ITV

Tag: fintech

  • upGrad appoints Anuj Vishwakarma to head its online higher-ed programs

    upGrad appoints Anuj Vishwakarma to head its online higher-ed programs

    Mumbai: upGrad, one of Asia’s higher edtech companies has announced the appointment of Anuj Vishwakarma as president for its online higher-ed programs.

    In his new role, Anuj will be responsible for building the online higher-ed vertical for creating a long-term strategic moat and also implement growth best practices for scaling the business.

    Vishwakarma is a seasoned growth leader with over 10+ years of rich experience building high-growth consumer businesses in the fintech, online retail, and offline retail industries. Prior to upGrad he has driven growth for leading consumer internet players like Myntra, Paytm and Ola. He has led high-profile assignments at Ola as revenue & growth head and at Paytm as growth head for Travel Business.

    An MBA degree holder from IIM Bangalore and a National Institute of Technology (NIT) Bhopal, alumnus, Vishwakarma has a constant hunger for growth and has a track record of building large businesses through sustainable growth strategies. He will operate from upGrad’s Bengaluru office and will also collaborate with the multiple teams across upGrad divisions to scale their program vertical.

    Welcoming him, upGrad co-founder and managing director Mayank Kumar commented, “We operate in a golden era where the demand for online higher education will continue to propel and therefore, we need a solution-focused leader who comes with strong hands-on skills. Vishwakarma, for his domain inclination, is best suited to perform in-depth market research and consumer insights to spearhead our vertical growth. His efforts will further solidify our core business while also enhancing our domestic LifeLongLearning suite.”

     “I am humbled to be a part of this dynamic leadership team who knows no limits. upGrad’s vision is synergistic and I look forward to utilizing my domain expertise for building a stronger business foundation for driving career outcomes of our potential learners. This will help me contribute towards strengthening the brand’s reputation across a wider audience,” concluded Vishwakarma.

  • Havas Worldwide India creates brand film for Stashfin

    Havas Worldwide India creates brand film for Stashfin

    Mumbai: Stashfin, the fintech platform, has launched a new campaign to drive awareness about its unique offering. Stashfin provides instant access to funds in a seamless and efficient manner with a flexible mode of repayment, making it one of the most convenient digital lending platforms.

    Created by Havas Worldwide India, the campaign promotes an innovative product that allows customers to get instant funds for a variety of needs, providing them with the ideal financial boost in the easiest and most hassle-free manner.

    Stashfin has been dedicatedly working towards the financial inclusion of various customer segments who find it difficult to be accepted by traditional banking systems, with a brand promise of “Nobody in India should be credit-starved.”

    The company also assists the under-represented in developing their credit footprint, allowing them to improve their quality of life. Stashfin provides flexible tenures ranging from three to 36 months; quick processes and easy application; instant funds; and the unique proposition of only paying interest on the amount used.

    With a quirky approach in the two-film campaign, a witty superhero fumbles and appears to be an antihero, unable to use his superpowers to help those around him. However, the only good he does is introduce others to the all-new Stashfin credit line app, which becomes their superpower as well.

    Speaking about the campaign, Stashfin co-founder Shruti Aggarwal said, “Stashfin has always strived to provide a positive customer experience, which is why we focused on every detail of making our product simple to use. With the goal of making Stashfin’s offering available to everyone who needs credit, it is critical that credit be made available to the majority in an effortless way. As Stashfin plays a critical role in fulfilling people’s needs, it is evidently a superhero. With our latest films, we want to show how Stashfin, as a superpower, can help anyone in need.”

    “The ever-changing fintech space allows us to tell very interesting stories, and collaborating with a brave brand like Stashfin has been great fun. We are always eager to take on the challenge of portraying the dynamic fintech space as not only exciting but also relatable and aspirational. A bumbling superhero who makes mistakes is a novel concept that communicates the brand’s core concept of quick and easy access to funds. I’m confident that, like our previous collaboration, this one will bear fruit too, with people choosing the brand Stashfin,” added Havas Group India chairman & chief creative officer Bobby Pawar.

  • We are expanding our verticals in terms of strength and products with future in-demand tech: Mobavenue’s Tejas Rathod

    We are expanding our verticals in terms of strength and products with future in-demand tech: Mobavenue’s Tejas Rathod

    Mumbai: Mobavenue Media is a 360° growth and tech platform dedicated to empowering brands, agencies, and media publishers with mobile-first solutions to drive growth, engagement, and monetisation. Their product suite is custom-tailored to design a more valuable experience for the user by creating real connections and driving performance. They help brands with acquisitions, retargeting, growth management, and monetisation in India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Their various proprietary in-house platforms optimise towards end business goals and growth paths using predictive media solutions to run brand performance-driven campaigns for their partners. Mobavenue’s team is based in eight locations: Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Dubai, Sydney, Moscow, and London.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with Mobavenue Media co-founder & chief operating officer Tejas Rathod to find out more. He has more than eight years of experience in the tech industry. Back in 2014, he was associated with Chillofy LLP as co-founder & chief operating officer. His one-stop solution is to deliver end-to-end advertising solutions, helping brands, app developers, digital marketers, and companies to execute performance-driven campaigns in India and across Southeast Asia. Rathod has been part of events such as AW, iGB Affiliate, ICE London and a few others.

    He has always been an outgoing person with a zeal for travel and exploring new ideas through natural exposure. He can always be found working in and around communities. To keep himself highly productive, he regularly attends business events, networking with potential clients and talent. Rathod strongly believes that millennials have all it takes to create a better world full of opportunities and elevated living.

    He loves staying up to date with the latest digital trends. When he finds time to himself, Rathod likes playing classic strategic board games and watching documentaries about business, leadership, and anything interesting with loads of insights.

    Excerpts:

    On the market gap that Mobavenue saw when it was launched in 2017

    There was a significant market gap between advertisers and publishers in acquiring high-quality users and monetizing their assets efficiently. To meet their end goals, brands required holistic KPI-oriented data-driven technology that maximised ROI while improving user acquisition, growth, engagement, and monetization. We have been successfully bridging that gap since our inception and have seen the market size upscale, building a standalone platform for brands and partners, creating a win-win position for all parties.

    On the company’s USP

    Our USPs are rooted in audience, acquisition, growth, and re-market with a stronghold in audience segmentation and performance-driven campaigns. Our in-house proprietary solutions optimise towards end-business goals and growth paths using predictive buying and supply-side modelling. User behaviour and acquisition through precise targeting is the focus of AI audience segmentation. We ensure brand and fraud safety while focusing on placing relevant content using relevant contextual ads.

    On how covid impacted the business

    The pandemic impacted many industries. We witnessed the world shift towards a digital-first approach. Online shopping was the new norm during the pandemic. As a result of this, people in general, as well as companies, pivoted to an online approach. There was a surge in terms of online activities and purchases. Since the majority of people were indoors, a surge in ad consumption and viewership took place in the online purchasing funnel. We did quite well during the pandemic as most of our customers are digital-first from different sectors such as banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), fintech, OTT, fashion and lifestyle, leisure and entertainment, gaming, e-commerce, apparel, D2C, retailers, and more.

    On the goals set for 2022 and the game plan to get there

    We are expanding our verticals in terms of company strength and new products with future in-demand technologies. We are transitioning and integrating with the advent of newer forms of technology. We aim to evolve and drive growth in different sectors. We are spearheading martech and adtech solutions.

    On how Mobavenue helps D2C businesses be more cost-efficient

    We have worked with numerous D2C brands to meet their objectives while focusing on cost-effectiveness with our in-house products in programmatic acquisition, re-targeting, and growth management. Our unique marketing solutions help D2C businesses with in-app advertising strategies.

    On Mobavenue’s products like DSP, partners, etc.

    We are a tech-driven platform focusing on acquiring relevant users with our product offering, which includes: DSP, programmatic, premium partner, and OEM solutions; display ads; publisher-first SSP; re-target and re-market AI, DMP, mobile SDK, and exchange to reach high-quality global audiences.

    On some of the work that Mobavenue does with clients

    We work with 150+ brands. Mobavenue has successfully provided unique programming strategies to numerous banks and NBFCs like ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, KreditBee, Freecharge, Navi Finserv, Nira Finance, Fi Money, Unicard, OneCard, and Policy Bazaar by implementing dynamic creatives and other efficient in-house media tools. Their cutting-edge, advanced mobile advertising solutions have optimised the ROI of banks and NBFCs and helped them achieve promotional brand exposure, faster conversions, improved user acquisition, and customer retention.

    Mobavenue has generated good traction in leading D2C companies with the help of its in-house products in programmatic acquisition, retargeting, and growth management. Tier II, III, and IV cities are primarily responsible for D2C growth because they have wealthy but brand-deprived consumers who are willing to try new items. With the help of regional and vernacular publishers, in addition to premium listings, Mobavenue was able to scale to these markets and reach new consumers.

    On how Mobavenue helps OTT platforms boost subscription levels

    Using programmatic user acquisition and unique targeting methods, we have helped OTT brands drive paid subscriptions, views, and retention. The OTT market has a set of unique challenges, which require unique solutions too. Our expertise and partnered technologies leverage OTT platforms with a full-funnel approach such as acquisition, retargeting, monetisation, and promotion.

    On the factors needed for an SVoD platform to succeed in a price sensitive market

    Subscription video on demand (SVoD) platforms are highly competitive markets, resulting in customers being more price-sensitive than ever. The availability of faster mobile internet has increased the number of overall users. To succeed in this competitive market, platforms need to consider a pricing model that offers a value proposition and customer satisfaction. Providing customers with multiple options regarding tiered pricing, trails, and discounts will help attract new audiences.

    On the work done by Mobavenue for the gaming industry

    We have executed CPA models for different gaming apps, which have helped them achieve their business goals. Our well-planned and structured marketing tactics have leveraged gaming brands to reach new audiences and increase app downloads compared to their competitors.

    On the role that AI is playing in media planning and buying

    Media buying can be a rigorous task. AI plays a developed role in aggregating data between traditional and digital channels. Sales operations can be further monitored and raise alerts with potential risks. AI can also learn and adapt to changing situations, making it much easier to optimise before closing deals.

  • Admitad appoints Neha Kulwal as APAC managing director

    Admitad appoints Neha Kulwal as APAC managing director

    MUMBAI: Admitad has appointed Neha Kulwal, formerly the country manager, as the Asia-Pacific managing director. Admitad’s India operations were launched with the vision of becoming the largest, most trusted partner network and martech & fintech solutions provider. The company is confident it can increase growth in the entire APAC region under the leadership of Neha Kulwal, it said in a statement.

    Having joined Admitad six years ago, Neha Kulwal has established a solid market position for the company, increasing the business volume five times and attracting new clients across diverse industries. Neha has built a steady team of more than 50 people working for the company in the region today. Her ability to act as a team leader and as a true people person gained her respect throughout the entire Admitad family and beyond.

    Since 2020, the company has increased the size of its partner portfolio in India and added a significant number of advertisers and publishers as partners and clients. The total sales generated by Admitad tools for brands almost doubled between 2019 and 2021. Top-tier brands such as Flipkart, Croma, Ajio, BoAt Lifestyle, Samsung, Myntra, Kotak, Mcaffeine, and Times of India enjoy long-term, profitable partnerships with Admitad in the APAC market.

    Neha Kulwal said, ” I am delighted and truly honoured to receive this recognition. This is the beginning of a new chapter in Admitad’s journey in the region. I am confident that APAC, given its immense growth opportunities, will live up to its full potential in driving our business to greater heights. We started Admitad’s India operations with a clear vision of becoming the biggest and most trusted partner network. I am very proud of what we as a team have achieved in the last six years and, with this new responsibility at hand, I intend to grow our APAC operations by replicating the India success story.”

    “Neha Kulwal is a truly top player and an inspiring leader of the digital economy. We appreciate her experience and her business sense, and could not think of anyone being a better perfect fit for our ambitious goals in the region. It will be exciting to see more Admitad APAC projects and initiatives set benchmarks in this market,” said Admitad founder and CEO Alexander Bachmann.

    Admitad has recently moved into the new office in Gurugram, offering additional businesses and solutions beyond its partner network, including Tapfiliate, ConvertSocial, Univibes, and Coupon Whitelabel. In the near future, the company will continue to invest in developing its infrastructure in APAC.

  • ASCI processes 5532 complaints in 2021-22; education remains most violative sector

    ASCI processes 5532 complaints in 2021-22; education remains most violative sector

    Mumbai: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) released its annual complaints report for the period April’ 21 – March’ 22, during which it processed 5,532 advertisements across mediums including print, digital, and television. Education at 33 per cent remains the single largest violative sector, followed by health care (16 per cent), and personal care (11 per cent).

    The digital ecosystem took centre stage with new categories like crypto and gaming in the top five violative categories, and nearly 48 per cent of the ads processed belong to the medium.

    In 2021-22, ASCI processed a whopping 62 per cent more ads compared to the previous year, and 25 per cent more complaints. The self-regulatory body saw an overall compliance rate of 94 per cent.

    While television and print ads remained in focus, ASCI greatly broadened its ambit by proactively monitoring advertising in the digital landscape. With the influencer guidelines coming into force last year, complaints against influencers constituted 29 per cent of the total grievances. Complaints regarding misleading claims in ads featuring celebrities saw a 41 per cent increase out of which a staggering 92 per cent were found to be violating ASCI’s guidelines.  

    Given its focus on digital monitoring, emerging categories included the relatively new categories of virtual digital assets and online real money gaming, contributing significantly to objectionable ads at eight per cent each.

    ASCI continued its proactive surveillance and 75 per cent of ads processed were picked up suo-motu. This included the AI-based monitoring that ASCI has set up for digital tracking. Complaints from consumers constituted 21 per cent of complaints, followed by intra-industry at two per cent and CSO/government complaints at 2 per cent. Out of the 5,532 total ads processed, 39 per cent were not contested by the advertiser, 55 per cent of them were found to be objectionable after investigation, and complaints against four per cent of ads were dismissed as not violating the ASCI code. 94 per cent of ads that ASCI processed needed changes so as not to violate the ASCI code.

    Talking about the annual report, ASCI chairman Subhash Kamath shared: “2021-22 was the year we followed through on our promise of increasingly monitoring the digital media given the way it has been dominating the advertising landscape. We invested heavily in technology and that has worked quite well. We also upgraded our complaints system which has made it very easy for consumers to register their complaints and for advertisers to respond to it. Going ahead, we will continue to be at the forefront in understanding how best to regulate and monitor the digital frontier, even as we keep streamlining our processes to become more responsive, and more proactive.”

    Sharing her thoughts about the annual report, ASCI CEO & secretary general Manisha Kapoor, said: “The ASCI team, the Consumer Complaints Council, the Honourable ex-high court judges on our review panel, and our domain experts have debated the nuances of advertising and scientificnevidence of thousands of ads to ensure that the process and outcomes are fair to both consumers as well as advertisers. Simultaneously, the constant update to our code ensures that we constantly offer guidance and transparency to consumers and advertisers on newer and emerging formats and categories. This helps in keeping self-regulation at the frontier of advertising developments.”

    ASCI has also upgraded its complaints system “TARA” in order to offer a seamless experience to both consumers and advertisers in the management and resolution of complaints. Features like real-time tracking of complaints aim to make the experience similar to what one would expect from any contemporary tech platform.

    Read the report here: https://ascionline.in/images/pdf/complaint-report-2021-22.pdf

  • Spice Money & Religare broking launch new campaign ‘Demat Zaroori Hai’

    Spice Money & Religare broking launch new campaign ‘Demat Zaroori Hai’

    Mumbai: The leading rural fintech company, Spice Money, has launched a digital TVC in partnership Religare Broking (RBL). The partnership aims to provide rural citizens with equitable access to investment opportunities, thus, taking a step further in bridging the rural-urban divide and augmenting financial inclusion.  

    The TVC highlights how rural citizens can get assistance to open a free of cost Religare demat accounts from their nearest merchant or kirana store served by Spice Money Adhikaris, and the importance of these accounts as a primary requisite for investments. The TVC, with its essence rooted in rural India, ties together the ground-level aspirations of a young Bharat, the ease of opening a demat account, and the many financial opportunities and resultant financial prosperity that a demat account can pave the way for.

    The TVC showcases a discussion among three friends outside a local shop. It highlights one of the three as financially more aware, with the know-how of demat accounts and investment options. Through the discussion, he explains to the other two how investments are important and a demat account is a primary requirement before investing in market-linked opportunities. When the two friends ask how they can open a demat account, he points them towards the store behind them, run by a local Spice Money Adhikari who tells them how anyone can now open a Religare demat account, assisted by any Spice Money Adhikari, completely free of cost. The film concludes with the three friends talking about how with a plethora of investment options, a demat account is the best possible way to start the journey towards financial prosperity.

    Speaking of this association, Spice Money SVP and head of marketing Kuldeep Pawar said, “Spice Money is dedicated to being a part of the journey of financial inclusion that the country has set upon. With the ten lakhs strong Spice Money Adhikari network serving more than 18,000 pincodes in India, we have now partnered with Religare Broking, one of the leading securities firms, to truly democratise the opportunity for investments. Our new digital TVC showcases this partnership and highlights how it will bring to the citizens of Bharat, a plethora of investment opportunities, hitherto available mostly to urban India, as we work towards our commitment in bridging the rural-urban divide.”

    Religare Broking executive vice president of digital, product and marketing Ashley Almeida said, “We are delighted to join hands with Spice Money, a brand that has been leading the financial services revolution in rural India, to bring a diverse portfolio of investment opportunities to the last mile of the country. We firmly believe that this association will pave the way toward financial freedom for the rural citizens of India and contribute towards further financial inclusion.”

  • Mintoak appoints Khushaal Talreja as Head of Marketing

    Mintoak appoints Khushaal Talreja as Head of Marketing

    Mumbai: The fintech company, Mintoak has appointed Khushaal Talreja as Head of Marketing. He will be responsible for brand building and creating more opportunities.

    Khushaal is a detail-oriented marketer and has an agile approach to building business in both offline and online ecosystems. He also steered the Marketing & Partnerships department of LitmusWorld in his earlier stint. He has sound marketing capabilities and unbelievably sharp strategy skills that will grow any business.

    Mintoak’s Co-Founder and Ceo Raman Khanduja says, “At Mintoak, we are poised to redefine the digital payments landscape in India with a comprehensive platform offering. With a sustainable business model that chooses to be the rightful partner for banks across the globe, we hope, Khushaal with his wide experience in digital marketing will help us achieve brand leadership in the fintech ecosystem. We look forward to working together.”

    Mintoak’s Head Marketing Khushaal Talreja says, “I am excited to charter the marketing roadmap for Mintoak in India and new markets abroad. With a sharp brand positioning and collaboration with our partners, I’m certain that we will build a strong presence across our target markets. I look forward to working with the team.”

     

  • MobiKwik promotes Anshuman Misra as chief product & technology officer

    MobiKwik promotes Anshuman Misra as chief product & technology officer

    Mumbai: MobiKwik has promoted its senior vice president – product Anshuman Misra to the new position of chief product and technology officer. This new announcement will take place with immediate effect. 

    In his new role, Misra will be responsible for driving ‘product, design, engineering, infrastructure and security’ at the company. 

    “With this change, MobiKwik aims to build the best and most loved fintech product in India,” said the statement.

    “The company has demonstrated exceptional revenue growth in the last few years on the back of BNPL & payments,” Misra said on his promotion. “With our technology first DNA, I am confident we will build a world-class stack to offer the full fintech suite on the MobiKwik app. I look forward to working with our immensely talented product and engineering teams and further hiring creative minds to drive user delight via constant innovation.”

    Misra joined the fintech company in May 2021. Over his 18+ years of journey in the industry, he has worked with several companies including Hike Messenger, Microsoft, IBM, Quark, Spice etc. 

    MobiKwik CEO, co-founder and managing director Bipin Preet Singh appreciated Misra for his efforts at the company. “Anshuman has done phenomenal work in building product leadership for the business. He spearheaded the UX refresh of MobiKwik Zip, making it the most loved BNPL product. His zeal for continuous improvement has led to elevation in our core technology and infrastructure,” said Singh.

    He further added, “Our next growth frontier is to become a digital bank for Bharat fulfilling all the financial needs of 500 million Indians. As we embark on this growth journey, Anshuman and his team will play a key role in translating our vision into reality.”

  • Women account for 28% of the country’s total app consumption, rural at 16.4%: Study

    Women account for 28% of the country’s total app consumption, rural at 16.4%: Study

    Mumbai: Indian women account for 28 per cent of the country’s total app consumption, with rural users accounting for 16.4 per cent. Together they drive over 70 per cent of purchasing decisions. Their purchasing power is reflected in key categories of app usage including social media apps, which increasingly convert sales, and e-commerce, according to a study from retention cloud platform CleverTap shared on Wednesday.

    Analysing the usage of over 300 different mobile apps with an average monthly user base of more than four million, the new study revealed opportunities in India’s mobile app market, led by women and rural regions.

    Women have major purchasing power, led by e-commerce

    Women in India drive over 70 per cent of purchasing decisions, with their purchasing power reflected in key categories of app usage including social media apps, which increasingly convert sales, and e-commerce.

    Based on the findings, the study suggests providers of ed-tech, social media, and fintech apps, in particular, consider marketing their apps to women. Women currently account for 37 per cent, 32.5 per cent and 31 per cent of usage, respectively, and are major consumers of products and services in these sectors.

    Indian women outpace men in E-commerce app usage, accounting for 54 per cent of all usage. Global e-commerce brands would do well to create highly personalised and relevant commerce experiences for Indian women in order to drive revenue growth and cement customer loyalty.

    Indian men account for a significant share of app interaction across several key verticals, including gaming (94 per cent), travel and transportation (84 per cent), on-demand services (78 per cent) and media and entertainment (77 per cent). Overall, men account for 72 per cent of mobile usage.

    Rural India – a massive opportunity

    Rural India is an underserved market on the cusp of seismic change. While app usage is currently 16.4 per cent, the split across verticals, CleverTap data shows consumers across cities and areas outside metropolitan centres gravitate to apps that can help them improve their education and quality of life.

    Edutech (19.2 per cent), media and entertainment (17.7 per cent) and fintech (17 per cent) stand out as verticals that attract a disproportionately large number of rural users.

    Adoption rates for health and fitness (13.2 per cent) are at the low end of the scale, but personalised strategies such as goal setting and reminder functionality can increase these numbers.

    Among urban users, adoption rates for health and fitness, e-commerce, and travel and transportation are nearing saturation levels (85 per cent and above). This dynamic underlines the importance of shifting focus to growth opportunities emerging in rural areas, where competition is lower, and returns are higher.

    User retention remains a challenge

    CleverTap analysis also confirms the pivotal importance of focusing on user retention. Uninstall rates are a challenge across all app categories, negating costly user acquisition (UA) campaigns and threatening companies’ potential growth. Uninstall rates are highest in the gaming (44 per cent) and social engagement (46 per cent) sectors.

    By contrast, sectors, where users perceive a high degree of value and convenience, have the lowest uninstall rates: On-demand services (21 per cent) and health and fitness (25 per cent). While these areas are better at retaining users, losing nearly a quarter of a subscriber base is still alarming. Data-driven offers, loyalty programs, and hyper-personalised marketing and messaging are just some of the ways brands and businesses can stem the attrition of these apps.

    “Global events have radically changed consumer behaviour, particularly among women, who now rely on apps as the go-to channel for all aspects of their lives,” said CleverTap global CEO Sidharth Malik. “Similarly, rural users have come to depend on apps to make transactions or continue their education, and now view apps as a means to improve their lives. Understanding the striking and significant differences among user segments and preferences is the critical first step for companies to connect, convert and ultimately grow retention and lifetime value.”

    Methodology

    A mobile-savvy country where apps drive commerce, communications, education and social interactions, India was the second-largest global market in terms of app downloads in 2021, according to a report by Data.ai. The CleverTap study demonstrates that mobile-first brands and businesses have an opportunity to reach underserved demographics in the world’s second-most populous nation and fastest-growing major economy.

    To understand mobile usage behaviour and identify trends in in-app consumption across India, the CleverTap data science team analysed over 300 mobile apps across different verticals, with an average monthly user base of more than 4 million. The usage behaviour was broken down by location (urban/rural); by gender across verticals (fintech, ed-tech, media and entertainment, health and fitness, travel and transportation, e-commerce, social engagement); by responses to engagement campaigns across different channels and verticals; and uninstall rates across verticals. More than 782 billion push notifications, 52 billion emails, and 10 billion in-app notifications were analysed for this study.