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<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival</a> is one of the world's most prestigious events which will be live from Oct 19-23.</li><li>While nobel laureates, some of the biggest political and corporate icons will provide thought leadership, it's a great platform to network with CXOs from around the world.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival 2020</a> is presented by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" data-type="tilCustomLink">AWS</a>.</li><li>Register for the <keyword id="10088455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-trends-festival">Global Trends Festival</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsform_2020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.</li></ul> In a world crowded with messaging apps, <keyword id="3395480" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Farid-Ahsan">Farid Ahsan</keyword> and his co-founders created an app used regularly by over 100 million Indians. What’s the difference between ShareChat and a thousand others? All its users speak either in Telugu, Punjabi, and even Bhojpuri -- a total of 15 Indic languages. Ahsan says that it is easy to move an elephant rather than a <a href="https://yourstory.com/2017/09/failures-iit-kanpur-graduates-sharechat-whatsapp?utm_pageloadtype=scroll">herd of sheep</a>. Instead of going after users who prefer English, they went after those who do not engage on Instagram and Twitter to create their own ‘space’ where they will not be subject to judgement for the kind of content they consume. Ahsan says that their app is a replacement for Google itself as their users barely use search applications. This sweet spot that they hit did not come as intuition or an epiphany. For a team that has been innovating since the time they were in a dorm room, the reason behind their success after 14 failures is that they used a data-based approach. The ShareChat team observed that Indian languages' engagement was much higher than what they saw in English. They soon removed English from the app, dedicating it to 'Bharat,' the millions of underserved Indians outside the English-speaking users in India, who are ambitious and aspirational. When asked why he took <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/people/farid-ahsan-sharechat-interview/articleshow/62210916.cms">this bold decision</a>, Ahsan says, "All Indians are bilingual." Apart from being a founder and a visionary of sorts, Ahsan is also an expert on 'Bharat users' - what they want, and even how they think. At the Global Trends event, Ahsan will speak on 'The Next 200 million' at a fireside chat, which will discuss the key spokes that hold e-commerce and social media together --- the enabler, the platform, and the influencer. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-nandini-piramal-on-breaking-barriers-and-transforming-businesses-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78601109.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Nandini Piramal on breaking barriers, and transforming businesses at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/catch-kavin-mittal-one-of-indias-youngest-billionaire-entrepreneurs-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78600950.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Catch Kavin Mittal, one of India’s youngest billionaire entrepreneurs, at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-sangita-reddy-president-ficci-speak-about-women-entrepreneurship-and-economic-leadership-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78574587.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI, speak about women entrepreneurship and economic leadership at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a>

Watch out for Farid Ahsan, who has a finger on the pulse of Bharat users, at the Global Trends Festival 2020

As every budding entrepreneur today is thinking of pain points from where their business ideas can emerge, three Lucknow boys are already on their feet trying to connect underserved netizens who want to have social interactions in their language of choice. 
 <keyword id="3395480" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Farid-Ahsan">Farid Ahsan</keyword>, <keyword id="724261" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhanu-Singh">Bhanu Singh</keyword> and <keyword id="3395481" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ankush-Sachdeva">Ankush Sachdeva</keyword> - all three of whom are <keyword id="108320" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Kanpur">IIT Kanpur</keyword> passouts - have identified these users as non-metro audience who are widely unaddressed by the social products available in the market. They say Facebook or Twitter are serving a very niche audience in Indian society and not those who are still experimenting with the internet through their smartphones with limited data packs. 
 
This lot, they said, wants to express themselves online but do not have a platform which allows them to interact in the comfort of their local languages. The trio then came down to the conclusion - if they were to give these people an alternative, this untouched market would nto shy away from communicating socially like others. 
 It is for this reason this trio soon started developing an app last year, and this led to the birth of '<keyword id="3358959" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShareChat">Sharechat</keyword>' - a one of its kind social networking app for India’s vernacular language users, what the founders would like to call "India's real Facebook". 
 
The sheer success this app has got in the past few months indicates people were desperately seeking for such a platform. The app has been downloaded over 1 million times and it has half a million active monthly users. It started as a fun app for Whatsapp with users sharing 1 lakh content pieces per day, and has now made rapid strides towards becoming a full-fledged social network. 
 
FEATURES: 
 
- It allows users to share videos, jokes, GIFs, audio songs and funny images in Hindi, Telugu, Marathi and Malayalam. 
 
- The developers plan to add some more languages like Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil and Kannada soon. 
 
- ShareChat currently allows users to follow each other, create and find content in their language of preference and share them on all possible chat platforms. 
 
- The developers are also planning to add new content formats like live events and games. 
 
- It provides funniest Indian videos, best jokes, memes like Bakchodi Billi, Troll cricket and other latest and best funny jokes and funny videos. 
 
- Latest music videos, songs and Indian cinema and TV ads are also available with updates on Tamil, Bollywood, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali movies and songs. 
 
- It also gives daily horoscope, astrology in all Indian languages by birth date, kundli match service, news in Indian languages like Hindi, Kannada, love quotes, tips to dress well and how to prepare for interviews. 
 
- The app also provides health tips on how to cure yourself with home-made remedies, lose weight, religious quotes and dictionary. 
 
Notably, ShareChat recently made its way to the top six apps in the second batch of Google Launchpad Accelerator programme- a six-month mentorship programme in California. The programme includes $50,000 equity-free funding, two-week all-expenses paid bootcamp and access to Google Cloud.

IIT-K alumni's social networking app has something that Facebook lacks, and it has got them half a million users already

<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival</a> is one of the world's most prestigious events which will be live from Oct 19-23.</li><li>While nobel laureates, some of the biggest political and corporate icons will provide thought leadership, it's a great platform to network with CXOs from around the world.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival 2020</a> is presented by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" data-type="tilCustomLink">AWS</a>.</li><li>Register for the Global Trends Festival <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsform_2020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.</li></ul> In the social media world, where it seems that the cards have already been dealt and the hegemony of Facebook is unwavering, a few years ago a new player called TikTok appeared. The Chinese application has gathered 800 million users worldwide in less than five years, one in eight of them from the USA. TikTok’s aggressive market strategy is not only disliked by competitors from Silicon Valley, but also recently by the Donald Trump administration. <ul><li>Despite threats, Donald Trump did not block TikTok in late September.</li><li>TikTok wants to launch a brand new purchasing tool, something similar to the one that already functions on Instagram today.</li><li><keyword id="2839965" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Blake-Chandlee">Blake Chandlee</keyword> will be a guest of the <keyword id="9732021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="business-insider-global-trends-festival">Business Insider Global Trends Festival</keyword> in October. Join us!</li><li>Blake Chandlee was previously associated with Facebook, where he spent a decade overseeing business cooperation in Europe, Latin America and the USA. </li></ul>TikTok - victim of Trump's trade war? In early August, President Donald Trump announced that he would outlaw the operation of TikTok in the USA because he “has such power”. A storm broke out in the American social media, because the application has around 100 million users in the United States alone and is extremely popular. According to information from the Reuters agency, Trump was supposed to come to the conclusion that battles with young influencers just before the November elections were a bad idea. He gave TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, an ultimatum to sell its company. TikTok itself was to be blocked at the end of September. However, Donald Trump withdrew from the idea as a result of an agreement between ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart. This deal will create a Texas-based TikTok Global in the USA, in which 12.5% of shares will be held by Oracle and 7.5% by Walmart. The rest will still belong to the Chinese company ByteDance. Approximately 25,000 jobs will be created and a fund will be set up, under which USD 5 billion will be allocated to education. Blake Chandlee - fintech expert for difficult times Blake Chandlee, TikTok's Vice-President for Global Business Solutions in Europe and the US, pointed out in August that Trump's charges discredited his administration and were unfounded. TikTok is clearly an independent company. We have already given our customers many examples confirming this. We have built the company outside China. The data are also outside China: in the United States and Singapore," said Chandlee. Blake Chandlee was previously associated with Facebook, where he spent a decade overseeing business cooperation in Europe, Latin America and the USA. Bloomberg recalls that he broke up with Mark Zuckerberg's company in 2017 and moved on to the Outcome Health start-up, which was sued by investors. Last year, he joined the Chinese company Bytedance – the owner of TikToka. Blake Chandlee was not the only manager poached by the Chinese at the time. Previously, the company acquired Vanessa Pappas, previously associated with YouTube, who was appointed general manager at TikTok. Prior to joining the Facebook team, she was the Sales Director at Yahoo in the UK. Blake Chandlee - expert on new products What is TikTok? Users of the application can record short videos in it and synchronize the video with music. All this can also be enhanced with video filters and various types of stickers. In conjunction with a crowd of nearly 800 million users, it gives a huge sales potential. Blake Chandlee revealed a few months ago that TikTok wants to launch a brand new purchasing tool, something similar to the one that already functions on Instagram today. Users will be able to make purchases directly from the application level. If we find that our consumers are involved in the content and want to buy the products they see, we will enable them to do so as quickly as possible - with one click," said Chandlee. He also emphasises that TikTok advertisers offer deeply committed users who spend 250 to 300 seconds in the application during one session - twice as much as on Instagram. At the same time, TikTok offers less detailed information about who its users are. It is not a typical social media network. Chandlee also believes that “hashtag challenges” can be an asset for advertisers, since they can turn a marketing campaign into a viral, thus encouraging users to make films on a particular topic. TikTok - apolitical Blake Chandlee wrote on his blog last October that TikTok does not allow paid advertising that speaks “for” or “against” any candidate, leader or political party. Chandlee stresses that advertisements and political content do not serve the application created for entertainment purposes. Our mission is to inspire creativity and build joy. We want to make sure that we create a place where our community - users, creators and brands - can show creativity, create trends and have fun," wrote Chandlee. The statement was issued during the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. TikTok critics pointed out that the majority of searches featuring “Hong Kong” indicated a rather positive picture of reality, while riots continued on the streets. Some also pointed out that TikTok censors content not only in China but also in Turkey. The application there prohibits users from making fun of President Recep Erdogan. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-farid-ahsan-who-has-a-finger-on-the-pulse-of-bharat-users-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78613634.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Farid Ahsan, who has a finger on the pulse of Bharat users, at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-nandini-piramal-on-breaking-barriers-and-transforming-businesses-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78601109.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Nandini Piramal on breaking barriers, and transforming businesses at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/catch-kavin-mittal-one-of-indias-youngest-billionaire-entrepreneurs-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78600950.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Catch Kavin Mittal, one of India’s youngest billionaire entrepreneurs, at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a>

Catch Blake Chandlee, TikTok's Vice-President, at the Global Trends Festival 2020 talk about ways to make TikTok win against Instagram

<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival</a> is one of the world's most prestigious events which will be live from Oct 19-23.</li><li>While nobel laureates, some of the biggest political and corporate icons will provide thought leadership, it's a great platform to network with CXOs from around the world.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival 2020</a> is presented by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" data-type="tilCustomLink">AWS</a>.</li><li>Get your tickets now from <a href="https://in.bookmyshow.com/events/business-insider-global-trends-festival/ET00137578" data-type="tilCustomLink">BookMyShow</a>.</li></ul> With over 5.5 million subscribers on Youtube and 2.6 million Instagram followers, this internet sensation has warmed her way into our hearts with her classic and relatable comic sketches. <keyword id="3703117" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="prajakta-koli">Prajakta Koli</keyword>, also known as MostlySane is one of India’s leading content creators. In 2015, a 22-year-old girl showed India’s cultural and linguistic diversity using the most spoken language in our country, Hindi. Her quirky video was on ten words (in Hindi, no doubt) that Delhiites use and how it would shock Mumbaikars. One of the words is sandasi, in the north refers to the kitchen tool (pincer) used to hold hot vessels. But, in Mumbai, it’s used to describe a commode. Needless to say, it went viral, and Prajakta Koli, who was a Radio Jockey (RJ) then, quit to become a professional YouTuber. From a RJ to becoming a social media sensation This young trailblazer is also known for her campaigns on youth-centric issues. She has been invited by the Obama Foundation to raise awareness on social campaigns, including the importance of girl education. Fondly dubbed as the Queen of content, her journey started while she was doing the job she always dreamed of, radio jockeying. However, she soon realized that it lacked facetime and did not compliment her many talents as a performer. And serendipity played its part. While making an Instagram video, she was spotted by the VP of One Digital Entertainment, who convinced her to start her own YouTube channel, MostlySane. And as they say, the rest is history and a lot of hard work. She gained over a million followers in no time and has also done some collaborations on Girlyaapa with PA Girls the web series. She is a celebrity in her own right, and what sets her apart is how she approaches and produces her content. Koli believes that videos' format should be simple without using fancy cameras and remain grounded. At the Global Trends festival, the influencer will share the stage with Farid Ahsan, the co-founder of ShareChat and Kavin Mittal, the CEO of Hike Messenger, on bringing the next 200 million Indians to shop online. After all, Koli knows the pulse of many young Indians and what they want. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-ubers-apac-head-pradeep-parameswaran-open-up-about-sustainable-mobility-for-all-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78493912.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch Uber’s APAC head Pradeep Parameswaran open up about sustainable mobility for all at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/sadhguru-jaggi-vasudev-at-global-trends-festival-2020-simplifying-sustainability/articleshow/78271251.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Sadhguru at Global Trends Festival 2020: Simplifying Sustainability</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-oyos-billionaire-founder-ritesh-agarwal-talking-tech-at-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78141486.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for OYO’s billionaire founder Ritesh Agarwal talking tech at Global Trends Festival 2020</a>

Watch out for Prajakta Koli, the social media queen at the Global Trends Festival 2020

<keyword id="6354583" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Salman-Khan">Salman Khan</keyword>’s latest movie <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Bajrangi-Bhaijaan-the-highest-grosser-of-2015/articleshow/48145585.cms">Bajrangi Bhaijaan</a> has taken the country by storm and has become the fastest-ever <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> movie to collect Rs 100 crores at the Box office. The movie, which portrays the emotional journey of an Indian man to Pakistan, has touched millions of hearts in both the countries and is even being called Salman Khan’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Why-is-Bajrangi-Bhaijaan-unlike-every-other-Salman-Khan-movie/articleshow/48112256.cms">best performance till date</a>. 
 
However, the producers of the movie have found themselves in a legal row about one particular song in the movie. The song is called <keyword id="2917013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bhar-Do-Jholi">Bhar Do Jholi</keyword> and features Pakistani singer <keyword id="255" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adnan-Sami">Adnan Sami</keyword> as a qawwal who sings this qawwali at a Dargah in Pakistan. The song has been sung by Sami himself. 
 The producers’ rights over the song, however, have been questioned by a Pakistani qawwal called <keyword id="2935259" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amjad-Sabri">Amjad Sabri</keyword>. He has claimed that the producers have used this song, which was his father <keyword id="2964942" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ghulam-Farid-Sabri">Ghulam Farid Sabri</keyword>’s creation, without his consent. 
 
As per a report by Pakistani news channel Geo TV, the singer has decided to approach an Indian court over the matter. He has already applied for a visa and would soon be visiting the country to initiate the legal formalities. 
 Late Haji Ghulam Farid Sabri was a part of the singing duo <keyword id="12353" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sabri-Brothers">Sabri Brothers</keyword>, along with his brother Haji Maqbool Sabri. The duo played a key role in popularizing the form of qawwali in the west by doing several international shows. 
 
We found the link to the original song on YouTube. 
 
 
 
Courtesy: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7JZxeDGSUfPJGdj4i9o-Aw">Rashid Hanif</a>

Bajrangi Bhaijaan in legal trouble over Bhar Do Jholi song!

<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival</a> is one of the world's most prestigious events which will be live from Oct 19-23.</li><li>While nobel laureates, some of the biggest political and corporate icons will provide thought leadership, it's a great platform to network with CXOs from around the world.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival 2020</a> is presented by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" data-type="tilCustomLink">AWS</a>.</li><li>Register for the <keyword id="10088455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-trends-festival">Global Trends Festival</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsform_2020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.</li></ul> Long before the lockdown, the auto sector has been battling a slowdown in sales, and <keyword id="42747" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Motors">Tata Motors</keyword> fared no better. Yet, neither the company nor the Tata group ever gave up on their plans to go green. They even launched a battery-powered Nexon. Even though many competitors joined the bandwagon, the Tatas promised to march towards the sustainable future of motoring with “all the might of their group.” In a sense, Tata Chemicals is also building a factory to make battery cells; Tata Electric will work towards charging infrastructure, and much more. The CEO of Tata Motors, <keyword id="6393593" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Guenter-Butschek">Guenter Butschek</keyword>, is bold enough to work on the volume game, saying it is ‘critical’ for this <a href="https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/tata-motors-launches-battery-powered-nexon/104038">investment manner.</a> Going big is nothing new neither for the group nor Butschek, who formerly worked with German auto major Daimler. However, they have been taking extensive measures to bring down costs as the slump in the market. Domestic and international competition means that big auto companies have little pricing power. To stay in tune with the changing times, Butschek drives new learnings with <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/with-nexon-in-the-market-we-are-obviously-a-talking-point-at-the-dinner-table/article27248656.ece#:~:text=Tata%20Motors'%20CEO%20Guenter%20Butschek,combination%20of%20headwinds%20is%20'unprecedented.">a tear-down factory </a>at Pune, where vehicles of all brands are torn down to study components, design, and hence the price. At the Global Trends Festival 2020, Butschek will talk about the challenging path of sustainability that the country will have to take, the pressures thrown by COVID-19, and the role of electric cars. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/dont-miss-rana-daggubati-speak-about-the-future-of-storytelling-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78630087.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Don’t miss Rana Daggubati speak about the future of storytelling at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-farid-ahsan-who-has-a-finger-on-the-pulse-of-bharat-users-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78613634.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Farid Ahsan, who has a finger on the pulse of Bharat users, at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-nandini-piramal-on-breaking-barriers-and-transforming-businesses-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78601109.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Nandini Piramal on breaking barriers, and transforming businesses at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a>

Guenter Butschek will speak about the much needed electric push towards a greener future at the Global Trends Festival

<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival</a> is one of the world's most prestigious events which will be live from Oct 19-23.</li><li>While nobel laureates, some of the biggest political and corporate icons will provide thought leadership, it's a great platform to network with CXOs from around the world.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival 2020</a> is presented by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" data-type="tilCustomLink">AWS</a>.</li><li>Register for the <keyword id="10088455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-trends-festival">Global Trends Festival</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsform_2020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.</li></ul> Millions of Indians right from villages to high rises are now pilot testing an idea that <keyword id="1702989" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Byju-Raveendran">Byju Raveendran</keyword> had, at least nine years back. His eponymous app provides deep and catchy insights on syllabi and delivers it digitally. During the pandemic, his first-mover advantage has been paying off very well. While parents and teachers alike struggle to gain young students' attention, Byjus has hit a homerun long back. On its early learning app, they are taught by Frozen's Anna, Moana, and Lion King's Simba, after the former struck a deal with Disney. As a young student who 'enjoyed' studying and solving Math problems, Byju created this content to bring Indian students out of the rut of rote learning and memorizing. This philosophy has over 4.5 million takers who are paid users on his app. Now one of India's youngest billionaires, Raveendran, is all set for a meteoric rise as his subscriber base jumped <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/byjus-onboards-new-investors-edtech-decacorns-paid-subscriber-base-jumps-by-a-million-in-a-month/articleshow/78267761.cms">by a million during the lockdown</a>. In April, Byjus clocked in a massive <a href="https://yourstory.com/2020/06/byjus-founders-edtech-covid-19-startup">Rs 350 crore in revenue</a>, despite offering free access to its content. Raveendran had hoped that this amount would only double in the months to come. Byju's is also the second-highest valued Indian startup with an $11 billion valuation after having raised over a billion dollars in this year alone. But the best of the times are yet to come. Long after the virus is gone and normalcy returns, Raveendran hopes that a blended online and offline learning format will be practiced by educators worldwide. At the Global Trends Festival 2020, Raveendran will speak on "Right Idea at the Right Place at the Right Time' in a fireside chat about his own business, edtech as a sector, and how it will shape up in a post-Covid world. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/dont-miss-rana-daggubati-speak-about-the-future-of-storytelling-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78630087.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Don’t miss Rana Daggubati speak about the future of storytelling at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-farid-ahsan-who-has-a-finger-on-the-pulse-of-bharat-users-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78613634.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Farid Ahsan, who has a finger on the pulse of Bharat users, at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-nandini-piramal-on-breaking-barriers-and-transforming-businesses-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78601109.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Nandini Piramal on breaking barriers, and transforming businesses at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a>

Hear and learn from Byju Raveendran, the man who made online classes fun, years before COVID, at the Global Trends Festival 2020

<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival</a> is one of the world's most prestigious events which will be live from Oct 19-23.</li><li>While nobel laureates, some of the biggest political and corporate icons will provide thought leadership, it's a great platform to network with CXOs from around the world.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink">Global Trends Festival 2020</a> is presented by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://aws.amazon.com/" data-type="tilCustomLink">AWS</a>.</li><li>Register for the <keyword id="10088455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-trends-festival">Global Trends Festival</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsform_2020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">here</a>.</li></ul> Seiko Noda is the 'iron lady' of Japanese politics. She has been a member of parliament for over thirty years. However, she is one of the few women on the Japanese political scene. Women in the Land of Cherry Blossom are still struggling with the problem of the 'glass ceiling' in workplaces where managerial positions are reserved for men. Seiko Noda wants to change that. <ul><li>How to break through the glass ceiling? The first step in this direction is to free yourself from the pattern of thinking that says that there is no place for women in politics.</li><li>"They kept telling me that I should behave like a man, not get married and not have children. When I got married at forty, I felt what it meant to be a woman. Until then, I was a bit like a politician-man dressed like a woman.</li><li>Seiko Noda will be a guest of BUSINESS INSIDER Global Trends Festival. Buy a ticket and learn about the source of her success!</li></ul>Politics - a world for men? Seiko Noda went against the current from an early age. In her youth, she experienced the difficulties of living in a strongly patriarchal society, which is filled with strict rules. She attended Futaba secondary school in the suburbs of Tokyo. However, she had to leave it because she had received her motorbike licence against the school rules. She continued her education in the United States. Seiko Noda is a politician of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. She was under thirty when she was first elected to parliament. A few years later, when she became Minister of Post and Telecommunications, she was also the youngest member of the cabinet. In 2008, she was appointed Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister for Science, Technology and Food Safety in the Yasuo Fukuda Government. She remembers that the beginnings in politics were not easy. - When I entered the political world, it was an entirely masculine world. My grandfather was a politician (Noda Uichi, former Minister of Construction), people often think that he "chose" me to follow in his footsteps. In fact, he was strongly opposed to my political career. I think he was worried about what would happen to me if he let his beloved granddaughter enter a male-dominated world," says Noda in an interview with Nippon.com. At the same time, she mentions that many of her supporters in the party advised her that in order to pursue a political career she should give up her femininity. - People told me to change my behaviour. They said that if I gave the impression of being a free and lonely woman, flattered by men who know nothing about the difficulties of bringing up children, I would not be able to win an election. Ever since I was twenty-five years old, they kept telling me that I should basically behave like a man, not get married and not have children. When I got married at forty, I felt what it meant to be a woman. I think it was the first time I understood myself as a woman. Until then, I was a bit like a politician-man dressed as a woman - she recalls. In recent years, Seiko Noda has faced the problems and struggles of many women trying to reconcile work with raising children. She herself became the mother of a disabled son, who was born when she reached the age of 50, after many years of infertility treatment. Noda devotes a significant part of her career to encouraging women to play an active role in politics. She put herself forward as a candidate for the post of Secretary General of the liberal-democratic party which has been ruling uninterruptedly in Japan for over 60 years. She has succeeded. Today she is someone who acts as an intermediary between the Prime Minister and party members. Seiko Noda has opened a “school” with lectures and seminars in Tokyo and in her home district of Gifu. The aim of these activities is to prepare women who want to pursue a political career. Noda stresses that the first step in this direction is to free oneself from the pattern of thinking that says there is no place for women in politics. Through her actions, she wants to first increase the number of women in local governments. In the municipal elections in 2019, women accounted for only 14% of the elected representatives in the local councils, and of the 1788 councils across the country, as many as 16.9% had no women as candidates. Seiko Noda says that around 80% of care for her son is provided by her husband, who has a much more flexible work schedule. She is eager to share this example in order to show that it is possible to dispel the stereotype in Japan that bringing up children is the domain of women. A future Prime Minister of Japan? After the birth of her son, she began to boldly pursue her goals in politics. She started to speak clearly about her ambition to become party leader. In one of the conversations, she indicated that it is a mistaken belief in the political world that the successes of those at the summits of power guarantee the prosperity of those at the lower levels. On the contrary, she believes that it should be the other way around, with the weak and the minorities who know where the problem lies. Just after her appointment as Secretary General of the party, Seiko Noda said that it was time for a woman to head the government in Japan. In her opinion, this would require, above all, many changes in this male-dominated society. Noda was mentioned backstage as the successor to the resigning Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She herself, however, pointed out that she was not prepared for an earlier political struggle, as the elections were only scheduled for 2021. Yoshihide Suga finally took office in September. There was only room for two women in the 20-member cabinet. This is well below the target set by the government, which is to employ women in around 30% of management positions in all areas of society by the end of 2020. This was quite a disappointment, all the more so as Shinzo Abe had been trying for eight years to promote the strengthening of the role of women in politics. In Japan, only 10% of members of the lower house of parliament are women. Seiko Noda believes that the solution to Japan's demographic problem, where the population is ageing, is quite simple. It is enough to release women's potential and encourage them to be more active. On the other hand, any stereotypes and inappropriate working culture that does not benefit the family must be abolished. The actions taken by Shinzo Abe have had some positive effects. The female occupational activity rate increased from 65% in 2013 to 71.3% in 2018. According to official data, the Abe government created about 535,000 places in childcare facilities, which in turn is free of charge for children up to two years old coming from low-income families. Fathers, like mothers, can go on up to one year's paid parental leave, and the parental allowance has been raised to 67% of the salary, from 50% earlier. However, this has not solved all the problems. The lack of daycare facilities continues to be a major obstacle facing mothers wishing to return to work. As far as men are concerned, around 6% of them take paternity leave. In the report prepared by the Global Gender Gap World Economic Forum, Japan was ranked 110 out of 149 countries. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, women there earn 24.5% less than men - the third largest pay gap among all OECD countries. Learn how to achieve your goal and break through the glass ceiling. See Seiko Noda at the Business Insider Global Trends Festival. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-farid-ahsan-who-has-a-finger-on-the-pulse-of-bharat-users-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78613634.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Farid Ahsan, who has a finger on the pulse of Bharat users, at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/watch-out-for-nandini-piramal-on-breaking-barriers-and-transforming-businesses-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78601109.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch out for Nandini Piramal on breaking barriers, and transforming businesses at the Global Trends Festival 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trendsfestival" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/catch-kavin-mittal-one-of-indias-youngest-billionaire-entrepreneurs-at-the-global-trends-festival-2020/articleshow/78600950.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Watch Kavin Mittal speak about the potential of virtual economy, tapping into Bharat users, and more at Global Trends Festival 2020</a>

Catch Seiko Noda, Member of Parliament, Japan, at the Global Trends Festival 2020

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, was killed on February 13.When <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">news</keyword> of a man getting fatally poisoned at a Kuala Lumpur airport first broke, the event caused a local stir but received relatively little attention worldwide.Once Jong-Nam's identity surfaced a day later, interest into the mysterious death of the man&#xa0;who had reportedly fallen&#xa0;out of favour with his family and&#xa0;the dictatorial North Korean&#xa0;government became widespread.With investigation developments coming up&#xa0;daily,&#xa0;this&#xa0;is what we know about the strange death&#xa0;so far.<h2>The Timeline&#xa0;of&#xa0;Events:</h2>Jong-Nam, the exiled half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was waiting for a flight to Macau&#xa0;at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia on Feb. 13 when two women ran up to him&#xa0;from behind and appeared&#xa0;to spray an unidentified liquid on him.&#xa0;He soon&#xa0;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/14/kim-jong-un-half-brother-reportedly-killed-malaysia-north-korea">started feeling dizzy, collapsed, and died before the ambulance carrying him</a> made it to the hospital. Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV&#xa0;released a CCTV video that captured the attack.The next day, South Korean&#xa0;television broadcaster TV Chosun <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/north-korean-leader-s-half-brother-killed-in-malaysia/3518816.html">reported</a> that the two women suspected of killing Kim Jong-Nam&#xa0;were North Korean operatives who fled the&#xa0;airport in a taxi.&#xa0;On Feb. 15, South Korean government officials <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/s-korea-confirms-murdered-n-korean-is-kim-jong-un-s-half-brother/3520516.html">confirmed the death</a>&#xa0;and said&#xa0;that&#xa0;North Korea's government had been&#xa0;planning to&#xa0;kill him for the past 5 years.&#xa0;<h2>The Victim:</h2>Kim Jong-Nam is the son of deceased North Korea leader&#xa0;Kim Jong-Il and&#xa0;North Korean actress Song Hye Rim. As Jong-il's illegitimate son, Jong-Nam&#xa0;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/15/who-was-kim-jong-nam/?utm_term=.6d63159abc75">spent an early part of his childhood living in secret</a> with&#xa0;his mother's relatives in&#xa0;Pyongyang before leaving North Korea to study in top schools in Moscow and Geneva.Because Kim Jong-Il's father&#xa0;(self-proclaimed Eternal President of the Republic Kim Il-sung)&#xa0;did not approve of his son's frequent mistresses, Kim Jong-Nam's maternal relatives arranged for the son&#xa0;to&#xa0;live&#xa0;in secret for years before&#xa0;coming back&#xa0;to North Korea.&#xa0;Upon return, Kim Jong-Nam joined the Ministry of People's Security and worked to bring restricted&#xa0;internet access to the country in&#xa0;the 1990s. As Jong-nam was Jong-il's oldest son, he was considered the favorite to take over for the leader from 1994 to 2001.Kim Jong-Nam worked at numerous&#xa0;low-level governmental posts during that time, before finally&#xa0;falling out of favour with the North Korean government, <a href="http://www.atimes.com/article/kim-jong-nam-little-general-fell-grace/">Asia Times reports</a>. &#xa0;His father, Jong-il, accused him of turning "into a capitalist," according to an email sent to the editor of the Tokyo Shimbun by Jong-Nam.&#xa0;"After I went back to North Korea following my education in Switzerland, I grew further apart from my father because I insisted on reform and market-opening and was eventually viewed with suspicion," Jong-Nam wrote.In May 2001, he was arrested&#xa0;at a&#xa0;Tokyo airport for trying to enter the country on a false passport from the Dominican Republic under the&#xa0;under the name "Pang Xiong" - translating as "fat bear" in Mandarin Chinese. He was reported to be accompanied by two women and a young boy, identifying as his son.Jong-nam went into exile shortly after.As of 2003, Jong-Nam&#xa0;split his time between Macau, Singapore and China with his six kids. But even while in exile, Kim Jong Nan gave&#xa0;interviews to European and Japanese press and would occasionally make critical comments about <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38971834">the North Korean government</a>. Some outlets <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/17/kim-jong-nam-warned-pyongyang-criticising-regime-japanese-journalist/">reported</a>&#xa0;that this earned Jong-Nam&#xa0;multiple threats over the years."He knew his life was at risk … and he was aware his brother was after him," an anonymous source who knew Kim Jong-Nam for more than 10 years <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/2071190/murdered-kim-jong-nam-felt-he-was-living-borrowed-time-macau?utm_content=buffer2e469&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">told China Morning Press</a>.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><h2>The&#xa0;Investigation:</h2>After Jong-Nam's death, Malaysia officials conducted &#xa0;<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/kim-jong-nam-death-diplomatic-spat-between-north-korea-malaysia-n724516">an autopsy against the wishes of the North Korean government</a>.&#xa0;Even though earlier reports claimed that Jong-Nam was stabbed with poisoned needles, the autopsy <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/21/asia/kim-jong-nam-north-korea/">found no evidence of puncture wounds</a>.On Feb. 15, Malaysian police&#xa0;announced that it&#xa0;had <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/timeline-the-assassination-of-kim-jong-nam/3527518.html">apprehended</a> 28-year-old Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong. In CCTV footage from the airport attack, Huong is seen wearing a white shirt with the word "LOL."&#xa0;&#xa0;<a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/timeline-the-assassination-of-kim-jong-nam/3527518.html">Over the next three days</a>, the the Malaysian police stopped&#xa0;Indonesian Siti Aiysah, 25, Malaysian&#xa0;Muhammad Farid Bin Jalaluddin, 26, and North Korean Ri Jong Chol, 26, in connection with the murder.&#xa0;Over the last week, numerous stories about the identity and potential&#xa0;motives&#xa0;of the suspects have emerged. The police revealed that Huong worked in the entertainment business, which led to speculation about her&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-suspected-assassin-of-king-jong-nam-reportedly-appeared-on-vietnam-idol-2017-2?r=UK&amp;IR=T">physical similarity to a former Vietnam Idol contest</a>.After her arrest, Aisyah claimed that<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kim-jong-nam-murder-suspect-duped-tv-prank-2017-2?r=UK&amp;IR=T">&#xa0;she was misled to believe that she was being filmed for a hidden-camera&#xa0;TV show</a>&#xa0;even though the Indonesian police said that she received money to spray Kim Jong-nam with liquid. Malaysian security forces also announced&#xa0;that&#xa0;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/16/kim-jong-nam-assassination-autopsy-completed-north-korean-leaders/">the four suspects were hired assassins who did not know each other prior to the attack</a>.Malaysian police have had to amp up security after someone tried to <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/morgue-holding-kim-jong-nam-s-body-has-break-attempt-n724181">break into the morgue where Kim Jong Nam's body was being held</a>&#xa0;on Wednesday.Malaysian&#xa0;police also announced on Wednesday that it <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39048658">wanted to question</a>&#xa0;North Korean embassy official&#xa0;Hyon Kwang Song, 44, along with other nationals&#xa0;Kim Uk Il, 37, and&#xa0;Ri Ju U, which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/world/asia/kim-jong-nam-ass%E2%80%A6">prompted an angry response from North Korea</a>. Malaysia is one of the few countries whose citizens can travel to North Korea without a visa, but some analysts have predicted that friction over the assassination and Malaysia's refusal to comply with North Korean demands regarding the investigation <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/asia/malaysia-north-korea-kim-diplomacy/">could lead to a significant diplomatic fallout</a>.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><h2>The Latest Developments:</h2>Malaysia <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39073389">announced</a>&#xa0;on Friday that Kim Jong Nam <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nerve-agent-vx-kim-jong-nam-kim-jong-un-2017-2">was killed by VX nerve agent</a>, a highly toxic substance - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vx-nerve-gas-poison-2012-2">a singly oily drop is enough to kill a person</a>, reports BI's Dave Mosher - classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations. Among widespread suspicions of North Korea's involvement in the murder, Malaysian police forces are continuing&#xa0;to seek explanations for the mysterious death.<div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/merriam-webster-twitter-trump-white-house-administration-2017-2">Merriam-Webster can't stop trolling the Trump administration on Twitter</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="03aWFrOTE62IFNMnDkUhGzABVKBGuGJS" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Kim Jong Un's half brother was assassinated - here's what we know so far

<ul><li>ShareChat has raised a total of $224 million, with the latest Series D funding of $100 million from Twitter</li><li>The platform is now looking at starting its monetization journey and is reaching out to brands that could advertise on its platform</li><li>The platform’s aim is to get every Indian on to the internet, to a social network of its choice where they can converse in a language they are comfortable in</li></ul>It’s been four years since ShareChat, India’s homegrown regional social networking platform came into being. The platform came into the limelight after it raised $100 million funding in Series-D from Twitter, bringing the total raised in funding to $224 million. The company that was founded in 2015 by CEO Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Farid Ahsan, currently has a strong user base of 60 million. It hasn’t been making any money till now, because according to Sunil Kamat, Chief Business Officer, ShareChat, the platform was in the growth-hack mode. As the platform is now starting its monetization journey, it is not only reaching out to brands to partner with them but also planning a major hiring spree. It plans to expand its team from its current strength of 250 to 400 within the next three to four months. While they haven’t put a target figure to where they want to be in the next few years, Kamath shares that for them, the priority is to get more and more people onto the internet and present them with a platform where they are comfortable conversing and sharing their opinions. Edited excerpts: Q) It’s been four years since ShareChat started its journey. How has it been so far? We came into being four years ago, before the data revolution happened. Our journey has been pretty impactful till now. Our co-founders saw a gap in the social media landscape early on and saw a large opportunity for a regional social platform, and that’s where it all began. It's good to be early in the space and we are glad to be at the forefront of change because a lot of people are now trying to mimic our platform. It's a good feeling. Q) How big is the team right now, and how do you plan to scale it up? We will be hiring a lot of talent for the company across various units. Our strength is currently at 250, which we plan to scale up to 400 in the next four months. Q) You say you aren’t chasing targets right now. What are you in it for then? One thing that India has been missing is the ability to get everybody on board. For us, it’s about getting every Indian user to be on a social network of his choice and to make him comfortable with his language. What motivates us is the thought of bringing every Indian user to the Internet and thereby help improve his quality of life over a period of time. Q) What has your revenue model been so far? Our revenue model will be ad-based. Till now, we have been completely focused on growth. However, we are not in this for the short-tem. Our aim is to become one of the largest social networks in India, which means we will be heavily acquisition-based. Now that we have acquired users, it's good to open up to partners, to reach the audience. It's good for our audience too, as they have brands coming on board that they can interact with brands. We will end up building our own journey because it's always been that way for us. We never had parallel system to look up to. But people tend to replicate ShareChat’s journey which is overwhelming. Q) While you’ve been in existence for four years, you haven’t spoken about the platform too much. How have you been reaching out to your audience? Our audience belongs to the Tier II, III and IV markets, so we come up with a lot of regional communication. It's about who you want to communicate to. If I wanted to attract the investor community, I would talk to the mainline media. We are doing a lot of work in the regional side; we work with a network where we get access to regional print, television. However, now that we are starting to monetize the platform, you will see a lot more of us. We were in this growth hack mode all these years and didn’t have too much to talk about. We were just putting our heads together, getting the product fitment right, the initial engagement metrics in place and then scaling up with the acquisition of consumers and audience retention. That journey continues. Now we are aiming at accelerating the reach for the platform, getting people to know about ShareChat and build monetization opportunities for the platform, to see how we can get brands to engage with audiences because it’s a fairly new audience for them as well. Q) You have seen good growth in terms of your consumer base. What have you done right? As a platform, we are very data and insights driven. Since we are a User Generated Content platform, our consumers create content for other users to consume. So, a lot of our learning comes from our users. We see people behaving in a certain manner and modify our platform according to the needs of our consumers. We have a comment section on the platform where we observed people started asking for each other’s numbers and other details. Seeing this, we enabled a chat feature. We also observe the kind of content people are consuming on the platform. Sometimes, a nicely edited content might necessarily not do as well as another piece of normal content that people connect better with. So, these are the insights which we pick up. We unlearn and learn again and that's what keeps us going. Q) Going ahead, what will be your marketing strategy? A lot of our marketing will be focused on driving engagement for consumer on content. We will focus on encouraging consumers to use our camera feature. On the other side, we want to build monetization through brands and marketing channels. Q) Have you seen a lot of interest from marketers? We are still at a very early stage because we are just starting that journey now. I have met top FMCG brands and had amazing conversations. They are the ones who are giving us ideas about how they can use the platform. This is probably the first time that brands will have the ability to put up ads in 14-15 languages on a single platform. It's a challenge and an opportunity at the same time because I don't think digital agencies are equipped to run campaigns in more than a few languages. Q) Are you planning to expand to more languages? As a country, we have 22 official languages. We would love to evaluate a language on the basis of what it brings to the table, whether there’s a significant upside of that language. We have also done dialects like Rajasthani, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri because we are a very visual platform in terms of content. We recently brought in Urdu too. We are currently building a team of people who would be well-versed in these languages too, to be able to help consumers. We have teams for various languages and each of them has learning of their own language. What works in 'A' might not work in 'B' but could work in 'C'. So, they work independently, but there is a lot of common understanding of engaging content. Q) With this new round of funding coming in, what will your key focus areas be? The new round of funding hasn’t changed things much at our end. It's more of a financial transaction at this stage but with every round you raise, you become more responsible, towards your shareholders, and investors. So, we really have to make sure that we have very good stories.

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