MICRO ENTREPRENEURS

Aye Finance raises $30 million in debt from Dutch development bank

FMO is the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, with a mission to empower entrepreneurs to build a better world. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. Aye's net profit in FY24 grew nearly three-fold at Rs 161 crore while revenue was 67% higher at Rs 1072 crores as compared to the numbers in the preceding fiscal.

Kinara Capital's resilient model gives it 51% profit rise despite distress in fintech sector

The fintech company has been profitable even when the customer segment was disproportionately impacted, says Hardika Shah, Founder & CEO of Kinara Capital. She says this has happened on the back of a balanced business model and strategic planning.

Third Eye: BJP ally targets party leaders, micro, small and medium, and non-performing alliance partners

SBSP had fought the Lok Sabha polls as part of NDA and Rajbhar's son Arvind Rajbhar lost Ghosi to the SP candidate. While OP Rajbhar claimed that the viral video was 'mischievously edited' to show him in a bad light, some BJP leaders like Anil Rajbhar advised him to watch his words.

Here's how Shark Tank judge Mark Cuban made 300 of his employees into millionaires

Mark Cuban, known for his entrepreneurial success and role on Shark Tank, shares profits with employees following business sales. His practice began with MicroSolutions in 1990 and continued with ventures like Broadcast.com and HDNet. Cuban’s approach ensures employees benefit from company sales, with significant payouts like those seen during the Broadcast.com sale to Yahoo. His experiences highlight the importance of employee well-being and cautious financial decisions.

SBI and Muthoot Microfin join forces to support women entrepreneurs

Muthoot Microfin partners with State Bank of India to provide financial services to women in rural and semi-urban areas. The co-lending initiative targets joint liability groups involved in agriculture and other income-generating activities, offering loans ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 3 lakh.

For its third session, ET Make in India SME Regional Summit heads to Kolkata

After two successful stints, the ET MSME Summit is preparing to enter Kolkata with the objective of understanding the potential and the opportunities to empower the small and medium businesses in the city and the state.

Panel to examine if nutraceuticals can be produced within drug unit

In a significant development, a five-member expert committee has been appointed to assess the feasibility of allowing the manufacturing of nutraceuticals within drug manufacturing facilities in India. This decision comes after the country's drug regulator had previously warned of taking action against those violating regulations by producing supplements and drugs in the same facility.

Lesson for entrepreneurs: What are the common mistakes startup founders make and how to avoid them?

India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, with 1.17 lakh entities (DPIIT), nearly 1,710 venture capital funds, 794 accelerators and incubators (Tracxn), and several government initiatives like Startup India. Despite this fervour and support, financial and otherwise, the startup journey is extremely difficult.ET Wealth lists the typical mistakes most founders make and tell you how to tackle these

ET Make in India SME Regional Summit’s second session to be held in Lucknow

After a successful first show at Hyderabad, the ET Make in India SME Regional Summit will host its second show in Lucknow on May 25.

ET Make in India SME Regional Summit in Lucknow to highlight the city’s thriving labour-intensive industries

The second session of this year’s ET Make in India SME Regional Summit will be held in Lucknow with a special focus on uplifting the city’s MSMEs.

People+ai partners with 24 tech organisations to enable open cloud compute infra

AMD, Oracle, and various technology providers collaborate to address the increasing compute requirements. The partnership aims to enhance the compute ecosystem in India through the creation of a network of providers for accessible and tailored compute resources.

Only 3% women entrepreneurs in tier 2-3 cities have access to external funding: study

Merely 3% of women entrepreneurs in India's tier II and III cities had access to bank loans or equity investments. The study highlighted the need to close the gender gap in employment and the lack of data on women entrepreneurs.

Financial credit a challenge for almost half of women entrepreneurs in MSMEs: report

A ‘Bharat Women Aspiration Index Report’ by Tide India reveals a critical gap: 95% of surveyed women lack awareness of government schemes that could help finance their businesses, forcing them to rely on informal lenders.

Centre drawing up road map to invest in women entrepreneurs

Banks and insurance firms will launch campaigns and leverage digital banking units (DBUs) to enhance outreach, officials said, adding that a roadmap with quarterly targets is also being discussed.

Nivara Home Finance raises USD 10 million from Baring Private Equity India

Founded in 2015, Nivara is focused on providing affordable housing finance to micro-entrepreneurs and salaried customers. The ticket size for these housing loans generally ranges between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh, a relatively underserved segment.

Legalise WFH for entrepreneurs to allow credit access: MSMEs

In a submission to parliamentarians, FISME also sought reduction in cost of contractual litigation for MSMEs, insolvency rules to destigmatise failure and prevent suicide attempts among the stressed owners of small units, and making MSMEs resource-efficient to ensure sustainable jobs. FISME secretary general Anil Bhardwaj said the demands should be included in the manifestos of all political parties. Dates for the general election in the country are to be announced soon.

VisionSpring’s launches ‘Livelihoods in Focus’ to unlock over Rs 300 cr in income-earning potential

The organisation has announced its partnerships with the Indian Tea Association, five tea gardens and two eye hospitals in India.

Vellayan Subbiah is the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award 2023 winner

Vellayan Subbiah awarded EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023. Natarajan Chandrasekaran receives special jury award. Venu Srinivasan honored with 2023 Lifetime Achievement. Winners include Rafique A. Malik, Shahid Bilakhia, Deepinder Goyal, Team ICICI Bank. Impressive revenue and employment numbers. Rajiv Memani praises winners.

Scheme to give loans upto Rs 20 lakh launched for informal micro enterprises

As this initiative unfolds, it is expected to empower individual entrepreneurs and create an inclusive, dynamic, and resilient economic ecosystem, he said while inaugurating four technology centres and two extension centres in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The minister said stressed that MSMEs should strive hard and become world class, so that India can become self reliant.

N Chandra is the EY Entrepreneur of the Year-India (EOY) special jury award winner

In addition to these finalists, EY has also announced that Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus, TVS Motor Company will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Tata Sons’ Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran will be felicitated with Special Jury Award.

Assam government launches scheme to develop 40 lakh women SHG members as rural micro-entrepreneurs

The Assam government has introduced a scheme aiming to transform approximately 40 lakh women Self Help Group (SHG) members into Rural Micro Entrepreneurs or "Lakhpati Baideos" (sisters) with an annual income target of 1 lakh for each member. The scheme, with an allocation of around Rs 4000 Crore, focuses on promoting entrepreneurship while incorporating population and girl child education norms.

Are the lenders to Bharat set for a comeback? 4 micro finance stocks with upside potential of up to 40%

It is a global phenomenon, when any new sector emerges, it gets extremely high valuation, then too much money flows into it. Then soon comes a phase of realization that it has become too hot to handle and then correction takes place which might take years. Microfinance companies have gone through this cycle. More than a decade back, first listing of a micro finance company was a massive success though it is a different matter very soon it was embroiled in a controversy and finally taken over by a large private bank. Since then a number of finance companies have got listed and after a phase of out performance, they have been facing headwinds but then headwinds also don't remain for ever. Is the worst over for them and is it time to once again look at them ?

SBFC Finance's top management on the upcoming IPO, future plans and more