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The Hindu
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Businessline conclave to focus on MSMEs' role in ‘Make in India' mission
To celebrate the work of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), The Hindu Businessline is hosting its annual MSME conclave. The fourth edition, to be held in two cities, Bengaluru (June 25) and Coimbatore (June 27), will discuss their contribution to the Indian growth story. The first event at Bengaluru, presented in association with NITTE (deemed-to-be university), will feature two power-packed panel discussions — one on defence titled 'MSME: Call to Arms (Supplying to Defence)' and the other on 'Powering Make in India' — and a fireside chat. MSME Day is observed world over annually on June 27 to celebrate these enterprises and recognise their importance, shed light on their contributions, and promote their growth and sustainability. At the Bengaluru conclave, Priyank Kharge, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, IT and BT of Karnataka, will be the chief guest. The Guest of Honour is Ananth Narayanan, Founder and CEO, Mensa Brands. The first panel, 'MSMEs: Call to Arms (Supplying to Defence)', will feature Navneet Singh, CEO, Kepler Aero; Priyanka Singhal, Founder, CEO, Ammunic Systems; Lt. Col. Velan (retd.), CEO, Elena Geo; Commander LSS Narendra (retd.), COO and Promoter, C2C Advanced Systems. The session will be moderated by Venkatesha Babu, Resident Editor, The Hindu Businessline. The second panel, 'MSMEs: Powering Make in India,' will have Rajeev Kaul, MD, Aequs Ltd; Vijay Peri, Vice-President, India Industrials, Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses; Digbijoy Nath, Co-founder, CTO, Agnit; Sumeet B Patil, Head, Operations, Ethereal Machines. This session will be moderated by M. Ramesh, Consulting Editor, The Hindu Businessline. The fireside chat with Srinivasagopalan Rangarajan, Chairman and Managing Director, Data Patterns (India) Ltd, will be hosted by Raghuvir Srinivasan, Editor, The Hindu Businessline. The past three years too, on MSME Day, Businessline had hosted similar conclaves for MSMEs, which saw the participation of many from this sector. These enterprises play a vital role in the Indian economy. With a vast network comprising approximately 6.3 crore MSMEs, this sector generates employment opportunities for around 11 crore people. The conclave is brought in association with NITTE deemed-to-be-university, and supported by associate partners NABARD, Canara Bank, Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd, SSVM Institutions Coimbatore, Tally, Karnataka Milk Federation, Mysore Sales International Ltd, Milky Mist, Karnataka Udyog Mitra, Government of Karnataka, and Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, Government of Karnataka. Office space partner is Puravankara, Insight partner is Trans Union CIBIL, and Industry partner FICCI Karnataka. Live stream:
Entrepreneur
03-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How Is Air Connectivity Catalyzing India's Growth
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In 10-15 years India's aviation industry has potential to evolve into a 10 billion dollar market by domestically manufacturing avionics, structural components and electronics. With 2,200 aircraft orders expected to reach India, there is unprecedented scope of growth in the sector. "It's just the beginning of the aviation boom in India. Manufacturing and trade are critical components of the vision of making India grow further in the sector," said Ananth Narayanan, Senior Vice President & Chief Industry Officer, Invest India. Stating Infrastructure as one of the key growth drivers in India, Narayanan added that connectivity is a crucial factor that foreign investors often look for, before investing in India. There are high frequency indicators of consumption and finally the Indian economy is growing at scale. "About 75 to 80 percent of Indian consumption comes from 200 cities. And this will further grow as urbanization would jump by 40 to 50 percent. We want to be present in every city which is fostering this growth as connectivity improves over time," said Patu Keswani, Chairman and MD, Lemon Tree Hotels. "Wherever we have put up a hotel within half an hour of range from an airport, we have seen material difference in uptick of booking," Keswani added. Consumption of airline seats has grown 13 percent in the last five years. Hotel capacities have grown 16 percent in the last ten years. "In the next four years, tailwinds will lead to a discretionary change in tourism consumption in India. We estimate around 100 millions would be travelling outside India, and through our loyalty programme, we aim to leverage the opportunity, Keshwani explained. India's airlines continue to achieve double-digit growth, with 240 million passengers flying annually—surpassing the total population of most countries worldwide. Aspirations do not lie in top five to six cities, it resides in Tier II, III, IV and beyond. "We have moved from having 5 to 50 centers in India and next year we might reach 100 branch centers because the aspirational push in India is coming from across the country and not only lies in the top metros," said Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss Asset Management Limited. "When you want to deliver financial products you have to be present on the ground. In order to make capital market products or financial products accessible, infrastructure and connectivity of geographies play a crucial role. Inflows of both foreign and domestic capital are dependent on on-ground developments such as factories, offices, etc. And these are further bolstered by seamless connectivity. Wherever there is connectivity there is scope of development," Gupta added. Indian aviation is realizing the enormous potential of a market of 1.4 billion people as it catalyzes growth in tourism and investment that is critical to India's national development. The panelists were speaking at the 81st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The panel examined the impact of aviation and how it contributes to social and economic development as a force.
Mint
30-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
After Pebble, Mensa looks to sell its Renee stake
Mensa Brands has sold its stake in wearables maker Pebble and is looking to exit Renee Cosmetics, as the brand aggregator looks to cash out of some of its recent investments. The company also plans to raise $100 million at a valuation of $850 million and shift base to India ahead of a planned public listing, three people aware of the development said. 'Apart from selling a stake in Renee, where it holds around 15% stake, Mensa is also likely to divest its stake in brands such Villain," he added. A Mensa Brands spokesperson confirmed the Renee stake sale, calling it a 'financial investment'. In 2022, Mensa Brands had invested in Renee, which offers so-called cruelty-free makeup products for women. The stake sale may value Renee at ₹ 2,000-2,500 crore, a second person with knowledge of the deal said, implying a ₹ 200 crore value for Mensa's stakeholding. Mensa Brands, which led Renee's Series A fundraising, holds about 11% stake in Renee. The Mensa Brands spokesperson denied other brands were up for sale, including Villain, a men's cosmetics brand that it backed in 2021. Queries emailed to a Renee Cosmetics spokesperson remained unanswered. Mensa Brands is also shifting its headquarters to India, joining a queue of foreign-domiciled startups such as Flipkart, Zepto and Dream Sports which have already moved, aiming to tap the country's capital markets better. 'The company has initiated a process to flip back to India from Singapore. This is their preparation to eventually list in India going forward," one of the three people cited above said. The Mensa Brands spokesperson said the IPO is at least 36 months away. Founded by former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan in 2021, Mensa has received some of the highest seed investments among Indian startups. It has raised a total of $207 million in funding, data from Tracxn shows. Top backers include Accel, Alpha Wave Global and Norwest Venture Partners. Following a house of brands strategy, it has acquired around 20 brands in the apparel, beauty and personal care and home décor segments. The strategy involves acquiring multiple fast-growing digital-first brands and scaling them under a single roof. With $200 million in annualized revenue run rate, Mensa Brands has turned Ebitda-positive, the spokesperson said. 'We have been Ebitda-profitable month-on-month now." India has seen a handful of startups pursuing the house of brands strategy, following what has globally become known as the Thrasio model. Under this structure, one company would consolidate multiple small e-commerce brands and sellers under its umbrella, and run them as a single, organized company. By doing so, companies promise to expand operating margins by reducing overheads such as office expenses, accounting and legal costs, and other various costs of operation—leaving small brands under them to generate bigger returns. Apart from Mensa, another key player that received investor love was Firstcry-backed Globalbees. Backed by investors such as Lightspeed, ChrysCapital and SoftBank, the firm has so far raised $280 million in debt and equity. Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based Boxseat Ventures Pvt. Ltd, which operates e-commerce aggregator 10Club, is close to shutting shop, less than four years after it raised $40 million in early-stage money. Other smaller players in the space include Upscalio, Goat, Powerhouse91 and Evenflow.
