Fintech startup ZestMoney is closing down operations by December, leading to the layoff of its entire 150-member workforce. Despite attempts by the new leadership to revive the company, it couldn’t secure additional funding or find a buyer. The shutdown follows the departure of ZestMoney’s original cofounders in May, triggered by unsuccessful acquisition talks with PhonePe. Once valued at $445 million, ZestMoney faced challenges like increasing losses and loan defaults. In FY22, losses tripled to INR 398.8 crore, while revenues rose 1.6 times to INR 145 crore. This closure adds to the series of shutdowns in the Indian startup ecosystem in 2023, involving 15 major startups that collectively burned $85 million in investor capital.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}