ICSE Class 12th results are out and Aru is all set for her higher education journey after securing 90% in her final school exams (93% in best 4).
Thanks for your love and affection. All of us are glad to have you in our lives.
See you soon in Jaipur over 5-6-7 August 2022 for the Digital Street Regional Consultation.
More info at the end.
DTW
During the Week, SnapDeal announced that it is planning to make its debut on ONDC across more than 2,500 cities and towns in the initial phase in three key categories – fashion, home, and beauty and personal care. They would also partner with various third-party logistics vendors to deliver items and provide the ‘On-network’ logistics options available on the platform. Of course, SnapDeal wants to get on with the ONDC magic carpet to get some subscribers back and present some challenge to the duopoly of Amazon/Flipkart.
On the other hand, my favourite neighbourhood e-commerce platform Trice launched Trice Buddy, the done dana done Service - your very own Personal Assistant! One of the pain points in gate communities that Trice currently serves is that there are so many little but time-consuming tasks that needs to get done daily. And there are vendors who serve the local markets for shoes repairs, small appliances repairs.
There is a spate of activity in the neighbourhood e-commerce trying to bring the non-digital vendor and digital customer together. It is one of the ironies of our time that the riches of digital transformation have not reached the Bottom of the Pyramid as far as businesses are concerned. Most of the tech that we have not focusses on what they do not have instead of leveraging what most of these small businesses excel at- Their relationship with the customers.
I have earlier written about Platforms and Neighbourhood Commerce. According to me, neighbourhood commerce is a three Legged Stool- Discovery, Payment and Logistics- and platforms have played an important role in its growth over last few years especially during demonetisation and covid19 pandemic.
Platforms can add even more value for Indian Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises (MSME). In fact, digital platforms can help MSME overcome four major challenges related to Finance- access and payments; Supply Chain- Inbound and Outbound; Marketing- Branding and Distribution; and even Human Resource Management- Recruitment and Training.
Growing platformization of businesses has also created opportunities for lot of women entrepreneurs to run their businesses from their homes or smaller establishments and yet have access to the literally the world. Meesho has created a world of opportunities for home based entrepreneurs and leveraged the power of WhatsApp for students, homemakers and business owners members of the four-year-old venture of whom ninety percent are women. Our own neighbourhood community app Trice has empowered home based chefs to become entrepreneurs and thus empowered them. It is heartening to see women drawn into formal financial world when they open their first sole beneficiary bank account and take first steps towards financial independence.
In our Digital Street journey , we have consistently heard street vendors stories about how technology could help them create an immersive buying experience for their regular customers without getting into the hassle of inventory management or payment technologies. Perhaps platforms like WeeDoo can help in creating a sense of familiarity and intimacy between online shoppers and sellers.
Weedeo is a mobile app where online purchasing is made easy for customers through video shopping simulating an offline shopping experience. It provides a hassle-free experience for online shoppers by connecting them to real stores anywhere in India via live streaming, enabling them to have a look at the product real time before buying.
We need more risk capital moving to creating better user experiences without burdening the street vendors with technology.
PS- This is DALL-E-2 interpretation of an oil painting depicting a female street evener outside a stock exchange. #Dalle is now available in Beta.
So, next time you want to buy something, spare a thought for the local vendor and give your business to your friendly neighbourhood!
Put a Smile on their Face!
OTW
Over the Weekend, I watched or rather tried finishing Gray Man over three painful sessions out of which I dozed off in two! True story!
TBH, I thought of watching it for Dhanush and why Chris Evans would repeatedly call him - Hello, my sexy Tamil friend! Other than some beautiful shots of Prague which had some landmarks featured in the establishing shots in the trailer, I just waited for Dhanush.
I am rather worried about the Netflix content strategy rather effect of reckless spending on creating content that is empty calories and no vitamins. Look, I think that the producers at Netflix have spent a colossal fortune on this production but they forgot to get the other elements right. This might have been wonderful in 4D kind of theatre experience but on a TV, it just forces you to skip those long winded shooting sequence. They laid waste to a beautiful city like Prague with an extended and needless shooting sequence in the heart of town. I completely feel for Chris Evans when he says - Would somebody mind shooting the man handcuffed to the bench? And this is three quarters of an hour movie still remaining. And I continued watching to figure out what would Dhanush do?
Nothing. So, I watched this old hit viral video.
As usual, running provided some respite when Peerancheruvu Runners hosted the Sunday Long Run for fellow runners preparing for NDMC Hyderabad Marathon. Thanks to the volunteers who sacrificed their run and provided support to the runners. It was great to catch up with fellow runners from across Hyderabad.
If you are in Hyderabad or planning to be around on 27-28 August 2022, please register for a race of your choice (5K, 10K, Half Marathon or Full Marathon) ASAP and start preparing for the 11th edition of Hyderabad Marathon. Register NOW at www.marathonhyderabad.com
And if not running, you could also volunteer to help us organise an even better marathon. From pre-race activities and expo day rush to the race day tasks, there are so many ways that you can contribute. Click here to Register: https://forms.gle/S65YrzdQSAAoHQNB7
I Love You
Shailendra
OTM
Opportunities through MountainSpeak are available with Centre of Excellence for Digital Transformation, where we are reaching out to experts who can contribute to Digital Street Regional Consultation.
Digital Street aims to develop a framework for facilitating digital transformation of street vendors. Do watch a short video.
Thanks for your response to the guest recommendation for Digital Street across the country. The likely participants may have experience in digital transformation, informal sector, travel technologies, tourism, street vendor issues amongst others. They may come from government, academics, consulting, corporate, policy making, start ups, non-profit and advocacy groups.
https://forms.gle/Lyz8nsx7Gehf1TR58
If you are in Jaipur on 5-6-7 August, do get in touch. I would be glad to send you an invite for the consultation and catch up in person.
Congratulations