Brands
Room to Read India launches girls’ financial literacy drive
MUMBAI: Room to Read India has launched the sixth edition of its flagship girls’ education campaign, Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang, this time with a sharp focus on financial literacy. The initiative, titled Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang – Financial Literacy Ki Aur Badhe Hum, aims to equip adolescent girls, with the skills and confidence to make informed financial choices, resist early marriage, and envision independent futures.
The week-long campaign calls on families, educators, policymakers, and communities to nurture financial confidence among young people. Through practical lessons on budgeting, saving, goal setting, and understanding credit and investments, the programme seeks to normalise girls’ participation in financial decision-making at home and in schools.
Room to Read India country director Poornima Garg said, “Financial literacy gives girls more than economic skills, it gives them agency. Only 16.7 per cent of Indian adolescents can correctly answer basic financial questions, and fewer than 20 per cent of girls have ever made a personal purchase without permission. When girls understand money, they understand their worth and power to shape the future. Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang is our call to make that empowerment universal.”
Since 2005, the girls’ education program has supported over 396,050 girls, with a 98 per cent advancement rate. Around 80 per cent of alumnae have completed tertiary education across states including Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Previous editions have spotlighted critical adolescent issues such as digital inclusion, safety, and mental well-being.
The national seminar featured “My Financial Journey”, where adolescents shared candid stories on access and exclusion, and a panel discussion titled “Breaking Gender Barriers — Whose Space is Finance?” explored how financial literacy can challenge traditional norms. The event concluded with “Commitments for the Future”, underscoring financial literacy as a pathway to agency, power, and gender equality.
Through Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang 2025, Room to Read India reaffirms its mission to nurture a generation of girls who are educated, financially empowered, and ready to lead change for themselves and their communities.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
Brands
Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion
Bengaluru: Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.
The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.
The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.
Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.
To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.
Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.
Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.
The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.
The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.
Brands
TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform
NATIONAL: TechnoSport has launched on Slikk, the ultra-fast fashion app offering 60-minute delivery, as the activewear brand accelerates its push into quick commerce to capture Gen Z and young millennial shoppers.
The debut brings more than 150 high-performance styles to Slikk’s platform, with an average selling price of Rs 450, expanding TechnoSport’s reach across over 80 pin codes.
The partnership follows strong momentum for TechnoSport across Q-commerce channels, where the brand has recorded around 60 per cent volume growth over the past six months. The company expects quick commerce to contribute nearly 20 per cent of its revenue in the coming years as hyperlocal delivery gains scale.
Slikk, which recently raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, has rapidly gained popularity among youth consumers seeking speed, trend relevance and impulse-led shopping experiences.
Activewear remains one of Slikk’s fastest-growing categories, driven by shoppers increasingly treating fitness-led fashion as an everyday essential. The platform has reported a 30-fold year-on-year increase in items sold, reflecting rising demand for performance wear that blends comfort with style.
TechnoSport chief executive officer Puspen Maity, said the collaboration would help the brand engage more closely with young consumers whose fashion choices are shaped by instant needs and lifestyle aspirations. He added that rapid delivery bridges the gap between intent and purchase, allowing shoppers to access activewear exactly when they want it.
-
iWorld3 months agoTips Music turns up the heat with Tamil party anthem Mayangiren
-
iWorld12 months agoBSNL rings in a revival with Rs 4,969 crore revenue
-
I&B Ministry3 months agoIndia steps up fight against digital piracy
-
MAM3 months agoHoABL soars high with dazzling Nagpur sebut
-
News Headline4 weeks agoPreeti Sahni set to join TV9 Network in senior leadership role
-
iWorld2 weeks agoJio shifts gears as 5G, homes and AI deals drive quarter momentum
-
News Broadcasting5 days agoPalki Sharma leaves Firstpost: Reports
-
iWorld3 days agoNetflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film
