🛵Chennai’s EV Startup raises $50 Million Funding
Plus: Russia becomes India’s top oil supplier in October, Imran Khan asks Pakistan’s president to investigate the military, and Airbnb will display rates that include all fees in search results.
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Chennai Startup’s Electric Two-Wheelers Zip Across Africa, Raise $50 Million Funding
In 2020, more than 10 million electric vehicles were on the road worldwide. As a result, e-bike sales have increased. An entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu recognized this opportunity and the need for electric vehicles (EVs) in 2014–15 and is now running one of Africa’s largest electric two-wheeler enterprises.
M Auto Group of Companies was founded and is led by Mansoor Alikhan Al Buhari. As a serial entrepreneur, he originally envisioned M Auto as a car firm.
His father instilled the business drive in his 33-year-old year, who hails from the village of Kottampatti in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
“My father always told me that you should not work for someone else. You should employ others. Therefore, doing something on my own was always my goal,” says Mansoor.
As a 17-year-old, he began his first business in Tirupur with Rs 3,000 and a gold coin.
🔥The Hunger:
“Many of my family members have textile businesses in Tirupur. I went to work with them from 2006–07. The tradition was that whoever comes to work, must start by folding the banians (vests) and keeping them in boxes, washing bathrooms, etc. I was not happy with that. With my uncle’s help, I got a job at a computer operator’s office. And once I learned a little about computers, I started my own business,” says Mansoor.
Following that, he founded Computer Corporation of India, which operated from 2010 to 2013. And it was then that his pals exposed him to the automotive sector.
“At that time, there were no meter autos in Chennai. My friends were speaking about how the large industry was still unorganized. So, I came onboard ‘Namma Auto’ where we ran meter autos. However, I quit that after a few months due to personal reasons,” adds Mansoor.
Soon, he started Makkal Auto or ‘M Auto’ to organize the sector and help auto drivers with their earnings, especially focusing on women drivers.
The company also worked on gender inclusion by training 3,000 women as auto drivers.
They began in Africa in 2020 in Togo and Benin, delivering 2,500 electric two-wheelers.
Mansoor adds that M Auto is building factories in Togo and Benin. The plan now, according to Mansoor, is to expand its footprint in both Africa and India. He also claims, “Our Chennai factory is operational and can manufacture 1,000 vehicles per month.”
“We want to focus on the B2B segment in India for two-wheelers. We want to serve fleet operations and offer end-to-end transport solutions. I want to honor my father by providing jobs to more people in the coming years,” adds Mansoor.
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- Imran Khan asks Pakistan’s president to investigate the military: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked President Arif Alvi to initiate an inquiry into a news conference held by Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency, which he has accused of orchestrating the attack on him. In a letter to the president, Khan referred to the event held last month by Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
- Blow For Beijing; India, Japan, US & Australia Take A Collective Stand To Counter China In The Indo-Pacific: Following Japan’s great International Fleet Review on November 6 at Sagami Bay, four Quad partners — Australia, India, Japan, and the United States — will begin the Malabar naval exercise off the coast of Yokosuka on Tuesday (November 8). The drill will be completed on November 18. On November 5, the four Quad countries’ navy chiefs convened in Tokyo. They discussed how to “further enhance interoperability” in future Malabar international naval exercises. The timing of the IFR and Malabar exercises is noteworthy, coming as they do in the aftermath of China’s increased assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and North Korea’s record missile launches.
- Russia becomes India’s top oil supplier in October: Russia has become India’s top oil supplier in October, surpassing traditional sellers Saudi Arabia and Iraq, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa.
- The jury is still out on the efficacy of demonetization, 6 years after the move. The jury is still out on the decision to demonetize high-value currency notes on November 8, 2016, with the government claiming it has helped greater formalization of the economy while critics saying it has failed to curb black money and reduce dependence on cash. On November 8, six years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetization of old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes and one of the key objectives of the unprecedented decision was to promote digital payments and curb black money, besides eliminating terror funding.
- Soon, Airbnb will display rates that include all fees in search results. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said today that the company is refining its search to show users’ charges inclusive of fees like cleaning fees. The company will roll out this feature through a toggle next month and will also prioritize the total charges (before taxes) for your trip in search instead of the nightly price.
- Twitter may be asking certain staff members to return after firing half of its workforce. A Bloomberg report cited sources saying that the company asked some folks to return as they were laid off “by mistake.” It also noted it was calling some other employees back as they were critical for building features for the platform Musk envisions.
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