Entertainment
Shark Namita Thapar so far has invested Rs 10 crore in 25 companies during Shark Tank India
Namita Thapar, the executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, opened up about investments she made during Shark Tank India and the regrets she has after the show ended. In a new write-up, Namita talked about ‘missed opportunities’ and being ‘vulnerable’ as a business leader.
Namita revealed she evaluated as many as 170 pitches on the show and made investments worth ₹10 crore in 25 businesses: “I saw around 170 pitches and invested ₹10 crore in 25 companies that touched my heart. I invested ₹7 crore during the show and ₹3 crore post the show in deals I had lost out on and in a few existing deals to increase my stake.”
She went on to talk about her ‘biggest regrets’ about not backing certain business ideas. “As future leaders we need to champion not just founders who can scale and make money for us but also those who have tremendous potential, are working on a real problem but don’t have the right mentorship to gain traction in their business. Jugaadu Kamlesh and Pandurang of Agro Tourism were both Maharashtrian farmers out to solve real problems but due to lack of right guidance hadn’t made sales,” wrote Namita.
In her piece, she continued: “Leaders like me need to be bold, back such founders and ensure they become a success so that entrepreneurship doesn’t just become the dream of the ones with the right education and resources but even of the common man. This is one of our core responsibilities as business leaders who have been blessed with power and privilege, who people look up to… and not investing in Kamlesh and Pandurang remain my biggest regrets at Shark Tank India.”
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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