Exclusive: Ecofy Set to Raise Rs 380 Cr Led by British International Investment
Ecofy Finance, a climate‑focused NBFC, is raising Rs 380 crore in a Series B equity round led by British International Investment. The round includes Rs 220 crore from BII, Rs 70.5 crore from Finnfund, and continued backing from FMO and Green Growth Equity Fund. Post‑allocation, Ecofy’s valuation is estimated at roughly Rs 800 crore, and the capital will bolster its working‑capital needs for financing EVs, solar, and other sustainable projects. The company reported a 4.8‑fold revenue surge to Rs 93.3 crore in FY25, albeit with a 15.6% rise in losses.
Vilnius-Based Food Supply Marketplace Saltz Raises €20 Million Series A, Plans 100+ Hires as It Expands Across Europe
Vilnius‑based Saltz secured a €20 million Series A round led by the EBRD, aiming to accelerate its pan‑European food‑supply marketplace. The funding will fund expansion into new markets, broaden supplier offerings, and support hiring over 100 staff by 2026. Saltz’s platform consolidates...
Britain Faces a Trillion-Dollar Tech Challenge
TechUK and TheCityUK hosted a summit urging UK tech firms to stay and scale domestically, targeting the nation’s first trillion‑dollar technology company by 2035. The Industrial Strategy calls for unprecedented capital inflows, with up to £190 bn of private funds expected...
SA Start-Up Aims to Help Business Side-Step ‘Innovation Theatre’ Using AI
South African start‑up Otinga, founded in June 2023, reports over 275% year‑on‑year growth by delivering AI‑driven transformation through rapid, execution‑focused programmes. The firm positions itself against “innovation theatre”, emphasizing disciplined governance, clear business ownership, and measurable outcomes rather than speculative pilots....
Navi Technologies Swings to Red with Rs 126 Cr Loss in FY25
Navi Technologies posted an Rs 126 crore loss for FY25, a marked improvement from the Rs 358.5 crore loss a year earlier, despite an 18% jump in revenue to Rs 2,565 crore. Interest income, which makes up 85% of total revenue, rose 21% while other income...
Latitude59 Opens Applications for Its Pitch Competition Tallinn, Estonia
Latitude59, a leading Nordic tech event, has opened applications for its 2026 pitch competition, inviting early‑stage startups worldwide to pitch on the Tallinn main stage. The 2025 edition saw €675,000 invested, with winners like MarkeDroid and Luna Robotics later raising...
The Empathy Deficit: The Mistake Most Founders Make with AI
Founders are racing to ship AI products, but a growing "empathy deficit" threatens success. While 52% of executives cite critical thinking as essential, only 17% prioritize empathy—cognitive empathy that models real user behavior. The article argues that neglecting this skill...
Indigenous Knowledge Innovation Platform Launched to Support Inclusive Bioeconomy Growth
UVU Bio, together with the CSIR‑hosted Regional Innovation Support Programme, has launched an Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Product Development Regional Innovation Platform in the Western and Eastern Cape. The platform helps indigenous knowledge holders and early‑stage bio‑entrepreneurs convert traditional practices...
Students From JA Ecuador Win 2026 De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award
Ralph de la Vega announced Sacky JA from Ecuador as the 2026 De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award winner, granting the team a $15,000 cash prize. The award, the pinnacle of the JA Company Program, recognized six regional student companies...
Augur Raises $15m From Plural to Turn Existing Surveillance Infrastructure Into Real-Time Intelligence
London‑based Augur has closed a $15 million seed round led by Plural to turn Europe’s existing camera and sensor networks into real‑time threat intelligence. The startup’s AI platform ingests video and sensor feeds, delivering live situational awareness without requiring hardware replacement....
StrideOne Raises ₹100 Cr, Onboards Ex-Max Life Insurance Rajesh Sud As Cofounder
StrideOne, an Indian NBFC that serves MSMEs and SMEs, secured ₹100 cr (≈$11 mn) in a blend of equity and debt from undisclosed investors. The capital will fund expansion of its enterprise‑anchor programmes, broaden its partner‑lender network, and upgrade technology and risk...
ESA and CDL-Milan to Host the 3rd CommEO Award Selection Round in Milan
ESA’s Φ‑lab and Creative Destruction Lab‑Milan are hosting the third CommEO Award selection round in Milan, targeting early‑stage downstream Earth Observation startups in resilience, climate and infrastructure. The live pitch and demo event will choose five winners who advance to...
Germany’s Telura Exits Stealth with €4 Million Pre-Seed to Unlock Geothermal Energy with Electric Impulse Drilling
Munich‑based Telura announced a €4 million pre‑seed round led by Nucleus Capital, Possible Ventures and First Momentum, coupled with a validation pact with Germany’s SPRIND agency. The startup’s electric impulse drilling technology replaces mechanical bits with high‑voltage pulses to fracture rock,...
Project F Updates Startup Toolkit to Help Founders Get Their HR Right
Project F Australia has relaunched its Tech Startup Toolkit, a plug‑and‑play guide that provides hiring, pay‑structure and culture policies for tech startups with fewer than 100 employees. Developed with input from venture capital firms, the toolkit aims to close gender pay...
Yes Madam Nears Rs 100 Cr Revenue in FY25; Remains Profitable
Yes Madam, the Noida‑based at‑home salon platform, doubled its operating revenue to Rs 92.5 crore in FY25, up from Rs 45.8 crore a year earlier. Product sales now account for 54% of revenue, reaching Rs 50 crore, while services generated Rs 42.5 crore. Despite a 100% rise in...
Denmark’s Wealth Tax Plan Would Be a Disaster for Startups
Denmark is proposing a wealth tax on illiquid shares, forcing owners of private‑company stock to pay annually on paper valuations. The measure would compel startup founders to liquidate or borrow against equity, diverting capital from growth to tax compliance. Norway’s...
Direct Materials Sourcing Technology a Hub for Manufacturers
Spencer Penn’s three‑year stint at Tesla exposed a manual, fragmented direct‑materials sourcing process that hampered development speed and profit margins. Recognizing a critical automation gap between the product‑lifecycle‑management system and ERP, he co‑founded LightSource in 2021. The startup delivers an...
From Neglected Child to $36M-a-Year Business Owner: The Story of Chinese Woman Huang Xuanni
Huang Xuanni, a former rural migrant and divorcee, founded the fashion label Mix Selection after a failed Taobao venture that left her in 5 million yuan debt. By leveraging online courses, brand management reading, and a niche focus on small‑frame women’s clothing,...
NSW Launches $20 Million Emerging Tech Commercialisation Fund
New South Wales government unveiled a $20 million Emerging Technologies Commercialisation Fund to bridge the funding gap for startups turning early-stage innovations into market‑ready products. The first tranche provides a $7 million pool of repayable grants, complemented by a $4.75 million Biosciences Fund...
From Instinct to Sales Systems with James Rores
James Rores, a veteran sales strategist, explains why founder‑led sales teams often hit a growth ceiling when they rely on personal heroics rather than repeatable systems. He argues that scaling requires a shift from pitching products to leading change, helping...
New Ventures, Old Hands: India’s Startup Founders In Encore Mode
India’s startup ecosystem is seeing a surge of serial entrepreneurs launching new ventures after successful exits. Figures like Deepinder Goyal (Zomato), Aman Gupta (boAt), Shashank ND (Practo) and Mukund Jha (Dunzo) are now backing health‑tech, venture studios and AI startups,...
How Basil Built a Premium Kids Brand in a Rs 60,000 Cr Market Loved by 1.5+ Lakh Families
Basil, a design‑led children’s essentials brand, identified a gap in India’s ₹60,000‑crore school‑kids market for ages four to twelve and launched premium lunchboxes, bottles and gear. Within two years it reached ₹36 crore annual recurring revenue, after selling 1,000 units in...
Stone & Chalk Doubles Its Backing for Women Founders with IWD Scholarships
Stone & Chalk has doubled its International Women’s Day Scholarship program after a 60% surge in applications for 2026. The cohort expands from six to twelve founders, who will spend six months in the accelerator’s hubs in Sydney, Melbourne and...
Jeff Bezos Says An Employee Looked At Him Like He Was 'the Stupidest Person They'd Ever Seen' – Then Proposed...
Jeff Bezos recalled Amazon’s 1995 basement warehouse, where ten staff packed books on concrete floors. After a surge of orders, he suggested knee pads to ease the pain, only to be met with an employee’s suggestion for packing tables. Implementing...
If They Knew…
Marketing strategies diverge on whether to inform or exploit consumers. Seth Godin argues that organizations either educate prospects, fostering informed decisions, or rely on confusion to close sales. The piece challenges marketers to consider if fully informed prospects would still...
They Quit an Influencer Marketing Startup and Built Their Own. Now They’re Projecting to Make $3M
Storytime, founded by former Lefty employees Aris Yeager and Philip Davis, is building a city‑by‑city influencer marketplace for local brick‑and‑mortar businesses. The platform leverages Yeager’s 3 million‑follower social presence to automate creator outreach, contracts, and performance tracking. It targets the inefficiencies...
PhonePe’s Merchant Network Cross 47 Million Businesses Ahead of IPO
PhonePe’s updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus reveals its merchant ecosystem now spans 47.19 million businesses, covering 98.6% of Indian pin codes and representing roughly 78% of the nation’s trade and services merchants. The platform supports 9.19 million physical payment devices and a...
“We Are Building on Top of an Immature Ecosystem”: Day 1-1000 of Bujeti
Bujeti, a Lagos‑based fintech founded in 2021, has transformed from a diaspora remittance app into a comprehensive finance control centre for African businesses. The platform now offers corporate cards, expense limits, payroll, automated VAT vaults and an AI‑powered assistant, serving...
Stanza Living Turns Profitable in FY25 on the Back of Rs 277 Cr Other Income
Stanza Living reported a Rs 130 crore profit for FY25, reversing a Rs 273 crore loss from the prior year. The turnaround was powered by a Rs 277 crore miscellaneous income line, while operating revenue slipped 6.6% to Rs 545.5 crore. Total expenses fell...
ZyG
ZyG has launched an AI‑driven Growth Engine designed to help early‑stage direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) startups scale their eCommerce operations. The platform delivers product‑market fit analysis, centralized access to third‑party tools, and automated workflows that streamline growth initiatives. ZyG’s leadership team combines...
Dominion Dynamics Says It Will Invest $50 Million to Build a “Sovereign Autonomous Wingman”
Dominion Dynamics, an Ottawa‑based defence startup, announced a CAD 50 million investment to develop an Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), a sovereign “autonomous wingman” that will operate alongside manned fighters. The company plans to deliver a sub‑scale prototype within 24‑36 months, leveraging advanced...
Monalee Rebrands as Artemis and Raises $6 Million
Artemis, previously known as Monalee, announced a rebrand alongside the close of a $6 million financing round. The round was co‑led by Long Journey and Copec WIND Ventures, with participation from Ludlow Ventures, Shrug Capital, Coalition Operators, Plug and Play Ventures, FJ...
How Gaiia Used Its R&D to Help Finance a Pivot From Services to Software
In early 2023, Quebec‑based Oxio sold its ISP business to Cogeco for $100 million and rebranded as Gaiia, a software platform for challenger ISPs. The spin‑out entered a seed round of $13 million, but with less than $1 million in revenue and a...
DiligenceSquared Raises $5M Seed
DiligenceSquared announced a $5 million seed round led by Relentless, with participation from Y Combinator. The AI‑native platform streamlines commercial due diligence and market research for investment teams. The capital will fund rapid expansion to meet rising demand from private‑equity firms....
Most People Feel Guilty About Their Tech Habits — But Won’t Change Them. Here’s Why That’s a Big Opportunity for...
Most consumers admit feeling guilty about the environmental impact of their digital habits, yet 70% say they rarely alter streaming, cloud or AI usage. The Digital Guilt Index survey shows the guilt stems from invisible, upstream costs that users attribute...
Cicada Raises $13.5M Series A Round
Cicada, a US‑based fintech, closed a $13.5 million Series A round led by Citigroup, with participation from L4, Kaszek, Dila Capital and Crestone. The company runs an electronic trading platform that lets institutional investors buy and sell Mexican government and corporate bonds...
Why the Future of Highway Food Might Look More Like a Food Court
Danish entrepreneur Daniel Baven’s Noahs platform turns convenience stores and service stations into on‑site food hubs using modular kitchens and a digital ordering stack. The system lets retailers host rotating food brands—pizza, tacos, sandwiches—without major capital outlay, essentially acting as...
These Two Young Billionaires Run Rival Betting Sites and Despise Each Other
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, both under 30 and billionaires, are locked in a public feud that is influencing the direction of the online prediction‑market industry. Mansour has spent years securing CFTC approval for Kalshi, positioning...
Women First: The Gulf’s New Healthcare Blueprint
Nabta Health, a Dubai‑based startup, is scaling a women‑first preventive‑care platform across the UAE and the wider Middle East‑Africa region. The hybrid model combines a licensed physical clinic, a virtual network of clinicians and AI‑driven risk assessment, and a B2B...
How Tech Founders Can Access Investors and What Davos and Tulum Has To Do With It
A deep‑tech founder spent $180K on conventional marketing and generated 287 leads but no institutional capital. By contrast, attending three invitation‑only events—two Davos gatherings and a Tulum music festival—for $35K produced twelve family‑office conversations, three term sheets and a $2.4M...
Is Amazon Automation a Profitable Passive Income Model — or Just an Overhyped Trend?
Amazon automation can generate profitable, semi‑passive income in 2026, but success hinges on disciplined execution and seasoned oversight. Modern automation relies on advanced software for research, pricing, inventory, and ad optimization, while strategic decisions remain human‑driven. The model now attracts...
From Teacher to Fashion Brand Founder
Nasrin Jafari left a middle‑school teaching career in 2019 to launch Mixed, a direct‑to‑consumer fashion label that grew from hand‑sewn Covid masks posted on Instagram. She built the brand using a pre‑order model, low‑minimum‑order factories in India, and in‑house Meta...
Inside the EIC Accelerator: Practical Advice From One Irish Founder
Irish deep‑tech scale‑up Lios secured a €6.25 million EIC Accelerator award in 2025, illustrating the programme’s capacity to fund high‑risk, TRL 6‑8 innovations. The European Innovation Council grant offers up to €2.5 million in non‑dilutive funding plus a €1‑10 million equity component, but only...
When the Job Market Tightens, Startups Surge — Here’s Why 2026 Could Be the Perfect Time to Launch Your Business
The Registered Agents Inc. report shows 5.9 million new businesses were created in 2025, an 8% rise over 2024, signaling a surge in entrepreneurship as the job market tightens. Smaller states such as Wyoming and Montana posted the strongest growth, with...
![[Update] SEDEMAC IPO Closes With 2.68X Oversubscription](https://inc42.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=90/https://asset.inc42.com/2026/03/SEDEMAC-social.jpg)
[Update] SEDEMAC IPO Closes With 2.68X Oversubscription
SEDEMAC’s IPO closed with a 2.68X overall oversubscription, as investors bid for 1.51 cr shares against the 56.32 lakh on offer. Qualified institutional buyers led the demand, oversubscribing their 16.07 lakh quota by 8.46X, while non‑institutional and retail investors lagged, subscribing only 77%...
69% of Africa’s Biometric Fintech Fraud Is Now AI-Generated, Says Report
A Smile ID report reveals that 69% of biometric fraud in Africa’s fintech sector is now AI‑generated, with a single syndicate using 100 stolen faces to launch over 160,000 verification attacks in one month. Fraud has shifted from fake‑ID onboarding...
Nigeria Exited the FATF Grey List. Now It Wants to Set the Rules for African Fintech
Nigeria was removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 after completing a 19‑point anti‑money‑laundering reform that brought it into compliance with 37 of the 40 FATF recommendations. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s new Fintech Policy...
UK Tech Funding Roundup: This Week’s Deals From Oxa to Mutable Tactics
UK tech investment this week totalled £99.37 million, a 91% drop from the prior week, across five rounds. Autonomous‑vehicle specialist Oxa led the pack with a £77 million Series D, followed by biomaterials firm Shellworks raising £11 million Series A. Health‑tech Antiverse secured £7 million for...
Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate Announces Latest Cohort of 18 Digital Health Companies
Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate has announced a new 30‑week cohort of 18 digital‑health startups from across the globe. Participants will receive mentorship from Mayo clinicians and, crucially, access to millions of de‑identified longitudinal clinical records to train and validate AI models....
$80 AI Photo Editor Helps Side Hustlers Build a Standout Brand on a Budget
Entrepreneur highlights the Luminar Neo Lifetime Bundle, an AI‑powered photo editor now offered for $79.99, down from $682.00. The suite provides automated sky replacement, portrait retouching, object removal, and composition tools via simple sliders and a text‑based AI Assistant. The...