The Fewa New Year Festival boasts a vibrant atmosphere with diverse attractions, including food stalls offering traditional Nepali and international cuisine, live music performances by both local and international artists, captivating cultural displays featuring traditional Nepali dances and music, as well as engaging art exhibitions and workshops. This iconic event presents a wonderful opportunity to indulge in Nepalese culture and savor local culinary delights.
Aligned with its commitment to promote digital payments through UPI, PhonePe will lead various initiatives during the festival to enhance awareness and adoption of digital transactions among local merchants and visitors. The activities will include on-ground campaigns aimed at educating merchants on the convenience of digital payments and showcasing the simplicity of UPI transactions to consumers. With extensive on-ground and digital branding, interactive kiosks demonstrating digital payment methods, and engaging activities, PhonePe, alongside e-Sewa and HAN Pokhara, will highlight the seamless experience of using UPI for transactions.
The festival is expected to host over 3,000 participating merchants and attract more than 100,000 visitors. This collaborative effort between PhonePe, e-Sewa, and HAN Pokhara underscores a collective commitment to advancing digital payment solutions and enhancing the overall festival experience.
Speaking on the partnership, Ritesh Pai, CEO International Payments, PhonePe, said, “We are excited to partner with eSewa and the Hoteliers Association of Nepal to help popularize UPI as a part of the popular Fewa New Year Festival. Nepal attracts many Indian visitors annually who come to experience the music, food, and culture of this beautiful place. Our focus will be on creating merchant education and awareness to ensure the uptick of UPI on the Fonepay Network in Nepal. This partnership will revolutionize Nepal’s digital landscape, ensuring PhonePe customers can effortlessly conduct transactions at their convenience, regardless of location.’’
Mr. Jagdish Khadka, CEO, eSewa said “Partnering with PhonePe and the Hotel Association of Nepal for the Fewa New Year Festival is an exciting opportunity for eSewa to further promote digital payments in Nepal. As the country’s leading digital wallet, we are committed to enhancing the digital payment ecosystem and providing convenient solutions for both merchants and consumers. With Indian visitors being a major visitor for Nepal, this move aligns well to cater the needs of visitors and enhance their overall experience. Through this collaboration, we aim to showcase the benefits of using UPI and Fonepay network and empower merchants to embrace digital transactions, ultimately contributing to the growth of Nepal’s digital economy. Additionally, we believe such collaboration will foster greater financial inclusion and accessibility.”
Mr. Laxman Subedi, President HAN Pokhara Chapter said,“In the joyous spirit of Nepali New Year 2081, 19th Fewa New Year Festival aims to attract 300,000 visitors. Pokhara’s hotels, supported by the Hotel Association of Nepal, offer discounts of up to 20% to ensure comfortable stay for tourists travelling to Pokhara. Embracing our values of Tourism, Culture, and Food, Pokhara stands out as a beacon of Nepal’s tourism appeal. Together, let’s reveal the beauty of our region, preserve our cultural heritage, welcome visitors from far and wide, and breathe new life into our hospitality sector.”
Mr. Diwas Sapkota, CEO, Fonepay said, “It brings us a great pleasure to witness the strategic partnership with PhonePe India, eSewa Nepal, and the Hoteliers Association of Nepal to promote the integration of UPI capabilities onto the Fonepay Network. The New Year Festival serves as an ideal venue to highlight the impact of this collaboration. With its massive turnout, the festival brings people to the heart of Nepal’s cultural and economic center, offering everyone the chance to witness and experience the advancements in payment technology.”
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Essentials Category (Fresh, FMCG, Staples, Pharma):
In CY 2023, udaan experienced an impressive surge in the Essentials category, with a remarkable repeat purchase rate of over 90%, demonstrating its strong retailer partnerships. The platform shipped around 504 million biscuit packets, 437 million units of Personal Care products, and approximately 251 million beverage units. Ready-to-eat products, including 87 million noodle packets and 15 million beverage units, were also popular. Moreover, udaan sold approximately 72 million Namkeen items and 50 million coffee packets during this period. Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana displayed the highest demand for these products. In terms of weight, udaan shipped over 9.6 Lac tonnes of Food products (including staples and FMCG) in CY 2023. This encompassed 7.9 lakh tonnes of staples, comprising 4.3 lakh tonnes of sugar & oil, and over 3.6 lakh tonnes of rice, pulses, and flours. The primary demand for these food products stemmed from Karnataka, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Telangana. Additionally, udaan shipped over 1.7 lac tonnes of FMCG products, with significant orders originating from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana.
Discretionary Category (Electronics, General Merchandise, Lifestyle):
In CY 2023, udaan fulfilled 1.3 million orders in its Electronics Category, shipping over 31 million products. This included 21 million+ accessories, 7.5 million consumer electronics, and 2.5 million mobile handsets. Significant demand for electronics products stemmed from Karnataka, Assam, and Bihar. In the General Merchandise & Hardware category, retailers ordered over 7.5 million products, including 4.7 million Plastic products, Appliances & Cookware items, 1.7 million Metal utensils, and 1 million Cycles, Luggage, Toys & Baby Care products. The highest demand for General Merchandise items came from Karnataka, Assam, and Bihar. udaan’s Lifestyle Category facilitated the shipping of over 19 million products, serving 1 million orders, with Bihar, UP, Assam, Karnataka, Odisha, and Maharashtra showing the highest demand for Clothing, Accessories, and Footwear.
Sellers who did business worth Rs 1 Crore each:
During CY 2023, udaan witnessed 900 sellers reaching the milestone of selling INR 1 crore worth of products on its platform. Among them, 700 sellers were from the Essentials Category and 200 were from the Discretionary Category. Additionally, nearly 600 sellers achieved sales exceeding INR 2 crore, with approximately 500 sellers belonging to the Essentials Category and 100 to the Discretionary Category.
Vaibhav Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of udaan, said, “udaan remains committed to its core philosophy of empowering small businesses of Bharat, who in turn cater to the mass-market, by leveraging the power of technology. The large volume of orders and a significantly higher repeat purchase rate highlights the preference udaan enjoys among its retailer partners. This has been made possible by our single-minded focus on customer service excellence while leveraging our robust and super-efficient supply chain network spread across the length and breadth of the country. Encouraged by our solid performance, we will continue to work towards strengthening our market position and capitalise on the huge USD 150 Bn opportunity that the Indian eB2B market offers.”
In CY 2023 udaan raised USD 340 Mn Series E financing to further strengthen customer experience, market penetration, and strategic vendor partnerships. The funds will also be utilised to reinforce long-term capabilities of supply-chain and credit, with the sole objective of building a sustainable business to serve the needs of millions of shopkeepers and kiranas across the country.
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