A new way to sell EVs –

Hello Reader,

The markets were at rest yesterday but today is the second day of the Electronics Mart IPO, which received a warm response on Tuesday as it was fully subscribed 1.69 times. The 42-year-old company is looking to raise Rs 500 crore through fresh issue of shares in the price band of Rs 56-59 per share.

YourStory is all set to release its final cohort of 100 challenger brands through Brands of New India’s “500 Challenger Brands” initiative. If you think your startup has the capability to revolutionise India’s D2C ecosystem, apply here.

ICYMI: A Chinese vase worth $1,900 was sold for $9 million after buyers were convinced it was a rare artefact. 

Well, anyone wants to bid for a couple of ‘rare’ crystals? They’re quite ‘antique’ and were definitely not purchased during the festive season sale.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A new way to sell EVs
• Helping mothers plan their day
• Trouble in paradise for Oyo

Here’s your trivia for today: Which district in India became the first to attain full literacy?

Startup

A new way to sell EVs

While electric vehicles are gaining adoption in the Indian market, EV sales still account for a fraction of total automobile sales due to either the lack of EV infrastructure, consumer awareness, trust deficit among riders, or all of the above.

Enter Electric One. It operates multi-brand retail stores for EV two-wheelers on a franchise model and sold 3,225 electric two-wheelers in FY22.

Multi-brand stores:

• Electric One offers three kinds of stores—flagship stores for cities, medium-sized outlets, and smaller outlets for Tier-III cities and beyond.
• These stores stock EV two-wheeler brands including Kinetic Green, Cosbike, Okinawa, Evtric, and Hayasa, among others.
• The startup also stores in-house Yaan e2W two-wheeler model at a few outlets.

Women Entrepreneurs

Helping mothers plan their day

Began as a WhatsApp group for mothers, Mamma-Miya is an iOS-only app that works as a digital planner for working mothers, helping them achieve work-life balance.

“By helping mothers strike a better work-life balance across all the different roles they play, we make them feel more balanced, productive, and fulfilled,” shares Co-founder and CTO Namrata Mayanil.

Managing time:

• The app allows users to see how they are spending their time and mind space on the things that matter.
• More than 50% of the users of the free-to-use app come from the US.
• The founders—Aashika Chittiappa and Namrata—plan to customise the app in multiple languages and develop a web app.

IPO

Trouble in paradise for OYO

IPO-bound OYO saw its valuation dip to around $6.5 billion in the private market following reports of a markdown of the valuation of the hospitality and travel-tech firm by SoftBank.

Following reports of the markdown of OYO’s valuation by SoftBank, the company’s valuation reportedly dipped by nearly 13% to Rs 81 per share—from Rs 94 per share updated in DHRP last month.

IPO nears:

• Last year, OYO filed preliminary papers with SEBI to raise Rs 8,430 crore through an initial share sale.
• Filings show OYO’s restated loss for Q1 FY23 stood at Rs 413.87 crore. In FY 2022, it posted a loss of Rs 1,939.8 crore.
• While OYO was initially looking at a valuation of around $10 billion in the draft prospectus, it reportedly prepared to settle for a lower valuation at around $7-8 billion.

News & updates

• Make in India: Apple is asking suppliers to move some AirPods and Beats headphone production to India for the first time. The move is part of Apple’s gradual diversification from China, as it looks to lower the risk of supply chain disruptions
• Misinformation KO: Spotify acquired Dublin-based content moderation tech company Kinzen to better moderate podcasts and other audio using a combination of machine learning and human expertise.
• Short and sharp: According to a survey of 1,300 global CEOs by KPMG, most business leaders anticipate a recession in the next 12 months, with more than half polled expecting the slowdown to be “mild and short.”

What you should watch out for

• Google will launch Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones, which will be available for pre-order in India.
• The three-day Indian Air Force air show will begin today at Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh.

Which district in India became the first to attain full literacy?

Answer: In 1990, Ernakulam district in Kerala was declared the first to achieve 100% literacy in India. Out of the top 10 literate cities in India, five are in Kerala.

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