KOLKATA: Short format video app Mitron TV has released the Atmanirbhar Anthem following the ban of 43 additional Chinese-origin apps by the Indian government. The anthem pays homage to the Indian technology community and reiterates the message of using homegrown products and services.
The anthem’s powerful lyrics evoke strong feelings of national pride amongst Indians, whilst imparting a message on the importance of the #VocalForLocal movement. The anthem went live today on more than 200 music streaming platforms including Gaana, Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes and Wynk.
Atmanirbhar Apps was launched this year on the National Unity Day to bring noteworthy Indian apps from various geographies across the country on one platform. In just two weeks since the launch, Atmanirbhar Apps has recorded over 50K downloads and currently hosts more than 256 Indian apps. The initiative has been appreciated by leading personalities in the tech fraternity.
CEO and co-founder Shivank Agarwal said, “We welcome the government’s move of banning 43 Chinese apps. Now more than ever, it is an opportune moment to focus on self-reliance and homegrown apps, which Indians have embraced whole-heartedly. To commemorate this spirit, we created the Atmanirbhar Anthem that pays homage to the country’s collective vision of embracing all things Made-in-India. I invite my fellow Indians to enjoy the upbeat lyrics and toe-tapping beat of this anthem as we work in unison to achieve our goal of an Atmanirbhar India.”
KOLKATA: Young India – like several other countries – has fallen hook, line and sinker for short-form videos. Evidence of that was the sudden explosion of downloads of the Tiktok; in fact, India accounted for 611 million as against China’s sub 200 million. Also, reports say that Indians spent 5.5 billion hours on TikTok and had nearly 200 million users until July 2020. There’s no doubt the Bytedance owned app along with Jio spurred India’s affair with the format and made ordinary folks from small towns into celebrities.
Then came the shocker: the Indian government showed Tiktokthe door citing data theft following escalating tensions with China, leaving TikTokers in a tizzy. Into the void stepped a clutch of indigenous and global short-form video platforms: Mitron, Chingari, Roposo, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels. And each one of them is working hard to lure former TikTokers to sign up to their offerings.
At the forefront, leading the charge is the five-month oldvMitron. Launched in 2020, it has managed around 35 million downloads on the Google Play Store. A month after its launch, that figure was a paltry five million.
Mitron founder Shivank Agarwal says the journey has been exciting indeed. The computer science graduate happily shares that the app has been able to retain growth and users – thanks to its product and service quality – after seeing a meteoric rise initially.
AGARWAL: WE HAD THE COURAGE
TO LAUNCH THE PLATFORM
EVEN AFTER HAVING BIGGIES LIKE TIKTOK IN THE SPACE.
Mitron also courted controversy in its early days when Google removed it from the Play Store “due to violation of its ‘spam and minimum functionality’ policy.” However, it was back up and running in no time.
The homegrown app is generating good traffic from tier II, tier III cities following the initial adoption in tier I markets. And surprisingly a sizable proportion of this is people above the age of 40. The demographic has different expectations, as compared to the usual younger folks who are active on short-form video platforms,
“We had the courage to launch the platform even after having biggies like TikTok in the space. We provided Indian creators a new platform to showcase their talent. That's why we have a great brand recall. Because of the recognition that we saw early on, we witnessed a massive growth within a few months of the launch,” Agarwal says.
Agrawal claims that Mitron has 16 million monthly active users per month. And he is pleased that numerous others are entering the space. Says he: “It's a good thing that the content ecosystem that we created for Indian creators is mushrooming with more apps.”
Agarwal leads a team of 20 which will expand soon with eight more being recruited. He is also seeking an infusion of capital, knowing that more muscular and deep-pocketed rivals are beginning to make their mark.
Following Instagram’s Reel, YouTube has also launched YouTube Shorts. Acknowledging the growing competition, Agarwal says it is better to focus on how he can improve the service on a day-to-day basis rather than worrying about competitors.
“We are exploring different ways to integrate with some of the top brands. Our focus right now also lies in bringing creators of different skillsets on the platform and giving them an opportunity to connect with the right set of audiences that they would have liked to be connected with,” he states.
The app recently launched categories to make it easier for users to navigate to the content of their own choice. According to Agarwal, the short video space has been more about a common domain. He adds that TikTok users never got to decide what they wanted to see. “We decided that we want to give this power to the user. We wanted to bring creators and users on a common platform where they can start communicating in a better way with different communities,” he says.
It is yet early days for the Mitron app in the Indian market but the opportunity ahead of it is extremely large as the short format video category is going to stay.
Indian short-format video app Mitron has become the first in the space to introduce categories. As a result, Mitron is providing a bespoke service that matches categories based on the talent of content creators to specific interests of viewers. On the app users can see content organised in affinity-based categories, enabling them to discover content of their interest with one click. Content creators, based on their skillsets, will be able to create an engaged community of followers. Categories thus enable users to enjoy greater control over the content they view, whilst also providing a fillip to content distribution, by ensuring that the right content is discovered by the right audience. The app downloads have crossed 35 million on the Android play store.
To begin with, user-generated videos have been mapped against 15 categories such as entertainment, food, funny, sports, travel and nature, education, motivation, devotion, dance, lifestyle, music, health and fitness and pets, amongst others. This will offer an experience that is unlike the typical user experience on short video apps, where users do not necessarily discover videos that have a perfect match with their interests and content creators do not always get the exposure they deserve among the audience that appreciate such content. Mitron app will keep adding more categories for skillsets; enabling more Indian talent to find their following. Going forward Mitron plans to build strong and vibrant micro-communities around categories and give each category a life of its own; content creators and distributors finding an audience that is relevant to them and is invested in them.
“With this launch, there’s finally a home for new local independent voices to build, share and inspire audiences in the farthest corners of the nation. This is going to transform how short video content is organised and discovered. Our aim has been to promote and give our content creators an opportunity to showcase their skills to a Bharat audience that is interested in their content. One click is all that it will take to make the match happen. We will grow every category on Mitron into a community of passionate content creators and their followers. The possibilities here are endless, based on the talent of creators and the interest of users. This will be a game changer in the space,” Mitron TV founder Shivank Agarwal said.
MUMBAI: Bangalore based Gympik Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd., which owns and runs Gympik.com, the largest fitness discovery platform of India has increased its foot print in the corporate wellness catergory by acquiring Oyofit. a fitness aggregator for enterprises and individuals.
Founded in September 2015, by Shivank Agarwal and Ruchik Garg, Oyofit, has unique gym membership offerings for individuals and corporate that includes DreamOrbit, HackerRank, AirRescue, MoveInSync, FxCart, HackerEarth, RazorPay, Jet Airways, Furlenco and HomeLane.
“Corporate wellness is gaining prominence as its benefits range from increased employee productivity, higher engagement, lesser absenteeism and higher ROI. This acquisition is part of our strategy to expand the business of our corporate wellness solutions and become the leaders in this sector. Oyofit has established a strong presence in the corporate fitness category. We bring the strengths of strong network of personal trainers and the capability to deliver wellness solutions that cater to the unique needs of employees. Together, our abilities will enable us bring wellness solutions to corporates in the most efficient way” said Gympik founder and CEO Amaresh Ojha without disclosing the consideration.
The co-founders and the core members of the Oyofit team will join Gympik and Shivank Agarwal, co-Founder of Oyofit, will be part of the Gympik leadership team.
“It will be an opportunity for Oyofit to be part of Gympik and build the corporate wellness category which has tremendous potential in the coming years” said Oyofit co-founder Shivank.
Gympik was founded in December 2012 by Ojha, with a vision of creating technology driven solutions that impact the fitness choices of individuals that enable them to lead a healthy life. They have raised an undisclosed amount in the pre-series A funding in 2016 from Roundglass partners. Gympik is rapidly expanding with more than 9000 fitness centers and 6000 personal trainers on their platform and presence in 20 cities. They are now venturing into corporate wellness to drive healthier change at workplaces and build a healthy and fit working community in India.
MUMBAI: Bangalore based Gympik Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd., which owns and runs Gympik.com, the largest fitness discovery platform of India has increased its foot print in the corporate wellness catergory by acquiring Oyofit. a fitness aggregator for enterprises and individuals.
Founded in September 2015, by Shivank Agarwal and Ruchik Garg, Oyofit, has unique gym membership offerings for individuals and corporate that includes DreamOrbit, HackerRank, AirRescue, MoveInSync, FxCart, HackerEarth, RazorPay, Jet Airways, Furlenco and HomeLane.
“Corporate wellness is gaining prominence as its benefits range from increased employee productivity, higher engagement, lesser absenteeism and higher ROI. This acquisition is part of our strategy to expand the business of our corporate wellness solutions and become the leaders in this sector. Oyofit has established a strong presence in the corporate fitness category. We bring the strengths of strong network of personal trainers and the capability to deliver wellness solutions that cater to the unique needs of employees. Together, our abilities will enable us bring wellness solutions to corporates in the most efficient way” said Gympik founder and CEO Amaresh Ojha without disclosing the consideration.
The co-founders and the core members of the Oyofit team will join Gympik and Shivank Agarwal, co-Founder of Oyofit, will be part of the Gympik leadership team.
“It will be an opportunity for Oyofit to be part of Gympik and build the corporate wellness category which has tremendous potential in the coming years” said Oyofit co-founder Shivank.
Gympik was founded in December 2012 by Ojha, with a vision of creating technology driven solutions that impact the fitness choices of individuals that enable them to lead a healthy life. They have raised an undisclosed amount in the pre-series A funding in 2016 from Roundglass partners. Gympik is rapidly expanding with more than 9000 fitness centers and 6000 personal trainers on their platform and presence in 20 cities. They are now venturing into corporate wellness to drive healthier change at workplaces and build a healthy and fit working community in India.
