Indonesian ride-hailing and payments firm Gojek announced on Tuesday it would lay off 9% of its employees, or 430 workers, and close down its lifestyle services arm, GoLife. A spokesman said the company would “prioritise its high-impact core businesses of payments, transport and food delivery in a long-term response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Reuters reported […]

Amazon said on Tuesday it will launch a $2 billion venture capital fund that will focus on technology investments to reduce the impact of climate change and support sustainable development. The Climate Pledge Fund will invest in companies across industries such as transportation and logistics, energy, storage and utilization, manufacturing and materials, and food and […]

Zomato’s existing investor Info Edge has said that the online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform is yet to receive $100 million from the $150 million it raised from existing backer — China’s Ant Financial — in January this year. Additionally, it is being “evaluated” if this capital needs government approval amid curbs on investments […]

India’s move to delay Customs clearance for goods, components and raw materials imported from China could hurt companies like Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal and Paytm Mall, as it puts at risk categories that contribute over 50% of sales on these ecommerce platforms. Apart from smartphones — which is the largest sales driver for online retailers — […]

India’s largest consumer goods companies saw Covid-19 led disruptions significantly boosting online sales in India and for several e-commerce sales and contribution to overall business have doubled. This is true for top deck companies like Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Parle Products, LG, Vivo and Godrej. Senior executives said several consumers continue to buy online rather than […]

The government will hold a meeting with leading e-commerce marketplaces on Wednesday in order to persuade them to prominently display the ‘country of origin’ of products on their platforms, in a bid to curb imports from China. The move to have Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and others display the ‘country of origin’ follows a mandate by […]

US President Donald Trump’s work permit suspension could potentially reshape the global tech and startup industry, and likely see the decline of America’s influence on the digital economy. The growing acceptance for remote working due to the Covid-19 pandemic could accelerate this trend. In the digital economy, you hire where the talent is. When you […]

The government is leading the charge to get e-commerce platforms to introduce a ‘Make in India’ filter, by doing so on its own e-procurement portal Government e-marketplace (GeM), a move that it said will boost its Atmanirbhar Bharat and ‘Make in India’ initiatives. On Tuesday, the government’s e-procurement site GeM made it mandatory for sellers […]

Travel service providers continue to lay off employees despite a gradual resumption of domestic flights and a phased reopening in some states in the absence of any clear signs of a recovery, particularly in segments like international travel. Thomas Cook has laid off about 1,000 people so far while travel portal Yatra, post the termination […]

Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Homegrown ecommerce firm Flipkart is organizing its first big sale event since the lockdown was lifted from June 23-27, with a focus on smartphones, television, laptops and fashion, at a time when overall industry sales volumes have recovered 80-90% of levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Walmart-owned etailer has launched an […]