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<ul><li><keyword id="16368070" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="scrapuncle" source="Orion">ScrapUncle</keyword> offers scrap recycling services via its own website and app to homeowners and offices. </li><li>ScrapUncle received a grant of ₹23 lakh from Columbia University. </li><li>Sharks got into a bidding war over the startup, leading to its valuation getting doubled in a matter of minutes. </li></ul>In season 2 of the reality show <keyword id="11924074" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="shark-tank-india" source="Orion">Shark Tank India</keyword>, multiple entrepreneurs pitched products that aim to solve the nation’s problems. The latest startup that pitched the show, ScrapUncle, also falls into this club. Started in 2019, ScrapUnce is a Delhi-based startup that positions itself as a modern-day ‘kabbadiwala’ (scrap dealer), which <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/scrapuncle/about/">aims to bring </a>“a systematic change in India's recyclable waste management problem”. ScrapUncle offers scrap recycling services via a website and an app. Customers can book trained and verified agents to collect scrap from their homes or offices. These agents accurately weigh the scrap and provide the best value for it, claimed the founder, Mukul Chhabra. The startup also promises <a href="https://scrapuncle.com/home">‘responsible recycling of scrap items’</a> on its website. “Customers and scrap dealers face problems because this sector is extremely unorganised and neglected. But when local sellers are online, then why not scrap dealers?” said Chhabra on the show. Chhabra also stated that in two years, ScrapUncle has completed over 22,000 pickups in the Delhi-NCR region, and sent 14 lakh kilograms of scrap for recycling. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Finding heaven in a junkyard" comment="subhead2" text="Finding heaven in a junkyard">Finding heaven in a junkyard</cmsannotation> A BTech graduate from Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology in Delhi, Chhabra always had an entrepreneurial bent of mind. Before starting ScrapUncle, he co-founded DroneMed in 2017. DroneMed was a startup in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles i.e. drones. It received various awards and recognitions from organizations like DST, Tata Trusts, Indian Air Force, etc. including a grant of ₹10 lakh but the startup had to be shut down. However, 25-year-old Chhabra was always interested in setting up ScrapUncle. “I was interested in robotics since childhood. My maternal uncle is a scrap dealer. I’d visit his junkyard and look for electronic equipment for my robots and projects. For me, it was heaven. That’s also how I got a fair idea about how the sector functioned,” shared Chhabra on the show. From visiting various junkyards to moving scrap dealers in his apartment to understand their challenges, Chhabra researched the industry in detail before launching the business. Normally, a scrap dealer earns ₹30,000-35,000 on a monthly basis, but ScrapUncle collection partners earn anywhere between ₹60,000-70,000, claimed Chhabra. The startup also received a grant of ₹23 lakh from Columbia University. The company, which was founded in 2019, started full-time operations in August 2020, and currently, has monthly sales worth ₹27.5 lakh. Chhabra claimed the business grew 4x during Covid — as more people went in for decluttering. It achieved yearly sales of ₹35 lakh in FY21 and ₹1.48 crore in FY22. Chhabra also projected sales worth ₹6 crore for FY23. After hearing Chhabra’s pitch and vision, sharks Namita Thapar, Anupam Mittal, and Aman Jain commended him for providing dignity to the profession, and for his knowledge of the sector. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Fighting for ‘scraps’ of equity" comment="subhead2" text="Fighting for ‘scraps’ of equity">Fighting for ‘scraps’ of equity</cmsannotation> The co-founder of boAt, Aman Gupta, was the first one to back out from investing because he believed the startup was at a stage where it needed a lot of work. However, he shared that he was impressed by Chhabra’s earnest approach to the business. Impressed by his passion and clarity, Sugar Cosmetics’ cofounder Vineeta Singh made the first offer — ₹30 lakh for 5% equity stake, and ₹30 lakh in debt at 12% interest rate, valuing the company at ₹6 crore. “I don’t know if every city will have a ScrapUncle like this or if you’ll single-handedly be able to make this a pan-India business. But I feel you’re passionate and possess clarity. I want to bet on that,” shared Singh. Namita Thapar, executive director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals, backed out because she didn’t believe she could add any value to the startup. CarDekho’s co-founder Amit Jain highlighted the emerging market for car scrapping and made an offer at the same valuation as Singh but without the element of debt — ₹60 lakh for a 10% equity stake. “This (car scrapping) is an important moment for our industry, where cars that are 10-15 years old will be scrapped… mandatorily, by law” added Jain. Shaadi.com’s founder Anupam Mittal countered with his own offer of ₹60 lakh for an 8% equity stake, raising the valuation to ₹7.5 crore. Jain instantly revised his original offer — the same investment for ₹7% equity stake, which prompted Mittal to offer a revised deal with a 6% equity stake. Before Chhabra could even respond to any of the offers, Jain made a final offer — ₹60 lakh for a 5% equity stake that valued the company at ₹12 crore. In less than a minute the valuation doubled from ₹6 crore to ₹12 crore. Mittal then rescinded his offer, stating that Chhabra took too long to respond. Ultimately, Chhabra agreed to Jain’s offer – of ₹60 lakh for 5% equity. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-group-to-pre-pay-1114-million-for-release-of-pledged-shares-ahead-of-maturity-in-september-2024/articleshow/97643602.cms">Adani Group to pre-pay $1,114 million for release of pledged shares ahead of maturity in September 2024</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/mens-apparel-brand-snitch-sews-all-sharks-together-gives-king-of-bling-anupam-mittal-his-own-fashion-line/articleshow/97576836.cms">Men’s apparel brand Snitch sews all sharks together – Gives ‘King of Bling’ Anupam Mittal his own fashion line</a>

Young boy builds an online kabadiwala biz after being inspired by his uncle's scrapyard 'heaven'

<ul><li>Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban Mission to make Indian cities ‘garbage free’ last year.</li><li>About 2.24 billion tonnes of waste was generated in 2020, and if all this waste is put on trucks they would go around the world a little over 24 times.</li><li>India was ranked at the bottom position of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022, with 151st position in <keyword id="6359012" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="waste-management" source="Orion">waste management</keyword>.</li></ul>It was less than a year ago that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban Mission to make all cities of India ‘garbage free’. Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (<keyword id="6358354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="msme" source="Orion">MSME</keyword>) are struggling everyday in order to make that dream of Swachh Bharat into a reality. India faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. The current systems in India are not able to cope with the volumes of waste generated — about <a href="https://waste-management-world.com/recycling/recycling-in-india-a-market-in-transition/">960 million tonnes</a> of it — by an increasing urban population, and this impacts on the environment and public health. “As per Material Recycling Association (MRAI) India’s recycling rate stands at 30%. The data associated with this recycling rate is largely dominated by highly recyclable materials such as ferrous and non-ferrous scrap, paper, rubber, and tyre etc,” Anurag Asati, co-founder of a waste management company The Kabadiwala, told Business Insider. He noted that the recycling of materials such as plastics is “not very well documented” as a lot of recyclables in the daily garbage and litter does not get collected/recycled because of its low value. Some of it is also informally recycled by waste pickers and kabadiwala associations. The Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban Mission plan relies on a multi pronged strategy — segregate solid waste on source; follow the 3Rs of Reducing, Reusing and Recycling; scientifically process all types of municipal solid waste; and remediate legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management. This may help, but the growing consumerism is just adding more challenges to the bucket. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Consumerism, fast fashion are making waste management expensive" comment="subhead" text="Consumerism, fast fashion are making waste management expensive">Consumerism, fast fashion are making waste management expensive</cmsannotation> About <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/brief/solid-waste-management">2.24 billion tonnes</a> of waste was generated in 2020 as per The World Bank’s data, and if all this waste is put on trucks they would go around the world a little over <a href="https://www.globalrecyclingday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Amazing-things-made-out-of-recycled-goods-2020.pdf">24 times</a>. “With rapid population growth and urbanization, annual waste generation is expected to increase by 73% from 2020 levels to 3.88 billion tonnes in 2050,” the global organisation added. Increasing consumerism and fast fashion trends have pushed consumers to purchase more, leading to an increased contribution to solid waste. “99% of what we buy is discarded <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/10/1021972">within six months</a>, which is one of the key reasons for these alarming numbers,” Monisha Narke, founder of RUR Greenlife said, citing data from the United Nations. That type of waste is difficult to recycle too as they are difficult to collect, Asati of The Kabadiwala said. “Disposal of material like multi-layer packaging, single-use plastic, styrofoam, old clothes is difficult because the collection and processing of this kind of waste requires a lot of effort and resources which makes it expensive,” he noted. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Lack of awareness, budget and consistent policy is an issue too" comment="subhead" text="Lack of awareness, budget and consistent policy is an issue too">Lack of awareness, budget and consistent policy is an issue too</cmsannotation> Lack of awareness, budget, financial viability and infrastructure are some other challenges that India’s waste management system is facing. According to the World Bank, effective waste management is expensive, often comprising 20%–50% of municipal budgets. The lack of land in metropolitan areas like Mumbai and other Tier I cities is making recycling even more difficult and expensive, Narke noted. India was ranked at the bottom position of the <a href="https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/country/ind">Environmental Performance Index </a>(EPI) 2022, with 151st position in waste management, 165th position in climate policy. The country also scored low on rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness. Apart from the basic awareness, India also needs clearer policies around solid waste management systems in India. “MSME policy and schemes in the waste management sector should be clearer and conducive as it will help form proper structure and processes. Frequent changes in the policies makes it difficult to modify the service/product in the given time frame,” Asati added. He emphasized that the government helps promote MSME and green entrepreneurship culture, but there needs to be more focus on tax rebates, subsidies in land and electricity. “The government can also provide community spaces for storing and material recovery facilities for waste management,” Narke added. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/adani-enterprises-maruti-suzuki-infosys-among-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-june-27/slidelist/92481042.cms">Adani Enterprises, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys among stocks to watch out for on June 27</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/oil-prices-could-slump-to-75-a-barrel-in-a-recession-or-jump-to-150-if-european-sanctions-slam-russian-supplies-bofa-says/articleshow/92474354.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Oil prices could slump to $75 a barrel in a recession — or jump to $150 if European sanctions slam Russian supplies, BofA says</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/tesla-is-laying-off-workers-who-only-just-started-and-withdrawing-employment-offers-as-elon-musks-job-cuts-begin/articleshow/92470514.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Tesla is laying off workers who only just started and withdrawing employment offers as Elon Musk's job cuts begin</a>

MSMEs can aid waste management in India but need more hand holding

<ul><li>Many have also started their online store to sell second-hand clothes and household goods online, a popular trend known as <keyword id="1599036" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="thrifting" source="Orion">thrifting</keyword>.</li><li>It is a sustainable business too as an e-store owner can earn a profit margin of about ₹500 on a dress worth ₹850 (including shipping).</li><li>The fashion industry produces and sells roughly 21 articles per human being on this planet annually (2020).</li></ul>What began as a simple website to upload photographs online is currently enabling a cultural, economic and social shift. The thrifting trend is the new thing that Instagram has added to its cart, especially in the Indian subcontinent regions of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. The boredom and the need to break the monotony gave rise to several new small businesses on Instagram over the last two years. While some sell scrunches online, others use their illustration skills to sell digital art online. Many have also started their own online store to sell second-hand clothes and household goods online — a trend that is popularly known as thrifting. Aimée (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/aimee.loved/">@aimee.loved</a>), Believe It Thrift It (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/believethrift/">@believethrift</a>), At Momo (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/momo.finds/">@momo.finds</a>), WOO (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/woasonali/">@woasonali</a>), The Vintage (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thev_intage/">@thev_intage</a>), and Thrift India (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thrift_india/">@thrift_India</a>) are just a few Indian thrift stores with over 1.84 lakh followers in total. The thrift stores have also made the concept of secondhand fashion popular – even desirable – among young shoppers while building a sustainable business model of it. A Rest of World report citing an anonymous source noted that an e-store owner could earn a profit margin of about ₹500 on a dress worth ₹850 (including shipping). Second hand clothing is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global fashion marketplace, especially as customers seek affordable and eco-friendly options. According to a <a href="https://www.thredup.com/resale/#resale-industry">report</a> by resale platform ThredUp and the analytics firm GlobalData, global used clothing sales would rise to nearly $77 billion by 2025. The industry currently sits at a $36 billion opportunity this year. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Thrifting is a great initiative for the environment too" comment="subhead" text="Thrifting is a great initiative for the environment too">Thrifting is a great initiative for the environment too</cmsannotation> The fashion industry produces and sells between 80 billion and 150 billion garments a year globally (2020), roughly up to 21 articles per human being on this planet. About three in five of these clothing products end up in incinerators or landfills within years of production. If not managed properly, old clothes end up in incinerators or landfills within years of production. Clothes do not biodegrade in a landfill and could remain there for more than 200 years before decomposing. According to the Waste Management Hierarchy — a scale that ranks waste management options by their environmental impact — landfills are the most harmful to our planet. That said, thrifting and upcycling old clothes will also be great for the environment. Anurag Asati, the co-founder of waste management company The Kabadiwala, previously told Business Insider that old <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/impulse-buys-fast-fashion-end-up-in-landfills-and-stay-intact-for-200-years/articleshow/92533424.cms">clothes are among the most difficult items</a> to collect and process. They require a lot of effort and resources, making the recycling process much more expensive. Thrift stores — or these second hand clothing stores — allow the clothes to be reused without additional inputs, thereby reducing their carbon footprint. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/reliance-industries-itc-infosys-and-other-hot-stocks-on-july-22/articleshow/93041515.cms">Indian markets open in the green – RIL, M&amp;M gain while Nifty IT, Infosys decline</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/amazon-prime-day-best-offers-deals-discounts/articleshow/93024348.cms">Amazon Prime Day 2022 – early deals, bank offers, Prime membership and everything else you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/reliance-industries-to-start-fy23-with-strong-earnings-thanks-to-refining-margins/articleshow/93041430.cms">Reliance Industries to start FY23 with strong earnings, thanks to refining margins</a>

Thrifting is the latest trend on Indian Instagram, and it is a great one for the environment

<ul><li>Former PM Rajiv Gandhi said, “Do not design this office for me but design it for the Prime Minister of India.” </li><li>All working women are constantly challenged because we live parallel lives.</li></ul>I have been asked to speak about my journey as an entrepreneur and a design professional. Let me begin by saying that when I began work as an interior designer and furniture manufacturer in 1971, there were no words such as “entrepreneur” or “branding” or things like Instagram and various other forms of social media that exist today. I became a designer because of family influences and growing in a city like Lucknow which is imbued with tehzeeb and nazakat. I do not think I could have been a designer if I had had parents other than those I was blessed with. They were interested in reading and the acquisition of knowledge. My father believed that books would always remain the central element of civilisation. For us knowledge came from immersive reading, and we were voracious readers. We were always interested in places and peoples. We delighted in reading the atlas and dictionaries. In the last 50 years there have been so many places which were our dream destinations, and which one has now visited……… and many places like Machu Picchu that one has not! Perhaps it is still not too late. Because of our father’s immense love for travel and discovery we saw so much of India. The first heritage site that I ever visited was at the age of nine. That was Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu and the Temple of the Tooth and the Botanical Gardens in Kandy in Ceylon. All of these were early influences and have influenced my design sensibilities. I have a very contemporary mindset but one that is also deeply grounded in our own heritage. This is because one has had the good fortune of travelling through the length and breadth of India. Much as one has enjoyed the cultures of other countries, I have a deep and constant curiosity about our own country. All this informs the way I work. As far as design education is concerned, I became a designer by accident – serendipitously so! The study of literature and Hindustani classical music enriched my mindscape. I do not have formal training in design but grew up surrounded by design…….. with my father visiting many auction houses and kabadiwalas in Lucknow. It fills me with quiet pride that, as a woman without any formal training in design, I became the first designer in India, man or woman, to be conferred the <keyword id="25105" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="padma-shri" source="Orion">Padma Shri</keyword> in 1992. I was reasonably young to be bestowed this honour and I thought at that time that it would open the floodgates to many more interior designers. I have also had the distinction of being the first architect or designer from India to be invited to give an illustrated talk in 2003, at the National Building Museum in Washington DC. This museum is the most visited museum of architecture in the world. Its atrium is the venue of the first presidential ball after a new president has been sworn in. In 2014, I was appointed Chairperson of the Board School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal, a National Institute of Excellence. That was also a first! But, if you ask me whether I was working towards breaking these glass ceilings, then the answer would be an emphatic no! These happened along the way, as a natural progression in a career in which one had put in much hard work. In my profession one is as good as one’s last project. That gets one more work and not because they like your face. No client is going to spend millions of dollars commissioning you to design their hotel if they do not believe in your talent and your ability to deliver. <div type="image" title="05 South Drawing Room, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi" msid="98578011" hostid="261" sizebytes="111308" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;South Drawing Room, Rashtrapati Bhawan&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> From 1985 to 1989, I worked on the restoration and conservation of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and in 1988 to 1989 on Hyderabad House. That was the first time that HH was closed for nine months because it was not just the interior decoration that was attended to but also all the interior architecture and services like air conditioning. I designed both the decrepit courtyards in a Lutyensesque style and restored the gardens in Hyderabad House. As far as British buildings in New Delhi are concerned, I had the great privilege of working in the Prime Minister’s Office and Secretariat in South Block. And am happy to note that it has remained unchanged through the tenures of the last nine Prime Ministers. The primary reason for this was the brief from the former PM, Rajiv Gandhi…… “do not design this Office for me but design it for the Prime Minister of India”. I followed this brief and worked on the building as these I firmly believe belong to the nation. His second brief was that he wanted his executive chair to be the same height as his visitors’ chairs. These are all very telling traits of character. I also designed the official residence of the Prime Minister along with restoring the two buildings that comprise the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum. In New Delhi one has also designed the interiors of the British Council Building and Library. In my career this has been a landmark project because this is the largest of their 80 institutes worldwide. It was inaugurated in 1992 by HRH the Prince of Wales. When we were presented to him, he had a very interesting conversation with me regarding the buildings on either side of the British Council. He certainly has a keen eye for architecture. <div type="image" title="03 National Assembly Building in Thimpu, Bhutan" msid="98578068" hostid="261" sizebytes="195996" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;National Assembly Building, Bhutan&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Another landmark building for me in 1989 was the <keyword id="1142396" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="parliament-building" source="Orion">Parliament Building</keyword> in Bhutan called the National Assembly Building. For me, this was a completely new area of research. In those days so little was known of the art and architecture of Bhutan and neither were any books available. Immersive travelling through Bhutan, to familiarise myself with its architecture and its arts and crafts became essential. His Majesty’s office appointed as my guide, Dasho Khandu who was a living encyclopaedia on Bhutanese art and architecture. These have been amazing projects of learning for me. I like to deeply research new places and new cultures. So maybe, at the end of the day, I think this profession chose me and one is fortunate as this process of working suits my mindset. In a long design career of 50 years, I had a break in 1998. I had simply fallen off a ladder in the house and had fractured two of my cerebral vertebrae. That is when I decided I would stop designing hotels which I had done for the past almost 30 years. At that point I thought I would just design residences in and around India and not travel out to Egypt, Bhutan, England, Timbuktu, etc. But life had other plans! I went on to design a large residence in Sri Lanka and was commissioned to design a boutique hotel in the old city of Lahore. Sadly, that project was eventually abandoned. When I was in Lahore for their Literary Festival at the end of February this year when I saw this building standing as is, it made me quite nostalgic. Lahore is a beautiful city and the people are very hospitable. Along this design journey many institutions have asked me to come to give illustrated lectures. For the ‘Millennium Book on Delhi’, I was one of the eight contributors who wrote an extended essay on ‘The Planning of New Delhi’. <keyword id="118548" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oxford-university-press" source="Orion">Oxford University Press</keyword>, the publishers of the book have a world-wide reach. That is how the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University heard of this unknown Indian and invited me to give an illustrated talk. Thus began a parallel career in being a speaker. Since Harvard one has given many lectures in many universities and institutions in the US, the UK and in South East Asia on design, architecture, conservation, literature, on ‘Mughal Jewellery as a Statement of Empire’, world heritage cultural sites in India and on social entrepreneurship. One has always believed that women such as oneself are privileged because we are educated. Never mind that we belong to the working classes! We must, with humility and gratitude, help those that are less fortunate. One has been deeply associated with ‘Satyagyan Foundation’ which was an affiliate of ‘World Literacy Canada’. Based in Varanasi, we have worked in about 400 slum areas and have altogether made 23,000 women literate. One has also been associated with ‘Save a Mother’ which was started by the amazing Dr Shiban Gunju. He has reduced the mortality rate of pregnant women by 93%. One was the founding member and last chairperson of ‘Umang’, an NGO that worked for the betterment of street children. These have been my interests and each has been a milestone. Another milestone was co-authoring ‘The Lucknow Cookbook’ with my mother. It is now in its tenth print run and has been declared a classic by Aleph, the publishers. More recently I produced and edited the large formatted book, ‘Kala - Essays on Contemporary Design Aesthetics’ which was launched in Dubai in 2019 by Sheikh Nahan and in October 2022. It had its first proper launches in Milan and London by Artize of the Jaquar Group. In November 2022, it was launched in New York and most recently in February 2023 at the ‘Lahore Literary Festival’. Every stage in life has its own milestones particularly if one is also a wife, a mother and a grandmother. All working women are constantly challenged because we live parallel lives. For me every project, whether large or small, has been a challenge. It has all added to my body of work and to my learning curve. I have never thought of myself as a woman doing all these things……. I think one creates one’s own benchmark and this is the way one has moved forward. I am still working and writing more books as our daughter, the award-winning architect <keyword id="8435490" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kohelika-kohli" source="Orion">Kohelika Kohli</keyword>, has taken over the business of running K2India. She has just launched her new brand of furniture called KOKO by K2India. One feels justifiably proud that one must have done something right. One gave them the tools of a fine education and took them travelling to broaden their minds. And then left them to follow their own passions. (The writer is an award winning architect and an author)

A Padma Shri winning architect takes us through her journey from Lucknow to Lutyens

<ul><li><keyword id="4936066" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp-business">WhatsApp business</keyword> was launched in 2018 and since then has over 5 million users on the platform. </li><li>According to data shared by <keyword id="2069427" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp-India">WhatsApp India</keyword> to Business Insider, 78% SMBs on <keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword> have also registered sales growth. </li><li>Meanwhile, 80% of SMBs on WhatsApp in India believe the platform allows them to sell products or services in other cities, states or countries. </li></ul>WhatsApp may be embroiled in multiple controversies in India today, but the company’s focus on the country’s <keyword id="469687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="small-and-medium-businesses">small and medium businesses</keyword> remains undeterred – with WhatsApp Business. WhatsApp business was launched in 2018 and since then has over 5 million users on the platform. During a recent chat at the TiE Global Business Summit, WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose also spoke about the platform’s focus on India’s small businesses. “We have actually tried to invest and support a lot of the ecosystem here in India. We work with NITI Aayog in one of their programmes, we also ran a challenge – WhatsApp startup challenge where we gave the first cheque to some of the small businesses. This country will grow when the small business ecosystem grows,” he had said during a panel discussion at the summit. Conversions and sales, thanks to WhatsApp The Kabadiwala – a startup which literally does what the name says, picks up waste from houses, was faced with the conundrum – how does it reach out to the millions of homes that are dealing with waste. The startup turned to WhatsApp business. "A lot of people use WhatsApp and find it very easy to communicate, so we thought we'd make the booking process easy and allowed our users to send a message to our WhatsApp Business account for the pickup request,” said Anurag Asati, founder, The Kabadiwala. About 60 percent of their pickup requests today come via WhatsApp. He also said that they have seen a 40 percent increase in their sales after using the WhatsApp Business app. According to data shared by WhatsApp India to Business Insider, 70% of SMBs on WhatsApp in India say they built their business on the platform, while 77% of SMBs businesses on WhatsApp in India have been able to hire more employees as they grew after joining the platform. The data is sourced from Morning Consult Intelligence. India has over 400 million WhatsApp users, which makes it really easy for businesses to reach out to a large customer base. Cuir Ally, a luxury leather goods brand which claims to have built India’s first anti-theft technology-enabled smart wallets and tech-powered safety clutches for women, too used WhatsApp business for growth. “WhatsApp has been a big game-changer for us,” said its co-founder T.S Sathyaraj. After adding a WhatsApp widget on their website, their conversions increased by 10% after they made the switch from traditional live chat software. Sathyaraj added that 30 percent of orders come in through a link on their website that connects customers directly to WhatsApp. Creating entrepreneurs and scaling them up The use of WhatsApp business also enabled individuals to turn into entrepreneurs. Today, WhatsApp is enabling SMEs across sectors like retail, food and beverages, crafts, technology, education, delivery services, baby products, agriculture, and apparel. Established businesses and startups alike are using WhatsApp as an effective mode of communication to reach out to their consumers. Moreover, 78% SMBs on WhatsApp also registered sales growth, while 80% of SMBs on WhatsApp in India believe the platform allows them to sell products or services in other cities, states or countries. No Broker is real estate platform connects owners and tenants directly. It has created a channel on WhatsApp where people can list their property. “So for us the questions were - how would we reach out to the owner? How do we reach out to the tenant? The owners being somewhere between 45-50 plus who own the house, how do we communicate with them? So that's where WhatsApp plays a critical role because the one thing before, WhatsApp Business API – which was missing in India was a channel where two way communication can happen other than voice,” said Akhil Gupta, founder of No Broker at the TiE summit panel, about how they use WhatsApp.

You Searched For "kabadiwala" and got 5 results

Young boy builds an online kabadiwala biz after being inspired by his uncle's scrapyard 'heaven'

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MSMEs can aid waste management in India but need more hand holding

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Thrifting is the latest trend on Indian Instagram, and it is a great one for the environment

Kritti Bhalla

A Padma Shri winning architect takes us through her journey from Lucknow to Lutyens

Sunita Kohli

WhatsApp is a game changer for India’s small businesses – from smart wallet makers to trash pickers

Sanchita Dash

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