharadwaj, IoTechWorld Avigation
When it comes to indoor mobility, 95 percent of all wheelchairs that are sold in India are one-size-fits-all. – Vivek Sarda, NeoMotion
Consistent, stable returns over the years with strong credit risk performance, and upside potential from equity kickers have proven to be a healthy combination for investors. – Vinod Murali, Alteria Capital
For the venture debt asset class, India is a relatively younger market compared to its global peers, which reflects a significant opportunity for raising and deploying capital. – Punit Shah, Alteria Capital
In the Indian lending ecosystem, over 60 crore digital paperwork transactions are needed annually to completely eliminate physical paperwork. – Shivam Singla, Leegality
With 5G and India stack, people in small towns or even rural areas can get credit in a completely paperless and without any human contact to meet their consumption or working capital requirements. – Nirmal Jain, IIFL
Supply chain is a deep problem in India with a credit gap of more than $300 billion and SME/MSMEs require access to capital through innovative financing solutions. – Sagar Agarvwal, Beams
The [BNPL] sector is a high-yielding one as it is predicted to expand by an astounding 11 times to $43 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 80%. – Ashish Mehrotra, Northern Arc
Over the last five years, the number of donors who have given more than Rs 100 crore has grown from 2 to 15, and over Rs 50 crore have grown from 5 to 20. – Anas Rahman Junaid, Hurun India
India is a huge market for celebrity engagement services, with users demonstrating high fandom levels. – Akshay Saini, Tring
India is noted to be an active contributor to this [pet owners] league with a promising pet population of 32 million, which is growing at a rate of more than 12 percent annually. – Market Decipher report
Given that new-age India parents think differently, we see a massive opportunity in the space of newborn shopping and gifting. – Varun Ghai, Mama & Peaches
India has enormous demand for eyewear, and the organised play is growing by 2x every year. – Shivi Singh, ClearDekho
There is a clear shift in the $47 billion fitness and wellness industry of solopreneurs breaking away from institutions and building their own digital and hybrid businesses. – Manasi Shah, Accel
With 5G pushing consumption of video content, live commerce will become more frequent, and ecommerce platforms will be hosting more such sessions during the festive season and business-as-usual periods. – Amit Relan, mFilterIt
This year, the festive season brings a lot of opportunities for SMEs, especially creating job opportunities for millions of Indians who are otherwise unemployed during the larger part of the year. – Sandip Chhettri, TradeIndia
YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).
