Digital currency to come soon🪙, Venture Catalysts partners with Credai🏢, ONDC to be opened in 1-2 cities🛍️
Digital currency to be launched as pilot project, Venture Catalysts partners with Credai for $100-mn fund, ONDC to be opened to public in 1-2 cities, Funding Deals and more.
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Digital currency to be launched as pilot project this year: RBI Deputy Governor🪙
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor T Rabi Sankar on Wednesday said the central bank will launch its digital currency as a pilot project this year.
Addressing the India Ideas Summit, he said Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is the most efficient system for cross-border payments. He, however, reiterated that RBI is not aiming for a cashless society but is keen to give customers viable alternatives.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in the Union Budget that CBDC would be launched during 2022-23.
Venture Catalysts partners with Credai for $100-million real estate startup fund🏢
The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) and startup incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts have partnered to set up a $100 million proptech fund to invest in real estate startups.
The fund will invest in early- to growth-stage startups catering to all the major real estate segments, including residential, commercial, institutional (hotels, schools, hospitals), and industrial (warehouses, factories).
As part of the programme, Credai will provide startups with mentorship and access to its network of over 13,000 members from 256 different industrial fields in real estate, such as developers, vendors, channel partners, promoters, and others.
Venture Catalysts is an early backer of hospitality unicorn Oyo. In August 2020 it also roped in Oyo founder and chief executive Ritesh Agarwal as a mentor and advisor.
Hot Shorts⚡
ZippMat, a service platform for construction supply chain, has raised $10 million in an equity and debt round led by Matrix Partners India.
Daalchini, a retail tech startup, said it has raised $4 million in its Series A funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures.
FinAGG, a Noida-based fintech firm offering cashflow-based supply chain finance, has raised $3 million in a pre-series-A funding round, led by venture capital company BLinC Invest.
Digital lending platform FincFriends has bagged $1.1 million in its third round of equity funding led by existing stakeholder, Digital Finance International (DFI).
ONDC to be opened to public in one or two cities this month: Goyal🛍️
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is likely to be thrown open to the public in one or two cities later this month, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
ONDC, which has been in beta since earlier this year, is the next technological revolution out of India, Goyal said, and will give the country’s 60 million kiranas a platform to increase their visibility and reach.
He added, however, that the government would not rush into launching ONDC. He said the government wants to make a good offering before opening it up for the public at large.
“I want to make sure that when we come up for public launch it’s well tried and tested and has sufficient capacity to handle large volumes,” Goyal said.
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