DMI Finance (DMI) was formed and registered as a non-banking financial company in 2008. The enterprise utilized a technology-driven process comprising application programming interface (API); algorithms; and data points captured using Aadhaar, a unique identification assigned to Indian residents, to disburse loans to individuals and firms. As a digital lender, DMI initially operated in personal loans, SME loans, and housing finance. After 2018, it shifted focus to the digital consumer portfolio. Despite growing revenues, in March 2024 DMI was facing challenges from existing and new players, and the co-founder sensed it was time to decide on a strategic change. To better serve its customers, should DMI add a new business model or should it continue with the existing one? How could it maintain its competitive advantage in a fast-changing industry?
On July 20, 2023, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), one of India’s largest conglomerates, undertook a strategic demerger to separate its financial services arm, Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL). This action was intended to establish a specialized financial services entity to take advantage of the expanding opportunities in India’s financial sector, enabling RIL to prioritize its core businesses. The demerger of JFSL from the conglomerate’s intricate tapestry ushered in a new chapter marked by a blend of optimism and skepticism. Would JFSL leverage its status as a separate entity in the long run? Could the company win the confidence of shareholders? Would JFSL witness growth constraints post-demerger? Would the new entity, JFSL, pose a threat and disrupt the existing financial market?
Casing Petrochemicals was a leading importer of Petroleum Derivatives (such as Base Oil), Chemicals and Refrigerants in India. With 90% of the firm's revenue and profits contributed by the Petroleum Business, the other businesses were secondary in nature. The firm through procurement contracts with refineries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East imported base oil and then sold in bulk to institutional buyers across various industries such as automobiles, steel, and consumer companies. . Covid cases had begun to rise again and Indian states had already declared lockdowns. With Crude Oil prices also expected to remain volatile, the future of the firm was at stake.
Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd. (Ola Electric) was launched in 2017 by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd., better known as Ola Cabs, as a venture for making electric scooters. Bhavish Aggarwal, one of Ola Cabs’ founders, acquired a 92.5 per cent stake in Ola Electric and pursued a path of rapid expansion. By 2022, Ola Electric had successfully raised a large amount of capital from investors, developed several subsystems (especially software) of its products in-house, carried out two product launches and generated tens of thousands of bookings from customers, and was building a state-of-the-art plant for making electric scooters. While Ola Electric’s scooters had received positive reviews from a few expert reviewers and generated customer bookings, the company found it difficult to deliver defect-free scooters in sufficient numbers. The company was also mired in a number of controversies, such as some of its scooters catching fire, alleged safety issues with its products, publicly sharing a customer’s private data, and the departure of several executive from the company. Blunt communication by the founder and majority owner Aggarwal made some of the controversies worse. Aggarwal and his team now had to determine how to address the challenges and decide whether to focus on tackling these or on aggressively pursuing greater volumes. In which direction should they steer the company’s strategy?
In May 2022, Shopee Pte. Ltd. (Shopee), the e-commerce division of Singapore-based Sea Limited (Sea), was at a critical juncture. Over the past several years, fuelled by the growth of its e-commerce business, Shopee had achieved rapid revenue growth. Starting from Singapore and Southeast Asia, the company had expanded its international footprint to countries in Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and Latin America. But early 2022 brought several new challenges for Shopee: Sea’s stock price plummeted as investors sold off high-growth and unprofitable Internet stocks; and Shopee exited France and India rapidly because it was facing pressure from multiple sources, including an industry association in India and the Indian government, which had banned sales of Shopee’s best-selling game in India. Shopee had to carefully choose an appropriate strategy for further international expansion. Should it pause its international expansion and consolidate in the short term or carry on with the rapid pace of expansion?