CheqUPI (YC S23)’s Post

UPI is going global. France, Bhutan, Oman, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Countries in the Southeast Asia, Mauritius and soon even the UAE, All these countries have come forward to accept India Unified Payments Interface. And why not? UPI is like India’s Favorite Child. The payments interface has the global CEOs of big tech going Awe of. One app for all payments. Sounds cool right and India is the world’s largest payments ecosystem even beating the world’s largest economy the US in the fintech revolution. So, What does the internationalisation of UPI mean for the rest of the world and why should the US be worried about this? https://lnkd.in/gg2BikQW

Wishing you a joyous Independence Day from everyone at Godspeed! In the spirit of our incredible nation, we are advocates for the democratization of technology in the products that are shaping our future. For more about us and our mission, check out our website. Link in the bio. #IndependenceDay #India #TechInnovation #StartupLife #EntrepreneurJourney

Here's what I learned from using Jhotika Inc. for our Canada -> Bangladesh trip planning (so far): ✅ Stress-Free Packing: Jhotika did its job! I didn't miss a single item on my trip – a huge win for a month-long adventure. 💚 Digital Vault Success: Having all my travel documents and files stored in the offline-accessible Vault was incredibly convenient. No more file/mail searching! Areas to improve: ⚠️ Offline Functionality: Some features currently rely on an online dependency that can be bypassed. We'll be making these features work seamlessly offline soon. FIX ASAP: 🛑 As a party of two, both of us had to create their own trips <ugh> The good news is that trip sharing is a top priority, and we're on track to launch it by the end of the month! ⭕ Missed opportunity: If Jhotika could have told me about the transit visa requirement, it would save us a couple of days and $$$ We'll continue to push our greens to deeper greens and are committed to ship fixes faster. #jhotika #traveltech #startup #startupjourney

When these giants join forces, unifying micro economies to a mega economy, one can rest assured that India's future is bright and beautiful. We begun our journey last year convinced that Europe needs a shift in thinking - from platform centric models to network centric models - reimagining how mobility services can be opened up for non-linear innovations. We started with the fundamental questions: - Why can't we discover and transact with any mobility service functioning in any part of the world on digital interfaces of our choice? To answer this, we were to be put in touch with sujith nair at the start of our journey. Together with FIDE (previously Beckn Foundation), we championed for Beckn in Europe. Youri Doeleman and Antler would take a bet on us when others in the local European ecosystem said - "...this is complex, why are you even trying this out?" - What makes a car owner leave the comfort of the car to use shared and public transportation? To answer this, I had given up the car I owned 3 years ago, to travel around using public and shared transportation only. In the process, I learnt "what comfort I am giving up", "what impact I am creating", "how can this be bridged seamlessly?". My personal CO2 emissions dropped from an average of 150g/ km to less than 5g / km. It isn't as comfortable as a personal car's comfort, but this chain of thoughts has been the single trigger point: Lesser cars on the road, lesser the congestion, lesser the emissions, lesser the requirement to build roads in the city, lesser urban heating, lesser honking, more car-less neighbourhoods, more playgrounds, more public spaces to nurture future generations, more happiness. The true insignia of a thriving city is the affluence with which its residents use its public and shared transport. Fast forward by an year, this is happening in India, and in the hands of these great visionaries on stage. We are beyond thrilled to see Antler, Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) and FIDE (previously Beckn Foundation) coming together, paving the way for a new India. This is India's moment, there is no doubt. And no doubt, this will be among the greatest inspiration for Europe and the rest of the world. #antler #ondc #fide #beckn #newindia Jef Heyse Amit Pal Ronald Jan Schuurs Magnus Grimeland Davy Louwers Arun Sadhashivan Nitin G. Antler Rajiv Srivatsa Ravi Prakash Bharath Shankar Ganapathy

💚 Founded in 2012 by Mudassir Sheikha, Magnus Olsson, and Abdullah Elyas, Careem is a ride-hailing service that became a major competitor to Uber in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.  It started operating as a website-based service for corporate car bookings, and evolved to become a ridesharing company with car hire for everyday use. The company’s focus on localized services and understanding regional needs played a key role in its success. Careem is led by a powerful purpose to simplify and improve the lives of people making it easier than ever to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more. Since 2012, Careem has created earnings for over 2.5 million Captains, simplified the lives of over 50 million customers, and built a platform for the region’s best talent to thrive and for entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. In 2019, Uber acquired Careem for $3.1 billion. Today Careem operates in over 70 cities across 10 countries, from Morocco to Pakistan. Inspiring, isn't it?

When Uber acquired Careem in 2019 (a year after I left Uber), the UAE-based ridesharing platform with a charismatic Pakistani CEO was on a growth tear – including in Pakistan, which was the company's top market when it passed one billion rides in 2022. Since then, Careem has been forced to pull back due to Pakistan's mercurial economic conditions, including a punishing devaluation of the rupee. Competitors InDrive and Yango have surpassed Careem to become the most popular platforms in the country – but Careem isn't done yet. Now the company is experimenting to get its advantage back: Zuha Siddiqui reports from Karachi, for Rest of World. https://lnkd.in/gwVEC3kz

Market research is the key to achieve growth for any startup in India.

An intriguing question on #india's #openmobility has been on my mind for the past few days: Is Namma Yatri Government backed? Why do I have this question ? Consider these facts: * Beckn Protocol powers Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) * Beckn Protocol was piloted in #Kochi through #yatri * #yatri is #ONDC backed, JUSPAY owned * Namma Yatri is #ONDC backed, JUSPAY owned * Yatri Sathi is #ONDC / #NammaYatri backed, #westbengal Govt. owned So, essentially JUSPAY is the common element in the above and Beckn Protocol was initially specified for #urbanmobility How did we get to this situation? * FIDE (previously Beckn Foundation) was created * FIDE (previously Beckn Foundation) initiated a pilot with support from JUSPAY and #KMTA in #Kochi (this led to #yatri App) * Beckn Protocol was created with a mix of corporate (JUSPAY and others?) and philanthropic funding via #becknopencollective, a volunteer network * Central Government adopts Beckn Protocol and creates Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) * Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) backs #yatri (#Kochi) Namma Yatri (#Bengaluru) and Yatri Sathi (#Kolkata) * Success of Namma Yatri turbo charges Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) transactions to record levels So, the answer to my own intriguing question is both yes and no: Yes, Namma Yatri is government (#ONDC) backed and No, because it is just a corporate led commercial venture. Teasing ambiguity!! No wonder that a large number of Bengaluru drivers think it is a Govt app, while customers think that it is driver union led app - a convenient perception that clearly fuelled the phenomenal growth and aligned with corporate goals. Very neat, Isn't it? Who said #philanthropy cannot be leveraged to direct the #community efforts for #corporate success? So, what's still missing in #openmobility? * #apps by different companies and modes to experience the magic of #interoperability; * participation and consultation with diverse #stakeholders (#drivers, #urbanplanners, #transportplanners); and * #open governance on #digitalcooperative principles Interesting year ahead for #openmobility and digital #ridehailing in #india !! Join the conversation so that collectively we can ensure #society gets it right and removes the inherent inequities in the current ridehailing business models.

I am sharing the #BTS of being a part of FICCI’s delegation to showcase Indian business solutions amongst select industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers in the Bay Area and DC. It was a fantastic experience to represent the growing start-up ecosystem in India that wants to expand to the US! Needless to say, everyone has personal takeaways from such trips. Witnessing FICCI’s delegation from AI in farming to languages, digital commerce, and finance is a privilege! And so was the camaraderie of the delegation. From birthday celebrations, bus trips, Uber shares, breakfast banter, and timekeeping; Poornima Shenoy and Gaurav Vats showed the preparation and organisational capability to make this event successful for everyone. The presence of tech thought leaders and the networks of investors, incubators, trade bodies, and associations was expected. Yet, the attitude of the people from these entities, their openness and willingness to help in the coming weeks, will remain a reminder of the great opening this FICCI expedition provided. Other takeaways: ✅ Collateral Benefits: Many solutions and brands from Silicon Valley have empowered Indian businesses and individuals to become household names. Similar opportunities also exist for the Indian talent pool to help improve US functioning by working with SMEs in healthcare, retail, communications, education, and more. ✅ 4D+ Technology: Technology has more dimensions than ever. Enlightening sessions by Arvind Krishna, Vint Cerf et al. showed limitations of existing technologies and new paths guided by advancements in AI, quantum computing, the human elements, and navigating ethical dilemmas. ✅ Tech Network: The network of technically skilled Indians exists, and entities like PANIIT USA and TiE are helping businesses venture into the US and build partnerships at start-up or enterprise levels. Overall, a memorable and rewarding expedition. Thank you, everyone! Vikram Lodha Jaya Janardanan Nakul Kundra Roshni Mohandas Shekhar Dhongade Himanshu Sharma (हिमांशु शर्मा) Aniruddha Banerjee Ankur Omar Sahil Andrews Chand Vibha Menon Rajiv Prakash Sundi Natarajan NDTV #makeinindia #PanIIT #events #startup #ficci #AI #changemakers

StampThePassport, founded by veteran of the travel business Vijay Kesavan announced that it has raised Rs 4 crore in a pre-seed investment round that was dominated by angel investors. Along with this, the business also declared the opening of its online visa application platform with the intention of streamlining and improving the application and access to visa information for Indian visitors. According to the press release, the launch is timely and seeks to make travel easier and more accessible for the 44 million potential travellers expected in 2024. In order to be a top platform, StampThePassport offers comprehensive visa information and application support. In order to provide consumers with a positive experience, the firm aims to supply accurate and current visa standards as well as to streamline the application process. The platform is committed to standardising visa service rates in order to prevent disinformation and overcharging with the overall objective of facilitating travel and making it accessible to everyone while removing barriers. According to the firm, its goals include creating a global community of explorers, enhancing lives via travel and facilitating the realisation of travel aspirations. Within the following two years, it intends to extend its services to ten more nations, serving a variety of customers including tourists, companies, and students. Companies like Atlys and Visa2Fly, which have also partnered with numerous travel agencies to broaden their reach are competitors of StampThePassport. #funding #fundraising #fundingnews #businessnews #startups #StampThePassport #startupindia #thestartuptrends