In 2013, three friends from college came together to found Zenatix, an Indian energy data analytics company. Based on Internet-of-things technology, the team built WattMan, a hardware-based product that could monitor the usage and performance of electrical assets such as air conditioners and refrigerators. It saved energy costs by suggesting corrective action. Zenatix faced challenges in identifying the right target market for WattMan and matching the product features to its clients’ needs. By 2016, it had made two shifts in target markets and Zenatix had to convince investors of the potential of its latest target market, especially after adding a new control feature in WattMan III. With funds running low, this was a make-or-break situation for Zenatix.
In 2013, three friends from college came together to found Zenatix, an Indian energy data analytics company. Based on Internet-of-things technology, the team built WattMan, a hardware-based product that could monitor the usage and performance of electrical assets such as air conditioners and refrigerators. It saved energy costs by suggesting corrective action. Zenatix faced challenges in identifying the right target market for WattMan and matching the product features to its clients' needs. By 2016, it had made two shifts in target markets and Zenatix had to convince investors of the potential of its latest target market, especially after adding a new control feature in WattMan III. With funds running low, this was a make-or-break situation for Zenatix.
When M Power Micro Finance was founded in 2009 in the Indian state of Gujarat, a number of challenges in the microfinance market made it difficult for the company to survive. Just months after M Power’s founding, the microfinance industry was hit by a repayment crisis that eroded both profitability and confidence in the industry. With public sentiment turning against microfinance institutions, M Power’s bright growth prospects suddenly disappeared and its CEO struggled to keep the business afloat. The flow of funding into the microfinance sector dried up, and the management of funds had to be closely monitored on a monthly basis. The CEO’s woes were not over: some of his business partners left the organization as the situation worsened. The company’s future was uncertain. As the industry began to show signs of recovery in 2013, though, the CEO hoped to secure a financing deal and persevere.
When M Power Micro Finance was founded in 2009 in the Indian state of Gujarat, a number of challenges in the microfinance market made it difficult for the company to survive. Just months after M Power's founding, the microfinance industry was hit by a repayment crisis that eroded both profitability and confidence in the industry. With public sentiment turning against microfinance institutions, M Power's bright growth prospects suddenly disappeared and its CEO struggled to keep the business afloat. The flow of funding into the microfinance sector dried up, and the management of funds had to be closely monitored on a monthly basis. The CEO's woes were not over: some of his business partners left the organization as the situation worsened. The company's future was uncertain. As the industry began to show signs of recovery in 2013, though, the CEO hoped to secure a financing deal and persevere.
The largest consumer of gold in the world in 2012-2013, India was a growing market for gold jewellery, largely owing to its importance in the cultural and religious traditions of the country. Gold prices in international markets had been increasing, but this had little impact on India's voracious appetite for gold. Heavy gold imports had led to an increase in country's fiscal deficit above the sustainable level of 2.5-3% of gross domestic product (GDP) and touched 4.2% in FY2012. Velvetcase, a made-to-order jewellery company in Mumbai, had started operations in the beginning of 2013 and was concerned by the government's recent policies on gold imports. Among many other measures, the Indian government had raised import duty from 4% to 10% during the year. The increase in import duties raised input prices, consequently slowing the demand for gold jewellery to some extent. Velvetcase believed that its unique business model of making jewellery using low karat gold would not only satisfy India's passion for gold, but also result in improving the current account deficit (CAD) of the country by lowering the amount (in grams) of gold used in the making of jewellery.
Gold is a very popular alternative asset class globally. This note looks at the properties of gold that make it so attractive. The note also compares the performance of gold against various other asset classes and its correlation with them.
Microcredit made a dramatic entry into the banking lexicon when Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus ushered in a new era of social banking with his Grameen Bank. BASIX, the Indian replicator of the Nobel laureate's ideology, (albeit with a different methodology of livelihood promotion), had established itself as an effective microfinance institution (MFI) in India. It had successfully convinced the government of the need for, and feasibility of, setting up financial institutions such as "local banks" in rural areas to mobilize rural savings and provide meaningful livelihoods for the poor, especially women. KBSLAB, a local bank established by BASIX, had performed very well initially, but had reached a critical juncture in its journey in 2011. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) guidelines were similar for the commercial banks and the Local Area Banks in many aspects like the statutory liquidity ratio and the cash reserve ratio requirements. But the geographical restrictions on the local area banks were making it difficult to expand and meet the compliance and monitoring mechanisms. The case looks at the journey of this unique microfinance banking institution over a decade of its existence and contemplates its future. It raises questions about what actually plagues local area banks in general and KBS in particular, the justifiability of the RBI guidelines and the viability of microcredit banks in the future.