 Morning Dispatch |
The Economic Times Startup Awards 2026: Nominees for Woman Ahead and Social Enterprise
Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?
I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Dispatch
We'll soon meet in your inbox.
Happy Thursday! The ETtech team has been preparing for the past few months to bring you the 12th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA). Today, we are unveiling the nominees for two more categories: Woman Ahead and Social Enterprise.
A high-powered jury, led by Wipro’s executive chairman Rishad Premji, will meet on August 25 in Bengaluru to pick the winners of ETSA 2026.
Meet our jury members here.
Background: Since its launch in 2015, ETSA has spent over a decade capturing the highs, lows and defining moments of India’s startup journey. Several past winners, including Lenskart, Zomato, Delhivery and Swiggy, have since gone on to make the transition to public markets, a reflection of how far the ecosystem has come.
Women Ahead award recognises women who have started their own ventures and are giving the best in the business a run for their money. Meanwhile, Social Enterprise recognise the startups that best embody the ‘double bottomline’ model, one that combines profits with the public good.
Over the week, we also revealed the nominees for the following categories:
Top brands, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, Indian designers and premium labels are launching smaller, event-specific stock-keeping units (SKUs) for occasions such as Raksha Bandhan, Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi, as quick commerce is expected to account for a larger share of festive sales this year in high-demand micro-markets.
Tell me more:
Sachin Bansal’s Navi has raised $100 million from Prosus at a valuation of about $1.3 billion, or Rs 13,500 crore, marking its first institutional equity raise. The deal comes as the financial services company prepares for another attempt at going public.
Funding and IPO:
Ashish Hemrajani, founder and CEO, BookMyShow
KKR is set to pick up a minority stake in BookMyShow for around Rs 380-400 crore, valuing the entertainment platform at nearly Rs 6,000 crore, people familiar with the matter told us.
The investment follows more than two years of negotiations between the two sides. The companies, however, did not disclose the transaction size, valuation, or stake being acquired.
Saahil Goel, CEO, Shiprocket
Shiprocket shares surge on debut: Shares of ecommerce logistics services provider Shiprocketjumped on their market listingWednesday, opening at a 35% premium to the initial public issue price of Rs 97. The shares ended trading 48% higher at Rs 143.50 on the BSE, helping erase the valuation cut Shiprocket undertook ahead of the IPO.
Oil giants pool capital to ignite energy deeptech: Oil and gas public sector undertakings (PSUs) are pooling capital and infrastructure under a new platform to back energy and industrial deeptech startups in the country. They are expected to commit Rs 70-80 crore in the first year while separately planning a Rs 2,000-crore growth-stage fund.
AI agents are finding new ways to bypass safeguards: Cybersecurity firms and enterprises are observing increased cases of artificial intelligence (AI) agents exploiting loopholes or taking unintended shortcuts to escape testing environments.
■ Flock has a powerful new AI tool for police. We got its code (Wired)
■ Robots are asking for tips. But who actually gets the money? (BBC)
■ Child-monitoring apps might need a reboot (MIT Technology Review)
A high-powered jury, led by Wipro’s executive chairman Rishad Premji, will meet on August 25 in Bengaluru to pick the winners of ETSA 2026.
Background: Since its launch in 2015, ETSA has spent over a decade capturing the highs, lows and defining moments of India’s startup journey. Several past winners, including Lenskart, Zomato, Delhivery and Swiggy, have since gone on to make the transition to public markets, a reflection of how far the ecosystem has come.
And the nominees are…
Women Ahead award recognises women who have started their own ventures and are giving the best in the business a run for their money. Meanwhile, Social Enterprise recognise the startups that best embody the ‘double bottomline’ model, one that combines profits with the public good.
Women Ahead
- Pallavi Shrivastava (Progcap)
- Ankur Dahiya (Rozana)
- Minu Margeret (Blissclub)
- Pallavi Mohadikar (Palmonas)
- Malini Adapureddy (Deconstruct)
- Prachi Dharani (PayGlocal Technologies)
Social Enterprise
- Padcare Labs
- Cornext
- Karo Sambhav
- Varaha
- CureBay
Over the week, we also revealed the nominees for the following categories:
Brands unwrap premium gifting packs on quick commerce for festive season
Tell me more:
- Ahead of Raksha Bandhan, Kalyan Jewellers and Swarovski have launched designer Rakhis.
- Mondelez Cadbury introduced SKUs with premium gold packaging and formats priced over Rs 500.
- Designers Satya Paul and Masaba Gupta have introduced premium gift boxes under their labels, available in select pin codes on quick commerce platforms.
- Quick commerce is expected to account for a larger share of festive sales this year.
- D2C brands like Palmonas, Secret Alchemist and Bombay Shaving Company see early demand uptick for rapid delivery.
- New launches expected for event-led shopping during Dussehra, Karva Chauth and Diwali on quick commerce.
Prosus invests $100 million in Navi at $1.3 billion valuation
Funding and IPO:
- We first reported on June 9 that Prosus and Accel Growth Fund were in talks to invest $250-300 million in Navi.
- The final Prosus investment is smaller than what was initially under discussion. The valuation is also lower than the $1.8 billion the company initially sought.
- We subsequently reported that Navi was preparing for a roughly Rs 3,000-crore IPO by March 2027. It had shelved an earlier listing plan after receiving Sebi approval in 2022.
- Navi posted a Rs 466-crore consolidated loss in FY26 on operating revenue of Rs 2,982 crore, but turned profitable in the March quarter.
- Its UPI app is India’s fourth largest, while lending assets under management have crossed Rs 13,000 crore.
KKR to invest about Rs 400 crore in Reliance-backed BookMyShow at Rs 6,000 crore valuation
KKR is set to pick up a minority stake in BookMyShow for around Rs 380-400 crore, valuing the entertainment platform at nearly Rs 6,000 crore, people familiar with the matter told us.
The investment follows more than two years of negotiations between the two sides. The companies, however, did not disclose the transaction size, valuation, or stake being acquired.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Shiprocket shares surge on debut: Shares of ecommerce logistics services provider Shiprocketjumped on their market listingWednesday, opening at a 35% premium to the initial public issue price of Rs 97. The shares ended trading 48% higher at Rs 143.50 on the BSE, helping erase the valuation cut Shiprocket undertook ahead of the IPO.
Oil giants pool capital to ignite energy deeptech: Oil and gas public sector undertakings (PSUs) are pooling capital and infrastructure under a new platform to back energy and industrial deeptech startups in the country. They are expected to commit Rs 70-80 crore in the first year while separately planning a Rs 2,000-crore growth-stage fund.
AI agents are finding new ways to bypass safeguards: Cybersecurity firms and enterprises are observing increased cases of artificial intelligence (AI) agents exploiting loopholes or taking unintended shortcuts to escape testing environments.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Flock has a powerful new AI tool for police. We got its code (Wired)
■ Robots are asking for tips. But who actually gets the money? (BBC)
■ Child-monitoring apps might need a reboot (MIT Technology Review)
Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?
I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail