Macquarie Asset Management’s ex VP, Pratik Adatia joins ZipLoan as Chief Financial Officer

Macquarie Asset Management’s ex VP, Pratik Adatia joins ZipLoan as Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Pratik Adatia brings in a wealth of experience to ZipLoan with an aim to strengthen the FinTech platform’s financial hold in the market

26th, October 2021: ZipLoan, an RBI-registered FinTech leader in India, has announced the appointment of Mr. Pratik Adatia as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Adatia will be a notable addition to the company’s ongoing advancement in the FinTech market. He will be leading the Finance (fundraise, treasury, co-lending and FPA), Legal & Compliance verticals at the organization.

Mr. Adatia brings in over 20 years of experience in the investment management and banking industry; focusing on investments, asset management, investment banking, corporate finance, audit and internal controls. Prior to joining ZipLoan, he served as Vice President at Macquarie Asset Management, a globally leading alternative asset manager, as well as other marquee firms including Macquarie Capital, PwC and Grant Thornton. Mr. Adatia has successfully closed transactions valued at $4 billion in aggregate. An alumnus of IIM Indore, he is a Chartered Accountant and holds an undergraduate degree (B.Com Hons.) from Delhi University.

Mr. Kshitij Puri, Co-founder and CEO, ZipLoan said, “We are thrilled to have Pratik join ZipLoan. He complements our strong performance-oriented culture and brings an extensive array of experience in corporate finance and asset management to the organization. We are sure that his association will bring an added impetus to achieve ZipLoan’s vision to be the most preferred in the financial ecosystem.”

Sharing his views on the association, Mr. Pratik Adatia, CFO, ZipLoan, said, “ZipLoan has come a long way in the FinTech industry. It has solved for the unmet needs of the MSME sector in India by (i) creating customized products with a customer-first approach, (ii) achieving industry-leading unit economics with the help of tech-driven processes, and (iii) proprietary underwriting using wealth of data and insights in key focus sectors within MSME landscape. I look forward to my role in enabling growth, financial excellence, and making ZipLoan the most preferred fintech for MSMEs.”

About ZipLoan:

An RBI-registered FinTech leader, ZipLoan is a mobile-first fintech platform that caters to credit and other requirements of small businesses in India. ZipLoan has been able to establish itself as the preferred fintech for MSMEs with c.70% of its customers being new to business loans despite having banking and bureau data.

The Delhi-based NBFC ensures the easy availability of unsecured working capital loans. It provides fast and hassle-free business loans ranging from Rs. 1 lac to Rs. 7.5 lacs to SMEs.

Using its state-of-the-art, tech-driven approach, ZipLoan has today simplified the lending activity for both lenders and their end customers by providing fast approval and easy repayments that are both user-friendly and transparent.

The company envisions creating a financial services ecosystem by becoming the most preferred and trusted financial services provider for small businesses. ZipLoan is currently operational in 5 Indian cities – Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, and Delhi. Their leadership team comes with experience across technology and financial services institutions.

So far, the company has raised c.$20 million in equity from some of India’s top VC Investors such as Elevation Partners and Matrix Partners. To date, ZipLoan has disbursed over INR 480 Cr of business loans to over 11,000 customers, of which c.25% are women borrowers.

PokerBaazi.com concludes the 2021 edition of India’s biggest poker tournament EndBoss

New Delhi, 26th October 2021: Hosted by PokerBaazi.com, India’s biggest standalone poker tournament EndBoss, with a monumental prize pool of INR 5 Crore, concluded its second edition. Delhi based 31-year-old MIT graduate, Ishaan Chugh, emerged as the winner of the tournament and took home over 71 Lakh as the prize money. The five-day action-packed tournament witnessed the participation of over 4800 poker players from different parts of the country, each trying to take down the mammoth prize pool.

With the closing of the second edition of EndBoss Tournament, Mr. Navkiran Singh, Founder & CEO at Baazi Games, said, “Tournaments of this scale are a testament to the fast-growing poker landscape in India. What was interesting to see was how we had players from different age groups, and from different walks of life take part in the event.” The 7-year-old homegrown Poker company, which has built award-winning products and technology, has been instrumental to the growth of Poker in the country.

The tournament came down to its final 8 around 9:00 PM on Sunday night. While Ishaan took away the top spot and earned the EndBoss title which got him the reputed golden EndBoss knuckle along with the handsome prize money, Dhiraj Lakhotia who hails from Darjeeling emerged as the runner up, followed by Divanshu Khurana from Gurgaon, who bagged the 3rd prize.

Ishaan is the CEO of Abacus- a boutique AI consulting firm. He is a graduate from MIT with a bachelor’s in computer science and is currently pursuing research program at INSEAD.

The first edition of the EndBoss poker tournament was held in April 2020, in which Pune based 28 years old Abhishek Maheshwari had won the title along with the biggest prize won by any Indian in any Indian poker tournament so far.

The final table of the 2021 EndBoss, which was played by the top 8 players of the event, also saw Mohammad Azhar who is 23, (Winner of National Poker Series and Indian poker’s first gold-medalist) emerge 7th. Interestingly, poker in India is witnessing an enthralling mix of players from different career paths and ages who are coming forward and take part in the mind sport.

Notably, participation in such interesting poker events is open to all audiences above the age of 18. PokerBaazi.com, which is India’s biggest poker platform, provides a variety of poker games running 24X7, thereby making the game available for all segments of the audience.

PokerBaazi.com
PokerBaazi.com is India’s biggest online poker platform that provides potential customers with an opportunity to play poker professionally in a safe and secured manner. The 24/7 customer support, user-friendly interface as well as wide array of tournaments, makes PokerBaazi.com an engaging platform to get involved with. Spearheaded by Founder & CEO of Baazi Games – Mr. Navkiran Singh, the platform currently has 2 million-plus registered users, which depicts a mushrooming growth of the platform’s reach since its inception in late 2014. The achievements of PokerBaazi.com are unprecedented, as it stands as a pioneer in the online poker landscape by introducing the first-ever loyalty program – ‘Baazi Rewards’ alongside organizing India’s hunt for gold medalists in poker through the prestigious National Poker Series. The constant innovations and loyalty rewards attract potential and new customers to this game of skill as PokerBaazi.com’s strong suit is to drive innovation and incremental changes for the organization at a holistic level.

Kikkoman wants its soy sauce in every Indian kitchen because a dash of it makes a great dish even more delicious

-Launching the Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce Experience, the first of a series of activities to promote Kikkoman Soy Sauce with an initial focus on the HORECA market-

Mumbai, India, 26 October, 2021: Kikkoman is on a mission to put a bottle of Kikkoman Soy Sauce on the shelf of every Indian kitchen. Having started to expand its operations in India, Kikkoman India is pleased to announce the Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce Experience. The goal is to make its most popular, naturally brewed Kikkoman Soy Sauce an everyday ingredient for all restaurants and households, and launching this movement across India is the first of many activities to introduce Japan’s No. 1 soy sauce brand to India.

The Honjozo Experience movement comprises three elements: Developing talent and fostering exchanges among chefs; educating everyone on the use of soy sauce through cooking sessions and contests; Learning the contribution Kikkoman Soy Sauce can make by experimenting through R&D in food culture.

Chefs are going to cook up a storm using Kikkoman Soy Sauce. All chefs from professional chefs to student chefs are going to experiment and learn what can be done with it. Through cooking contests, videos, talks, and workshops, the Honjozo Experience movement will bring together chefs, students, restaurants, hoteliers, the media, industry leaders as well as government representatives to explore how Kikkoman Soy Sauce can enrich any and all dishes served in India.

Hundreds of Indian chefs have since the launch in February 2021 already quickly adopted Japan’s No. 1 Kikkoman Soy Sauce because it is naturally brewed – using just soybeans, wheat, salt, and water as ingredients – and works like magic to heighten the flavour of any dish and lift it to another level. Kikkoman plans to continue working with all chefs in India as part of a great ‘adventure’ to experiment and co-create new delicious experiences with Kikkoman Soy Sauce, to enhance all dishes, be it Chinese, Asian or Japanese, or Western and Indian dishes too.

“We are starting an adventure to bring innovations in the richly diverse Indian food culture to create more delicious dishes through Kikkoman Soy Sauce. So far, it has worked brilliantly, be it in popular Chinese dishes with an Indian twist, or with briyani dishes, samosas, lamb keema, butter chicken and even in desserts, such as jalebis. Kikkoman Soy Sauce works fabulously with Indian spices, but our journey has just started. Kikkoman Soy Sauce has become a part of daily life in millions and millions of households worldwide in over 100 countries, and we are delighted that every Indian household will soon be able to enjoy it too.” Osamu Mogi, Member of the Board of Directors, Senior Executive Corporate Officer, Head of International Operations Division, Kikkoman Corporation, Japan said.

Kikkoman wants to replicate in India the revolution that the company brought about in America since the 1960s. Its popularity has risen to the point where 60 percent of US households now have Kikkoman Soy Sauce – Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce – in their kitchens.

“In India, the revolution will be driven by consumers realising that just a dash of Kikkoman Soy Sauce can transform all dishes that their families eat in their daily lives – both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, be it the popular Chinese dishes with an Indian twist, or the humble dal khichdi or the rich chicken kadai,” said Harry Hakuei Kosato, Kikkoman’s India representative.

Some chemically made soy sauces are available in India and usually used here to add colour to Chinese dishes, but Kikkoman wants Indian consumers to switch to enjoy the superior taste of Kikkoman Soy Sauce which is made with the Honjozo authentic soy sauce traditional brewing method. It involves a fermentation process that lasts several months, a process that cannot be rushed and is vital for the rich yet mellow flavour and those enticing notes of vanilla, coffee, flowers, fruits and 300 more flavours.

Indian cuisine boasts a dizzying multitude of delicious tastes and the beauty of Kikkoman Soy Sauce is that it adds a full-bodied umami flavour without dominating or interfering with the ingredients. Rather, it brings out the natural flavour of the dishes while adding depth and complexity.

“Just as Indian cuisine has already been enriched by ingredients brought from other countries over the centuries, which are now staples, so we think Kikkoman Soy Sauce will be the latest addition that will infuse yet another layer of flavour to an already delicious cuisine here,” Kosato elaborated.

Kikkoman’s Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce Experience: Cooking Sessions and Contests

Kikkoman Soy Sauce is already found in millions of homes, and in the kitchens of all professional chefs who appreciate and understand the value that Kikkoman brings to each dish. India is the next frontier. First, Kikkoman India will focus on reaching its HORECA consumers through the Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce Experience movement. Chefs in India will participate in exploring the uses of Kikkoman Soy Sauce and share their experiences in ‘Chef Conversations’ centred around Meetups, events, podcasts and talks. Kikkoman will also help to develop talent and inspire and educate chefs through cooking videos and an All-India Kikkoman Cooking Contest using Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce.

Chef Vicky Ratnani, one of Kikkoman India’s Brand Ambassadors for 2021-22, said: “Kikkoman has so much potential in India that Indians don’t know about – yet. The Kikkoman Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce Experience movement aims to develop new experiences for chefs and home chefs and I’m excited about what professional chefs and home chefs are all going to discover with the versatility of Kikkoman Soy Sauce in their kitchens,” he said.

After an initial focus on the restaurant and hospitality sector, Kikkoman India will launch a range of soy sauce related seasonings in Indian retail shops across the country. In fact, Kikkoman’s main product – Honjozo authentic soy sauce – has started to be available in some key retail outlets.

The Future Vision of the Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce Experience

Kikkoman has plans for India for the next 100 years and beyond. It is also organizing regular regional meetings and an annual conference bringing together professional chefs and home chefs, industry leaders, government representatives, academics, and media, both from Japan and India. There are currently some two million Indians studying to be chefs and the idea is to connect with them – the next generation of the culinary and hospitality industry – and the wider community – to showcase the delicious experiences that Kikkoman Soy Sauce can bring to the table.

About Kikkoman and Kikkoman India

With a history spanning over 350 years and based in Japan, the current Kikkoman corporate entity was established through merger of 8 families in 1917. The company’s internationalization strategy began some 60 years ago, with the entry into the United States market. In fact, Kikkoman products are now found in the majority, that is over 60%, of households in the United States. Kikkoman has become a global business, expanding to over 100 countries, with 10 manufacturing facilities worldwide that distribute its products all over the world to millions and millions of customers.

Kikkoman India is solely responsible for importing all Kikkoman products, and shall manage all marketing and sales, and distribution in India.

The Sustainability 100+ Summit Aims To Create A Blueprint For A Better World

26th October 2021: The Sustainability 100+ Summit, powered by AB InBev and Network18, will bring together policymakers, business leaders, climate experts, innovators and academicians on the same stage, to discuss the most pressing concern of our times – climate change. Building on an urgent need to implement climate change solutions, improve ESG compliance across businesses, and mobilize stakeholder groups, the event promises to establish a framework for sustainability, for the next 100 years and beyond.

The Sustainability 100+ initiative is a response to the precarious state of climate change mitigation efforts, as highlighted in the latest report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). To address specific challenges, the Summit will feature multiple panel discussions, touching upon topics ranging from the global and national impact of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to ways in which sustainability can be embedded in corporate goals to achieve SDGs, and the role of the State in championing SDGs. The illustrious names on the panel will also discuss ways to translate SDGs into ESG compliance, while also shining a light on Sustainability Champions of the world and the road ahead in sustainable development.

The first panel discussion will be on ‘4Ps of Sustainability’: Public Private People & Their Partnerships’, featuring Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism and Environment, Government of Maharashtra, Dushyant Chautala, Deputy CM, Haryana, Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, Dia Mirza, UNEP National Goodwill Ambassador, Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs & Partnerships SOA, Reckitt Beckinser, Charu Sethi, Head – Strategic Partnerships & Communications, UNDP, Dr. Lopamudra Priyadarshini, GM – CSR, Land, R&R, Sustainability & Community Relations, Hindalco Industries Ltd. and Jan Clysner, Vice President – Procurement & Sustainability, AB InBev.

For the second panel on ‘How States Can Champion SDGs’, the elite panellists invited will include Prabhjot Singh Sodhi, Sr Program Director – Circular Economy, Centre for Environment Education, Divya Tiwari, Principal Scientist & Advisor, Saahas, Anasuya Ray, Vice President – Corporate Affairs, AB InBev South Asia, and Gul Panag, Actor & Entrepreneur.

The panels will be moderated by Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, Anand Narsimhan, Executive Editor, Network18, and Sonal Bhutra, Anchor, CNBC. Apart from the insightful discussions, viewers will also be treated to keynote speeches, including one by Ezgi Barcenas, Chief Sustainability Officer, AB InBev, and a fireside chat on ‘Embedding Sustainability In Corporate Goals To Achieve SDGs’, with special representatives from UN and AB InBev. In addition, Cyrus Broacha will bring a different perspective to the proceedings, with a session on ‘Why Sustainability Has Become Hot Now?’

The Sustainability 100+ Summit is set to start a new dialogue on climate change and sustainability. It will also provide viewers with a glimpse into how businesses are preparing to tackle the oncoming era of socially responsible and eco-conscious operation.

Be part of this historic initiative for sustainability. Register at https://www.sustainability100plus.com/summit/ and remember to tune on October 28, 4 pm onwards.

ZingHR launches its New and Exciting – Brand Corporate Identity Program Globally

Mumbai, Oct 26th, 2021: ZingHR, the Global Mobile First, HRMS company, empowering over 700 enterprise customers worldwide with around 2 million product users, is excited to announce the launch of its brand-new corporate identity program. After weeks of intensive research on how to tune the brand positioning and make it more aligned to the company’s value, ZingHR team came up with a corporate identity that is backed by a new and unique logo unit along with associated color schemes and fonts.

Moving forward & transforming for the better, keeping in tune with the current trends and needs of the customers and a spike in the growth trajectory of the company, gave birth to the idea of building a new corporate identity for ZingHR.

The research used was based on color psychology, semiotics and symbolism along with a broad understanding of the brand perception in the market. The new logo unit that comprises a hummingbird fluttering its wings is based on elements of design thinking and flickering motion denoting the constant change dynamics that Zing represents.

The colors palette used are a mix of Blue, Black, Grey and Green which indicates messages that vary from calmness, trust, intelligence, power & elegance, to being professional and formal to growth, harmony and prosperity. These colors are precisely used for the corporate identity as they speak the language of the brand’s value system. Even the usage of fonts is contemporary, sleek and progressive which again translates to what ZingHR is, as an entity.

The rationale and idea behind the logo usage of a bird shows agility, movement and progress. The fluttering action shows that the brand is dynamic and not stagnant.

“A strong Corporate Identity is very important for the organization as it helps in the company’s interaction with its customers. Using a powerful and accurate identity, customers can get a great understanding of the brand on the whole. We, at ZingHR, are ecstatic to announce the new corporate identity program which will help us in creating a brand image for the external world and also help us in attaining our business goals.” says Prasad Rajappan, Founder & MD, ZingHR.

“A good brand identity helps in creating brand awareness and top of the mind recall for any company. We want to tell the world that we are striving for better and moving forward. The bird on our logo, for example, represents ZingHR as a progressive company that wants to always do better for their customers. As a company, our approach is driven by innovation, knowledge and a mantra of keeping our customers happy. Our new corporate identity program showcases our personality as a brand and also creates consistency in the minds of the audience. The identity will help us establish a relationship not only with our customers but with the world as well” says Michael Good, Global Chief Operating Officer, ZingHR.

“ZingHR has massive plans to go global this year and we have started our journey. We already have set footprints in SEA, APAC, ME and Australia this year and we are planning to go global in the next 2 quarters. Our growth trajectory is important so we needed a corporate identity program (CIP) that resounds our ambitions for a global footprint. We worked for weeks to build this current new corporate identity program. We reached out to a lot of enterprises, internal and external stakeholders to understand how we could represent outcomes with a growth focussed CIP and then after a lot of iterations we came up with this logo unit. The hummingbird depicts our eternal thought to be ever evolving and bringing in change in the growth dynamics. Our CIP will focus on a higher degree of CX and UX for our enterprise, mid- market and early-stage growth prospects and existing customers. Our objective is to be one of the top HRTech brands with a global footprint in the next year and this CIP will help us get a foot in that door of hope.” says Ravi Kikan, Director Online Sales, Marketing and Growth, ZingHR.

After weeks of defining a clear purpose, and envisioning how the brand ZingHR needs to look like, the corporate identity program finally took flight, keeping the vision and mission of this leading HRTech company.

Locking the Perfect Location

By Rohit Kharche, Director of The Baya Company

When it comes to real estate, the basic mantra is ‘location, location, location’. This is because it is undoubtedly the dominant factor when it comes to property and lifestyle and is the driving force behind its value and future appreciation. Your address is simultaneously also a crucial factor in shaping up your future accomplishments, lifestyle, and goals. Whether it is with an investment point of view or a desire to grow and better your lifestyle, the location is an aspect that needs thorough research and thought before buying a home.

Networking

Believe it or not, your location has a great influence on how you live, your growth trajectory, your lifestyle choices, and even your ambitions. An area that has a lot of commercial spaces, nearby offices, and hubs will see a lot of presence of neighbours that are young professionals and the upcoming leaders of various fields. A thriving network of influential neighbours will spill over to your life’s progress and growth tangent. A place like this is the perfect location for those looking at an ambitious, upgraded lifestyle and a pace of life that keeps up with global developments.

Convenience

The surrounding infrastructure and amenities play a key factor in the location’s desirability. A location that has multiple and reputed hospitals, schools, colleges, restaurants, and malls nearby will always see a lot of demand, especially from young homeowners. The accessibility of not just the location but the access to these places around is important as convenience and comfort are basic necessities associated with the perfect home. Additionally, a home near multiple railway and bus stations and various roads will always see growth and appreciation in the future.

Security

An area with a lot of activities, people and multiple travel options is considered a relatively safer neighbourhood. So, a location that checks off these aspects gives you the benefit of having a secure and safe neighbourhood for you and your family. And locations with little to no crime records always see a constant demand and appreciation in prices. Safety being a basic tenet of the idea of what is considered as a ‘good location’, this aspect is crucial when looking for a perfect home.

Developments

Apart from these factors, a pivotal aspect that shapes up any place’s identity is its architecture, layout, and overall aesthetics. When someone talks about a desirable address in Mumbai, inevitably what pops up in the minds of almost all Mumbaikars is South Mumbai due to its elaborate buildings, roads, tourist and leisure places, etc. The overall look and appeal of the place impact its demand and pricing as buyers are willing to spend for wholesome life. Many people think of it as a one-time investment for a better life for their family and a much better future fuelled by growth and developments.

Thorough research done well in advance about the various factors of the shortlisted locations can help you winnow out the best of homes in the areas that have a lot of potentials.