One quick thing: CTO, CMO exit Ola Electric

In today’s newsletter:

• Unsecured lending haunts Fintech NBFCs
• Crypto’s Trump card 
• 2024 A-Z guide of Tech & Startup world

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It was hot and happening—until the RBI crashed the party with a cold dose of reality.

2024 turned into a reality check for India’s fintech NBFCs (Non-Banking Finance Companies). Their bread-and-butter small ticket unsecured loans, once the growth engine, came under fire.

• The impact of RBI’s new norms, including high-risk weights and FLDG cap, reflected on firms’ 2024 balance sheets.
• Bank loans became pricey; disbursements dipped, and asset quality worsened. Bad loans surged, forcing write-offs.

Many scaled back unsecured lending portfolios, eyeing safer, secured lending.

Even high-flying players felt the pinch, despite seeing jumps in AUM. Some absorbed losses, thanks to private equity funding.

• KreditBee and Kissht cut ultra-short-tenure loans and focussed on secured options like property loans.
• Fibe (EarlySalary) took a Rs 137 crore write-off.
• Cashe slipped into losses with NPAs jumping to 12.44% in FY24.

To stay afloat, many turned to securitisation, VC money, and foreign borrowing.

Unsecured loan growth is slowing, with retail bank credit down to 11.5% YoY in October (from 20% last year).

• AUM growth for fintech NBFCs is expected to cool to 15-17% in FY25 (vs. 23% in FY24). 

Margins are shrinking, but secured loans and co-lending models are stealing the spotlight.

Dig deeper

It’s been a bumper year for Crypto.

From Bitcoin ETFs going mainstream, halving, Trump trades to the token crossing $100,000 for the first time ever.

Perhaps the single biggest push for the crypto rally was pro-crypto President Donald Trump’s US election win.

• Trump also plans to come up with policies on creating a ‘strategic Bitcoin reserve’

Amidst the upswing in global crypto markets, India too had its share of headlines.

• The country’s largest crypto exchange WazirX got hacked, with nearly $230-million worth of crypto assets wiped out.
• Followed by a ban on nine prominent offshore exchanges including Binance and KuCoin for not complying with local money laundering rules.

Months later both Binance and KuCoin made a comeback after paying penalties.

Industry experts believe this bull run will continue longer than usual, with Bitcoin likely crossing $300,000.

• Hopes are high on seeing some regulatory clarity on crypto in India.

Go deeper

While the post-pandemic year of 2022 gave chills with layoff news, the pattern continued through 2023, with investors prolonging the funding winter.

The year brought in cheer with over a dozen tech IPOs, funding making a comeback, and startups embracing profitability.

• We are back with our A-Z guide- the third year in a row -of all buzzing things in 2024 in the new economy.
• From a toddler’s windfall gain in the share market to the Laapata Lads of the venture funding world– it was an exciting year. 

From the founder who epitomises “Jhukega Nahi” year to another who made a Baazigar-like comeback– here’s your ultimate tech and startup guide.

2024 lacked the groundbreaking “wow” moment of ChatGPT’s debut, but rapid advancements kept AI in the spotlight. Financial Times' West Coast editor Richard Waters answers the key questions around the growth of AI and writes about the prominent predictions for AI in 2025.

President-elect Donald Trump's support for AI and cryptocurrencies may inadvertently boost clean energy. The substantial power demands of data centers for these technologies necessitate increased electricity generation, including renewables like solar and wind.

Every second Indian ordered 2 Pizzas on Zomato this year but Biryani won the ultimate food war, as usual. 

• The top dish satiating hunger pangs was Biryani with over 9 crore orders. 

Among drinks, tea took the crown with 77 lakh orders, surpassing coffee.

Click to know more.

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