NIRA, that Offers Small Ticket Loans, Wins NASSCOM Emerge 50 Award 2021 in Fintech Category

Award recognizes India’s most promising software product companies

NIRA, a fintech offering small ticket loans to India’s mass market, today announced it has been recognised as one of the winners at the NASSCOM Emerge 50 Awards 2021. NASSCOM Emerge 50 is one of India’s most prestigious awards in the software products industry and recognises India’s finest software products that have the potential to be leaders of tomorrow. 

NIRA was selected among the winners from a pool of 700+ applicants that were evaluated by an eminent jury of 85+ members including product leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Over last 12 years, NASSCOM Emerge 50 has been recognizing companies who have shown grit and resilience in the face of adversity and embraced innovation in its truest sense. It has evolved to a platform that represents India’s finest products that are solving real global problems.

NIRA, a company co-founded by ex-Goldman Sachs colleagues Rohit Sen and Nupur Gupta, offers access to credit to low-middle income Indians at their time of need. It offers loans of up to Rs. 1 lakh for up to 1 year, via its app-based credit line.

"We are honoured to be recognized by NASSCOM at the Emerge 50 Awards 2021" said Rohit Sen, CEO and co-founder, NIRA. “Low-income Indians are often unable to get loans from banks and are forced to use expensive informal lenders at their time of need,. NIRA offers them credit in a fast and seamless way, at a much lower cost than their available sources of funds today.”

According to Nupur Gupta, co-founder, NIRA, “For many low-income Indians who find it difficult to save money, any unplanned expenses can significantly disrupt their finances and their lives. Availability of fast and affordable digital personal loans such as ours solves a real problems faced by many Indians and helps them successfully overcome difficult financial situations."

About NIRA

Launched in mid 2018 by finance professionals Rohit Sen and Nupur Gupta, NIRA harnesses the power of data and technology to reimagine the way finance can be provided to consumers.

NIRA focuses on providing small ticket loans to blue and grey collared Indians via its mobile app and website. For more information, www.nirafinance.com

Auto Product Startup Sepal Raises Funding from SucSEED Venture

SucSEED venture partners expanding its investment horizon into automobile segment by investing into Sepal. Sepal was founded in 2017 by Vidhey Addepally and Sriram Kashyap. Sepal is aiming at making biking more enjoyable and comfortable by not letting climate dictate riders travel plan. The extended canopy coupled with the water-repellent windshield to ensure riders have a smooth and comfortable ride whether it is scorching or showering outside. Team has applied user centric design in arriving the product which can be used globally.



Founders started the idea of Sepal when Vidhey was studying at IIT Bombay. Sepal was incubated in Desai Sethi centre for entrepreneurship, IIT Bombay. SucSEED lead the investment along with few other angel investors. The investment amount will be crucial for Sepal in expanding the product development activities and penetrating the last-mile delivery market.

Commenting on the fund raise, Vidhey Addepally, co-founder of Sepal, said, “SucSEED has been helping us to prioritize the key value props of our product & streamline our efforts. This enabled us to build a very sustainable growth strategy"

Speaking on why SucSEED has invested in Sepal, Saurabh Sharma, an Active Investor, with SucSEED, said “Sepal founders bring a lot of energy along with design concepts to improve the huge two wheeler community and enhance their riding experience. India overtook China as the largest producer of two wheelers (23 million in 2017-18 alone) and if SEPAL product is received well in the market, it could be part of Custom-offering from the Bike Manufacturers too. SEPAL’s ideas on expanding this design concept to include music, news and lots of other services while riding the bike attracted me as an investor”.

Vikrant Varshney, Cofounder & Partner, SucSEED, said “Globally 2-wheeler industry amounts to $190Bn market and in India alone, we have over 200 million 2-wheelers on roads. SucSEED believes that there are extraordinary opportunities in India today in Automobile Segment due to reliance on vehicles for personal commute, various transportation & delivery needs. When it comes to an accessory like SEPAL’s, the market potential could be around $10Bn within India. Besides 2-wheeler owners using it for personal commute, there is also a growing tribe of Business delivery runners with huge focus on timely delivery of food items Domino & PizzaHut/ Zomato/ Swiggy, Grocery by Bigbasket/ Grofers, Consumables by amazon/flipkart, Documents & Couriers by Fedex/ DHL/ India Post etc. which will all get positively benefitted with this innovation, to face difficult weather conditions, if manufactured at right efficiency and marketed well.

SEPAL is one such innovation and we are impressed with energy and passion of founders who are going after ambitious plan to make bike ride safe and enjoyable. We are confident that Sepal will be household name soon"



Sepal is a collapsible canopy that can be quickly attached to any motorcycle and it forms a compact shape that has no effect on one's driving experience. When required, it can be opened in seconds to give the riders complete environmental protection from Sun, Rain, Dust and even Cold, only on-demand.

Sepal also comes integrated with a HUD, and a well-designed user-interface for safe operation. With such a platform, users can access comforts like navigation, call answering, music streaming etc. on the go!!



Team of SEPAL is led by an Engineer from IIT-Bombay and Designer from LEEDS, U.K developing a solution for an age-old problem that millions of bike riders are suffering from daily. Sepal provides all the bike riders with complete environmental protection, entirely on-demand. Also, it comes with a connected mobility platform to provides users with all the IOT comforts present in modern cars.

Market Potential in this space
The 2-wheeler industry of India is the largest worldwide. Within India itself there are over 200 million 2-wheelers on roads. And world-wide, the 2-wheeler industry amounts to $190Bn market.

When it comes to an after-market accessory like SEPAL’s, the market potential could be around $10Bn within India. Given the criticality of the problem SEPAL is addressing, we hope to capture a big chunk of this multi-billion-dollar market potential.

Top 10 IoT-based Product Startups From India

A few years back, India had embraced IoT with open arms. But, the scenario is such now that the world is taking notice of the innovative IoT products taking birth in the Indian tech land. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is a technology that is changing the way we live in the 21st century. And, with a lot of Indian startups and entrepreneurs taking the IoT plunge, crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo etc. are fully backing their dream.

In order to give a shout out to the Indian IoT products that have taken the world by storm, we at IndianWeb2.com have come up with a list of the top 10 products.
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1) CarIQ –

Having compatibility with all the cars made after the year 2008, this IoT product provides its user with the real-time data about his car's performance. It does so by connecting itself to the car's OBD port. Furthermore, the product also connects one to the car service station most suitable to one's car. The product starts selling at a cool price quotient of Rs. 4000.

Website - MyCariq.com

2) Lechal –

Started as a boon for all the visually impaired people out there, this product by the duo Krispian Lawrence and Anirudh Sharma was in its initial days a hepatic feedback based footwear that would assist the visually challenged people with navigation. But, almost a year ago, they decided to shift their focus to human fitness.

Website - Lechal.com
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3) Carnot Technologies –

Carnot Technologies is another budding startup from Qualcomm’s Design in India initiative. Carnot is an IoT device that connects a user’s car or bike to their smartphone. The device then send alerts to users if their car/bike is being towed or stolen. It also recognises if the car/bike suffers an accident and informs emergency contacts in such a scenario. The device also measures mileage and shares analytics and insights to improve it. Using the device, bike enthusiasts can also share their road trips on social media platforms.

Based out of Mumbai, the startups is a brainchild of IIT-Bombay alumni Rohan Vadgaonkar

Website - www.carnot.co.in
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4) Touchkin –

Designed especially for the elderly people, this 21st century invention is actually a sensor in disguise of a beautiful pendant that is capable of detecting falls. It also doubles up as a panic button. A successful result of the immense hard work of the dynamic duo Ramakant Vempati and Jo Agarwal, the product also comes with a mobile application. Further, the healthcare services provided are charged separate from the product and is available on demand.

Website - www.touchkin.com
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5) Leaf Wearables -

Founded by five engineering graduates - Manik Mehta, Chiraag Kapil, Ayush Banka, Paras Batra and Avinash Bansal, Leaf Wearables is a smart Jewellery startup that designs special pendants, bracelets and key chains that have a small circular device at their heart called SAFER. When a user double clicks the SAFER device attached to the jewellery, the corresponding app is triggered about a potential threat. Launched in Feb'15 the startup has already sold more than 5,000 pieces, the startup's aim is to make 1 million families safe by the end of year 2017

Website - www.leafwearables.in
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6) Retisense –

A perfect gift for all your runner friends, Stridalyzer is a smart insole. Yeah, just like we have has smartphones, smart TVs and smart cars, this one is a smart insole that is capable of measuring the runner's run. Not only this, it also provides tips and feedback on how to improve the form and helps prevent injuries. Anshuman Singh is the brain running behind this stunning product, which can be ordered at $99.

Website - www.retisense.com
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7) ActoFit Wearables-

Actofit claims to redefines what fitness trackers can do. Yes, all your digital devices will now be able to function on the command of one super ring. Taking birth from the genius minds of Pratik Saraogi and Nikhil Lamba, the yet to be launched wrist-band fitness tracker auto recognizes over 60 gym exercises. ActoFit minimalizes manual entry by logging entire sessions, allowing you to see what's working vs what's not working for you. ActoFit's proprietary ActoBeat™ heart rate tracking provides the user with continuous heart rate even during motion.

Website - www.actofit.com
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8) SenseGiz –

Founded by Abhishek Latthe, SenseGiz is a Belgaum based IoT startup, which is known for its flagship product ‘Find’, a smart, connected tracking device that can be attached to valuables as well as pets. SenseGiz also manufactures SAFR, a wearable product which can be clipped to clothing or worn as a band. It can trigger automatic alarms on a loved one’s phone, if the user has a crash/fall/emergency, has a panic button, can track fitness and sleep quality, can use simple gestures to control phone functions and can display phone related notifications on its screen. SenseGiz also builds IoT solutions for smart city applications, smart sensor networks, smart metering, smart light control, smart neighborhood applications, and more.

Website - SenseGiz.com
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9) GetActive -

Having been active in the IoT scene from the year 2012, the product focuses on one of the most important aspect of one's life in this 21st century stress driven life- Health. Adding a dash of wearable fun to the fitness process, this product is a huge hit among health conscious today's youth. Starting at Rs. 1,999, this blessing of fitness has been bestowed upon us by Mohammed Hussain Naseem and Murtaza Beawerwala.

Website - www.getactive.in
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10) Cooey-

Cooey is an end to end patient engagement IoT platform for chronic patients. It helps in collecting (life-logging) & managing health vitals & provide hyper local targeted services after analysing the health data. The Bangalore-based startup founded by Manu Madhusudanan has three products to offer - Bluetooth Blood Pressure Monitor, Glucometer and Body Analyser.
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Other notable product-based startups in IoT are - Namma Energy, a maker of small smart sensor, clips right on to your home's electricity meter and gives you a detailed report about the electricity consumption of one's home, and Chennai-based MaxMyTV which is a smart hub that upgrades a user’s TV to a home automation and social media control center.

One thing is for sure, India has come a long way in IoT and it still has a long way to go. Here's hoping to see many more amazing IoT products to write about in the year 2017.

[Top-most Image - Shutterstock]