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As per reports, WAAYU doesn’t charge commission fees to restaurants, which enables them to offer customers better value and more competitive pricing.

Waayu, an online food delivery service recently launched by Mumbai hotels, asserts that it is 15% to 20% cheaper than its competitors. The app aims to tackle issues that restaurants and customers face with existing online food delivery services, such as high commission fees, biased ratings, partial reviews, subpar quality, and unsatisfactory customer service.

Waayu is a venture of Destek HORECA, founded by IT entrepreneurs Anirudha Kotgire and Mandar Lande. The Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) and other trade associations in Mumbai have supported the platform. The software as a service (SaaS) model allows access to over 1,000 Mumbai restaurants, such as Bhagat Tarachand, Mahesh Lunch Home, Banana Leaf, Shiv Sagar, Guru Kripa, Kirti Mahal, Persian Darbar, and Ladu Samrat.

Reports suggest that WAAYU doesn’t charge commission fees to restaurants, enabling them to offer customers better value and competitive pricing. The platform aims to address high prices, delays, poor hygiene, subpar quality, and inadequate customer service by providing customers with affordable, timely, hygienic, and high-quality food.

Suniel Shetty, a renowned Bollywood actor, not only serves as a brand ambassador for a certain company but also holds stock. The company has programs to launch an app that will be available for a fixed monthly cost of Rs 1,000 per outlet, which will gradually increase to Rs 2,000. The app is created to cater to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses.

Furthermore, the company aims to connect its platform to the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). This network, launched by the government of India, is intended to facilitate the creation of a digital ecosystem for commerce. ONDC aims to provide an open and transparent platform for buyers and sellers to interact and transact without any middlemen. It enables small businesses to access a larger market and compete with big players. The ONDC platform is built on a blockchain infrastructure, providing security and transaction transparency.

By connecting to the ONDC network, the company’s platform can benefit from its security and transparency features, providing users with a more reliable and secure service. Moreover, the company can tap into a wider user base and increase its market reach, providing a valuable service to small and medium-sized businesses in India.

Founder Anirudha Kotgire stated that the WAAYU app would revolutionize the online food delivery industry by implementing a commission-free business model. While they have 16 revenue streams, not all will be implemented initially. The app will have an introductory fixed fee arrangement with restaurants of Rs. 1,000 per month per outlet, which will eventually increase to Rs. 2,000 per month. Importantly, there will be no per-order commission charged.

How to use Waayu app?

Utilize Waayu as a customer; there are two different versions of the app: Waayu Delivery Partner for delivery executives and Waayu for customers. Here’s how to use the Waayu app as a customer:

– Step 1: Download the Waayu app from the Google Play Store or visit the Waayu.app website on your browser.
– Step 2: Sign up or sign in with your phone number or email address.
– Step 3: Enter your location or allow the app to access your GPS.
– Step 4: Browse the menus and menus of restaurants that deliver to your area. You can also filter by cuisine, rating, price or offer.
– Step 5: Choose the meals you wish to purchase and include them in your basket. You may even personalize your order with specific requests or instructions.
– Step 6: Review your order and proceed to payment. You can decide to pay online or cash on delivery. You can also apply any coupon or discount code if available.
– Step 7: After confirming your order, wait for the restaurant to send a confirmation message. You can track the quality of your order and estimated delivery time on the app or website.
Step 8: Enjoy your meal as the delivery executive delivers your order. After receiving your order, you can rate and review your experience on the app or website.

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Adani Enterprises and Adani Transmission plan to raise Rs. 21,000 crores through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP).

In response to allegations of fraud by a US short seller that shook the port-to-energy conglomerate, the group’s boldest recovery strategy involves selling shares in two companies.

In a stock filing, Adani Enterprises Ltd and Adani Transmission announced their plans to raise funds through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP). Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship company of the Adani Group, aims to raise Rs. 12,500 crores, while Adani Transmission is targeting Rs. 8,500 crore.

The QIP is expect to generate significant capital, which utilized to consolidate debt and fund growth initiatives. The decision to raise funds through a QIP is part of the Adani Group’s recovery strategy following allegations of fraud by a US short seller, which impacted the group’s reputation.

The successful execution of the QIP will help the Adani Group to rebuild investor confidence and demonstrate its commitment to addressing concerns around corporate governance and transparency. By raising capital, the Adani Group will be better positioned to pursue growth opportunities and further select itself as a key player in the Indian business landscape.

Adani Enterprises has announce that it plans to raise funds of up to Rs. 12,500 crores through the issuance of capital shares or other eligible securities. The company’s board approve the decision to raise budgets through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) or other methods permitted under relevant laws. The funds raised will utilize to reduce the company’s debt and finance its growth initiatives. The issuance of capital shares will be of Re 1 par value each of the company or a combination of eligible securities, subject to a total amount not exceeding Rs. 12,500 crores.

Adani Transmission said in a separate filing that its board approve raising funds by issuing up to a total number of equity shares of Rs 10 par value each for the company and other eligible securities or any combination thereof. Rs 8,500 crore or equivalent amount through QIP or other mode permitted under applicable laws.”

Adani Enterprises’ decision to raise funds through QIP comes after the cancellation of its Rs 20 billion FPO three months ago, which prompted by the Hindenburg report. Despite being fully subscribed, the company returned the money to subscribers due to the report’s allegations of fraud. Shares priced between Rs 3,112 to Rs 3,276 during the FPO are now available at Rs 1,964 (Friday closing price).

On January 24, the Hindenburg Group, a US-based short seller, published a report accusing the Adani Group of accounting fraud and counterfeit manipulation, which caused a decline in investor confidence and led to a drop in share prices.

The Adani Group refute all the accusations made by Hindenburg, while the Indian market regulator is investigating the allegations and transactions with related parties of the Adani Group following a directive from the Supreme Court.

Adani Green Energy had planned to announce financing plans similar to those of Adani Enterprises and Adani Transmission, but the company postponed its board meeting to May 24. This comes after a scathing report by the US-based short seller Hindenburg Group alleged fraudulent accounting practices and manipulated valuations at several Adani companies.

The report led to a sharp drop in Adani Group’s stock prices and forced Adani Enterprises to cancel a planned $2.5 billion stock sale. The Adani Group denied all allegations, but the market regulator is investigating the transactions of related parties of the Adani Group as directed by the Supreme Court. The group’s recovery strategy includes raising Rs 21,000 crore through Qualified Institutional Placement, the largest such effort since the sale of shares in two of its companies.

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Looking closely at the conversation about India, many experts say the next decade is ours. Speaking to a reporter, Bob Sternfels, global managing partner at McKinsey & Company, said: “I strongly believe this could be not just India’s decade, but India’s century as well.” Investment banks like Morgan Stanley say India will experience exponential growth by 2027 and become the world’s third-largest economy. The gist of his argument is that India has an unprecedented opportunity. Many believe that with the country overtaking China to become the most populous country and international companies looking to move out of China to establish their manufacturing base, India is in the reins of great economic growth.

I agree that the next decade belongs to India, but it will rest on the shoulders of an equitable workforce. Without it, the unprecedented opportunity could quickly turn into an unprecedented opportunity cost.

By 2022, women will make up just 13% of the workforce, compared to 61% in China and 56% in the United States. This problem is not due to a lack of opportunities but to a lack of education, awareness and social support. According to a survey by the FSG, more than 85% of women of working age still need to complete university studies, and more than 50% still need to finish 10th grade. Additionally, 84% said they needed their family’s permission to start working, and once they found a job and left it for some reason, their chances of returning to the workforce decreased by 20%.

This inequality has resulted in low labor productivity in India. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), India’s labor productivity is $5.45 per person per hour. Mexico’s labor productivity is four times higher at $20.51 per hour per person. This has huge economic implications. Increasing women’s participation in the labor force directly impacts consumer spending. Women spend 42% of their salary on household expenses, including children’s education, while men spend 28%. Female workers are also believed to be more productive. In a study of sales professionals, salespeople achieved 86% of their sales quotas, while men only achieved 78%. By increasing women’s labor force participation to a different level than men, India is losing 27% of its GDP growth.

Information asymmetry is at the root of India’s unequal frontline workforce. Several products that followed the market model were released to solve this problem. The market model was invented to eliminate information asymmetry in the market and to achieve efficiency through the unrestricted flow of information. While this model has worked well in areas like personal finance and purchasing, market innovation has yet to resolve existing information asymmetries in the frontline workforce.

This was mainly for three reasons:

• When these market solutions were introduced, India needed infrastructure to support such models. Internet penetration was low, and the digital market model was beginning in India.
• Due to low internet penetration, the digital adoption rate among companies and workers was also low, resulting in fewer jobs and applicants entering the platform.
• These marketplaces operate independently from the workers of the ecosystem they operate in, which consequently requires applicants to be more efficient.
• Therefore, companies did not find these platforms useful, and workers were discouraged from using them as they needed to get the jobs they needed.

However, now that the smartphone penetration rate in India is over 70% and digital adoption is accelerating, markets may come back, but they must be rooted in the ecosystem in which working women operate. Therefore, Workforce Market 2.0 must follow a three-pronged approach to achieve fairness.

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The Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting (AGM) was successfully held on May 6, 2023. Billionaire investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger chaired the meeting and shared their thoughts on various topics. He covers a lot of ground, including regional banking problems, his skepticism about the “hype” of artificial intelligence, and the status of the dollar as a reserve currency, while also providing important investment advice.

The following is a list of the main conclusions from the annual general meeting:

Buffett has issued a warning to shareholders, indicating that the US economy may experience a recession this year.

He identified the commercial real estate sector, the banking system and tensions with China as the main risks to watch. Buffett expressed concern about rising tensions between Beijing and Washington, urging both countries to avoid exerting too much pressure. He warned that provocative or authoritarian actions could have dire consequences, noting that both sides have more means of destruction than the world.

They criticize poor regulation in bankruptcy cases.

Buffett has criticized poor regulation and communication by regulators, politicians and the press and believes executives should be held accountable for mistakes that lead to bankruptcies. The liquidation of a crypto lender in March sparked an uproar that spread to three other regional banks. Buffett also used signs that read “available for sale” and “held to maturity” to drive his point about accounting treatment. He also criticized First Republic Bank for offering non-government-backed mortgages at fixed rates for ten years, which he called a “crazy proposition”. JPMorgan Chase recently acquired First Republic Bank.

The auto business is very difficult’ to invest.

During Berkshire Hathaway’s general meeting, Buffett also said that the company is unlikely to invest in automakers such as General Motors (GM) or Ford Motor (F). Buffett and Charlie Munger have long believed that the car business is very challenging, citing an anecdote about Henry Ford’s struggles in the industry at the turn of the 20th century. According to Buffett, too many global competitors in the industry make it difficult to generate attractive returns. Additionally, with the transition to electric vehicles, the industry faces significant capital costs and near-term risks. Berkshire Hathaway prioritizes the car dealership business with 78 dealerships across the United States. These dealerships generate more than $8 billion in annual revenue, making Berkshire one of the largest dealership groups in the US.

Opinion on Berkshire Hathaway’s current cash pile and the dollar’s dominance as a reserve currency

Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway would rather do a deal than keep $130 billion in cash. He further talked about the company’s approximately $130 billion in cash and treasury bills on its balance sheet and ongoing speculation about what the company might do with it. While Buffett would rather make a deal for a larger company than keep the cash and earn interest, Buffett noted that the prices of such deals are typically high. He highlighted the complexity of buying a publicly traded company due to long timelines, shareholder voting and other regulations, adding that the scale required is only available to some private companies.

However, he also cited opportunities that arose during the global financial crisis of 2008 and said he expects Berkshire to receive similar calls in the future. Meanwhile, Berkshire is earning about 5 percent on its Treasury bills and has been buying back shares in recent years. On the issue of the dollar and its reserve currency status, Buffett said that, at present, there is no alternative to any reserve currency other than the US dollar.

Berkshire Hathaway aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2030

Buffett and Vice Chairman Greg Abel discussed the company’s efforts to increase its involvement in renewable energy generation. Abel, who oversees Berkshire’s non-insurance businesses, including Berkshire Hathaway Energy, highlighted the utility company’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent in 2030 relative to 2005. Berkshire Hathaway Energy is investing in windmills and other clean energy generation and expanding transmission lines to access more renewable energy sources that are more distributed than traditional power plants. According to Abel, this presents a good business opportunity for the company.

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger differ on the possibilities of value investing.

Buffett and Munger offered different views on the future of value investing. Munger warned that value investors would face more competition for opportunities and could earn less, while Buffett believes there is still ample opportunity due to an increase in “people talking nonsense”. Despite Berkshire’s current scale, Buffett stresses the importance of a long-term investment horizon for realizing value. Munger joked that he would like his net worth to remain unchanged.

Buffett and Munger express skepticism about AI and robotics.

Some shareholders asked Buffett and Munger their thoughts on artificial intelligence and robotics. While Munger was impressed with the level of automation at BYD factories in Asia, he stressed that “regular old intelligence works just fine.” Buffett joked that there would be no AI that could replace Ajit Jain, the company’s vice chairman, and warned about the potential risks of AI, paralleling the development of the atomic bomb.

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