Ashwini Vaishnaw guest of honor at ETSA 2024; ecommerce festive sales on track

Happy Monday! Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the guest of honor at The Economic Times Startup Awards 2024. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in this letter:
■ Best On Campus winner interview
■ Wakefit’s FY24 financials
■ Adda247 acquires PrepInsta

---

Ashwini Vaishnaw will be guest of honor at The ET Startup Awards

Union minister for railways, information and broadcasting, electronics, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the guest of honor at the 10th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) on Saturday, October 5.

ETSA@10: Vaishnaw is no stranger to the event, which over the years has grown to be the country’s most coveted recognition in entrepreneurial excellence. ETSA will feature a stellar roster of founders, investors, and policymakers as ETSA 2024 marks a decade of celebrating India’s best and brightest entrepreneurs and startups.

AI in India: The country has positioned itself as a key player in global policy-making on artificial intelligence (AI), steered by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) that Vaishnaw heads, with India underscoring its commitment to fostering responsible AI development on a global scale.

Vaishnaw, who has also been at the helm of India’s rollout of its personal data protection law that impacts digital companies across the spectrum, is expected to detail the government’s agenda for the coming months to the who’s who of the startup world.

Winners: The winners of ET Startup Awards 2024 were chosen at a meeting of the elite jury on September 11, led by Infosys cofounder and chairman Nandan Nilekani, in eight categories from a shortlist of 41 nominees.

Omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart bagged the coveted Startup of the Year award. Mukul Arora, co-managing partner at Elevation Capital, was chosen winner of the coveted Midas Touch award for best investor because of his asset sense of timing in making exits from early bets.

Here are all the important stories on ET Startup Awards 2023:

---

Sale is live! ecommerce cos see robust demand this season

The ecommerce sales season kicked off three days ago. Assisted by identical growth across categories, the festive season sale looks set to clock 20-25% year-on-year (YoY) growth.

Festive surge: From September 26-28, online retailers clocked about 26% growth in sales compared to last year at about Rs 26,500 crore or $3.2 billion, according to Datum Intelligence. The market research company has estimated a total gross sale of $12 billion during the festive season–a growth of around 23%–including discounts and returns.

Critical time: Online marketplaces have been impacted by the rise of quick commerce, which is eating into their market share in the top cities, making the festive season critical for them, especially this year. Both Flipkart and Amazon said in separate press statements they continue to see robust consumer demand across segments. Several brands across segments like luggage, electronics and accessories, and household items told us they have seen a significant growth compared to a business-as-usual or BAU day.

Capacity constraints: However, some deliveries on Amazon India may face delays in a few cities as top vendors have been informed by Amazon about ‘capacity constraints at its warehouses, meaning sellers will have to ship on their own and not from Amazon fulfillment centers.

Also Read | Meesho’s festive sale sees record orders on first day, 100% up on year

---

ETSA 2024: ClaimBuddy wins by easing insurance claims pain for all

Khet Singh Rajpurohit and Ajit Kumar Patel, cofounders, ClaimBuddy

It was during Khet Singh Rajpurohit’s stint at a healthcare startup that he gained firsthand experience with patients faced with settling insurance claims. The cofounder of ClaimBuddy saw numerous cases where individuals had to extend their hospital stays or endure more stress simply due to delayed or denied claims.

During his second year at IIM Bangalore, Rajpurohit reached out to Ajit Patel, his former colleague, and both of them envisioned a solution that would simplify the claims process for patients and healthcare providers alike. ClaimBuddy won this year’s Best on Campus category at The Economic Times Startup Awards.

Industry issue: Typically, the insurance industry includes third-party administrators (TPAs), who work with insurers for claim processing. However, there is no such interface available for hospitals and patients.

As much as 91% of total premiums collected from selling health insurance policies gets claimed back. While there are many companies selling insurance, almost none are solving the claims issue, even after both being equally large markets, said Rajpurohit.

Quote, unquote: “ClaimBuddy is a commitment to ensure that patients receive the care they need without the added stress of navigating complex insurance processes. We are driven by the belief that healthcare should be compassionate, efficient, and accessible for everyone,” said Rajpurohit.

---

Other Top Stories By Our Reporter

Wakefit wakes up to profit in FY24: Bengaluru-based mattress and furniture maker Wakefit reported a 24% year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue to Rs 1,017 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2024. The company said it returned to profitability during the financial year, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and depreciation (Ebitda) of Rs 65 crore.

Edtech startup Adda247 buys placement preparation platform PrepInsta: Google-backed edtech startup Adda247 has acquired PrepInsta, a placement preparation platform. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal marks Adda247’s entry as an integrated provider of job-focused education and skilling programs spanning public and private sector jobs.

Tier-2, 3 cities make a small dent in Bengaluru’s GCC growth story: Even as Bengaluru continues to be the hub of global capabilities centers (GCCs) in India, it has seen a 4.4 percentage point fall in its share of GCC units over the past five financial years, according to an analysis by ET.

Persistent sees more interest in fixed price deals: CEO | Persistent Systems is seeing more interest in outcome-based (fixed price) deals than deals that are priced based on time and material, said its chief executive Sandeep Kalra.

Old roots meet new routes: Young turks embrace technology to modernize family businesses: Coimbatore, known for its textile units, manufacturing prowess, and more recently as a burgeoning software hub in Tamil Nadu, is witnessing a quiet transition in its legacy businesses.

---

Global Picks We Are Reading

■ Who’s left at OpenAI? Sam Altman consolidates power after failed coup (FT)

■ Space travel is dangerous. Could genetic testing and gene editing make it safer? (MIT Technology Review)

■ The US could finally ban inane forced password changes (Wired)