One quick thing: Apple's iPhone exports from India rose 33% YoY to around $6 billion in the six months through September 2024.

In today’s newsletter:

• It's raining dollars for Finova Capital, Vridhi Home Finance
• How Razorpay, Amazon Pay fared in FY24
• Indians take to the skies this Diwali

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As NBFC fintechs offering “unsecured” digital loans grapple with bad debts, credit costs, and RBI’s wrath for some, two peers have come out “secured”

Jaipur-based MSME-focussed lender Finova Capital has landed $135 million funding led by Avataar Venture Partners, Sofina and Madison India Capital. (You read it here first!)

• This is Avataar Venture Partners’ first investment in the financial services sector. 

Finova, profitable since day one, provides MSME loans secured by immovable properties and home loans.

Focusing on the underserved micro-entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals in semi-urban and rural areas, Finova targets borrowers often overlooked by formal financiers.

• Their approach veers away from credit history reliance, zeroing in on cash flow analysis to assess risk.

This tailored model has paid off: Revenue jumped by 60% to Rs 530 crore last year, and profits rose 71%. 

• Loan disbursements hit Rs 1,349 crore in FY24, marking a 50% increase from the previous year.

Even in the high-risk MSME sector, their efficient collection strategy has kept NPAs under control, with gross and net NPAs at 1.79% and 0.99% respectively by the end of FY24.

Vridhi Home Finance has secured Rs 310 crore funds led by Norwest Venture Partners (...hours after we broke the story first!)

• Launched just two years ago, Vridhi focuses on first-time homebuyers with limited credit history. It has already expanded to 51 branches, with plans to hit 90 locations.

• With an AUM currently at Rs 200 crore, they’re targeting Rs 500 crore as they continue scaling up.

Competing in a niche alongside names like Ummeed Housing Finance and Aavas Financiers, Vridhi has nearly doubled its valuation to around $150 million.

Image courtesy: Meta AI

Amazon Pay and Razorpay’s financial results for FY24 reflect their contrasting fortunes in the super competitive India payments market. 

• Despite regulatory restrictions during FY 24 on onboarding new customers, Razorpay has seen 24% growth in annual revenues.

• Meanwhile, Amazon Pay has seen only a tepid growth of 9% growth in revenue.

Amazon Pay has seen its UPI market share decline over the last three years while PhonePe and Google Pay have strengthened their positions.

• The financial vertical however managed to cut down losses by almost 40% as cashbacks dwindled.

Amazon is reportedly considering shifting its payment offerings in India into a standalone app to increase usage. However, whether this will actually boost its fortunes remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Razorpay has been able to deliver growth by focusing on deeper engagement with existing customers through the launch of additional products.

The company’s total income surpassed Rs 2,500 crore in FY24, with 80% generated from its core payment gateway business.

• Net profit jumped five-fold to Rs 35 crore in FY24.

The Bengaluru-based company is also in the process of flipping its domicile back to India, as it prepares for a potential IPO in the coming years.

Image courtesy: Meta AI

Indians are lighting up the sky this Diwali as flight bookings surge this festive season despite soaring airfares. 

A family get-together or to catch up with friends, Indians are grabbing every chance to catch the next flight to visit their hometown or for a trip to the beaches to celebrate the festival of lights.

• Families are preferring group travel, adding to the growing demand for leisure destinations this festive season. 

Booking for air tickets is 15% higher this year as compared to 2023. Domestic travellers are also spending more, with an average expenditure of Rs 30,000 during the festive season.

Mumbaikars are flocking to Goa, with flight bookings up over 4% year-on-year.

• Delhi-Kolkata and Bengaluru-Patna are among the busiest routes this Diwali. Indians are also exploring popular places like Rajasthan, Kerala, Ayodhya. 

Kuala Lumpur has emerged as the most preferred international destination with a 144% increase this year in flight bookings versus 2023.

• Travellers from the top cities like Bengaluru and Chennai are contributing more towards international travel this festive period.

Spends on international travel is also higher during the festivals with Indians spending on an average of Rs 1.3 lakh for holidaying abroad.

It's the millennials. The highest spend on travel is by millennials with an average travel spend of $6,031 annually. 

Many routes have recorded over 30 percent increase in airfares with flight ticket prices going high as Rs 30,000 on some routes.

Go deeper

Image courtesy: Meta AI

• Apple has rolled out its first set of Apple Intelligence features like writing tools, call recording, image cleanup, and typing in Siri, along with the release of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.

• Universal Music Group has partnered with AI music company Klay Vision to create an “ethical” AI model for AI-generated music.

• OpenAI CFO says 75% of the company’s revenue comes from paying consumers. It currently has 250 million weekly active users.

From its humble beginnings in 1991 to creating iconic game franchises like Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment has captivated millions of gamers worldwide. 

A new book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, by veteran journalist Jason Schreier, offers a riveting exploration of three decades of ups and downs for one of the most influential video game companies of all time.

Based on firsthand interviews with more than 300 current and former employees, the book chronicles Blizzard Entertainment's rise and successes, the impact of its 2008 acquisition by Activision, how it changed the company’s direction, and its shocking downfall.

Check it out on Amazon