NPCI to buy 10% stake in ONDC🛒, Marico to scale up D2C brands🧴, Meta starts no-cost EMIs💵

NPCI to acquire 9-10% stake in ONDC, Marico to build Thrasio-style model to scale up, Meta introduces no-cost EMIs for advertisers, Funding Deals and more.

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Aug 31, 2022

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NPCI set to acquire 9-10% stake in ONDC🛒

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is close to picking up a 9-10% stake in the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for around Rs 10 crore.

ONDC is a government initiative that aims to curb the dominance of foreign ecommerce giants. Experts have said it could do for ecommerce what UPI has done for digital payments in India — expand its reach and make it accessible at the grassroots level.

The National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) and Bank of India are also expected to acquire stakes in ONDC soon.

ONDC, which is preparing for a public launch in September, is laying the groundwork to enable business-to-business (B2B) transactions on the network. Two startups — B2B trade platform Rapidor and a retail tech firm Signcatch — are helping with this.

Marico to build Thrasio-style model to scale up D2C brands🧴

Consumer goods company Marico is attempting to build a Thrasio-style business through which it will scale direct-to-consumer brands by giving them a common tech platform, supply chain and customer relations management.

US-based Thrasio Holdings pioneered this business model – also called ecommerce roll-up – in 2018.

This is part of Marico’s wider strategy to enter new segments, especially in the online space.

The owner of the Parachute and Saffola brands has acquired Just Herbs, Beardo and True Elements in the direct-to-consumer space and announced plans to enter more categories by buying brands. It aims to build a Rs 450-500 crore portfolio of digital brands by the end of the next fiscal year through a mix of organic and inorganic growth.

Hot Shorts⚡

Human Edge, a longevity science startup, has raised over $1.5 million in equity financing led by Bharat Innovation Fund, along with Lead Angels and Force Ventures.
AI post-production startup Algomage has received $850,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by The DotIn Network.
Beverage brand Bored Beverages has raised over Rs 2.5 crore in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

Funding Deals

Meta introduces no-cost EMIs for advertisers in India💵

Facebook parent Meta has announced it will allow advertisers to pay for their ad campaigns in easy installments over three months at no additional interest.

The no-cost EMI feature will allow advertisers to pay Meta for their advertising campaigns in equated monthly installments over three months through participating banks at no additional cost of interest to them.

Meta said it will bear the applicable interest payable to the bank, and give it as an upfront discount to the business on its ad spends. With no-cost EMI billing, advertisers can choose any amount between Rs 3,200 and Rs 5 lakh to convert to EMIs. India is the first country within Meta where the no-cost EMI has been launched.