This is the second part of a two-part series of my past year at Bertelsmann India. Folks can read the first part here before diving into this one. Below I share a few reflections and learnings over the past year as part of the investing team at BII Fund. I…

I like December quite a lot. The weather is great, things become more relaxed towards the second half as families unwind and look forward to Christmas and the upcoming new year. And the best part is getting time for reflection and introspection on the year gone by, on the goals…

Background The earliest form of lending system originated some 3,000 years back in ancient Greece and Rome. In ancient Greece, unsecured loans were given in maritime trade with creditors keeping 25% of the profit in cases of success. In India, loans were first mentioned in texts dating 2000 B.C. where…

‘I have a mixed feeling about CRISPR, to be honest. On one hand, it feels awesome to be a part of it but on the other, it also brings a powerful sense of responsibility’- Dr. Jennifer Doudna, CRISPR Founder This article is partly inspired by a Netflix documentary called Unnatural…

‘We need to start to talk about money in ways that dethrone it and make it subject to human ethics and standards of love and decency’- Joel Solomon, The Clean Money Revolution In Jul 2018, I had joined Acumen Fund, an early-stage impact fund in India, and wrote about my…

Context As the country remained locked down during the Apr-Jun period in 2020, millions of chronic patients were deprived of appropriate medical help. Home service providers stepped in to fill a critical gap and home visits by doctors, blood tests at home for diseases such as diabetes, thyroid rose sharply. …

What is Pay after placement model? Pay after placement (or Income Sharing agreement) is a debt-free alternative to education loans. In ISA, once a student is placed, she/ he pays a certain percentage of their monthly income for 2–3 years as the cost of the education program. …

What is Plant-Based Meat and Origins In 1971, Frances Lappe wrote a revolutionary bestseller ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ on American’s eating habits. In a period of rapid population growth, she contended that there was plenty of food for everyone. The problem was that more food went to nourish animals…

As a child, I used to love Disney’s cartoon on the Adventures of Gummi Bears. The Gummi Bears had a magic potion which gave them super agility with rapid bouncing skills. I wished that I could have this superpower someday! Fast forward to 2020, the nutraceutical market is probably the…