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Mint
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
From pet yoga to yogalele, the rise of feel-good wellness experiences
A few years ago, when Chennai-based friends Sinduja Krishnakumar, Subhashree Madhavan and Swathi Renugopal watched Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner ditch her regular fitness routine for goat yoga, little did they know that it would spark an idea that was literally 'GOAT'. It sure wasn't winter that was coming, instead, it was the story of warmth, bonding and tail-wagging! 'We immediately thought why not combine yoga with dogs, especially the indie shelter ones that don't get a chance to bond with humans," recalls Krishnakumar who along with the other two went on to found Pawga, a pet yoga experience, in 2020. 'We tested the idea for a year before we launched and knew through our research that spending time with animals made humans release endorphins and reduce stress," she adds. The first session went on to become a resounding success and the rest, as they say, is history. 'The vibe was amazing and many people released their bottled-up emotions and relaxed. Even the puppies who were afraid of people were cuddling with the participants, by the end of it. That's when we knew we had done something great," says Krishnakumar whose team, since then, has organised their much-loved puppy yoga sessions across several venues in India to a full house. The trio, however, is not alone in this spirited pivot toward experiential wellness. Be it Van Gogh-themed yoga sessions that combine movement with immersive art; sound healing or water yoga, people are opening up to more forms of fitness nurturing the body, mind and soul in addition to creating joyful memories. Delhi-based entrepreneur and co-founder of Progcap, certified yoga teacher and mother to an infant, Pallavi Shrivastava found a seamless way to merge her love for mindful movement and music through 'yogalele' — a soulful blend of yoga and ukulele that she occasionally shares in intimate, heartfelt sessions. 'It happened quite organically. During the pandemic, I picked up the ukulele as a way to unwind. It brought rhythm and lightness during a heavy time," says Shrivastava. When her friend Christina Fernandes, who runs the Mahalo Ukulele Festival, invited her to lead a yoga session at the festival last year, everything just clicked. 'That's when I realised how beautifully the two practices complemented each other. Music lets us express freely while yoga teaches us to be present. Together, they create a space that's both grounding and joyful – a balance of breath and rhythm, intention and play." SPACES FOR JOYFUL WELLNESS As individuals find creative ways to personalise their wellness journeys, hospitality spaces too are evolving and embracing heart-led practices that are immersive, emotionally uplifting, and rooted in joy. Says Vinesh Gupta, General Manager, The Den Bengaluru, a luxury hotel which hosted a session of Pawga on International Yoga Day, 'Wellness is as much about emotional and mental well-being as it's about physical health. When we came across the concept of Pawga, which combines yoga with adorable and adoptable puppies, it immediately resonated with us. It went beyond the traditional notions of wellness and we partnered with them as part of our commitment to offering wellness experiences that are immersive, joyful, and impactful." For Anoopama Mukerjee Lohana,a spiritualist and wellness entrepreneur who has been practising yoga for over 30 years, any practice that gets one on the mat is a good start. 'Ultimately, what is yoga? Anything that brings balance to your body, breath, mind, emotions, and heart — that is yoga. For someone like Sachin Tendulkar, cricket is yoga," says the COO & experiential wellness director, Siddhayu Wellness Ayurveda, a wilderness wellness experience by Baidyanath in Tadoba and Gothangaon, Maharashtra. 'Everything is allowed in yoga as long as there's a balance. The practice, in its purity, reveals itself over time — how you show up, what you bring to it, shapes what it becomes for you," she adds. That said, she also believes that it's important to approach emerging trends with awareness and authenticity. 'Take trends like beer yoga, for instance — anything done in excess or deprivation is unsustainable. These are fads. What truly holds is something that nourishes your creative spirit, something that endures," she points out. Ultimately, in a wellness landscape buzzing with new ideas, it's clear that while the formats may evolve — from stretches with puppies to strumming a ukulele on the mat — what remains essential is intention. Whether you flow through asanas surrounded by art or find your stillness in silence, if the practice brings you joy, balance, and connection, that's what truly counts. Deepa Natarajan Lobo is an independent journalist based in Bengaluru.
Mint
29-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Tiger Global-backed Progcap expands beyond lending, pilots tech platform for MSMEs
Progcap, a fintech company focused on small businesses, is setting up a new vertical that will digitise their supply chains and offer them on-the-spot credit. It is building a full-stack software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for brands, distributors and retailers, expanding from pure-play lending into embedded finance as a second revenue source, co-founders Pallavi Shrivastava and Himanshu Chandra told Mint. 'Large corporates have access to platforms like Salesforce but the actual sales process on the ground was still very analog. If you can place the order on the spot and initiate the payment process immediately, it leads to better conversion. Smaller brands and distributors lacked access to such tech," said Chandra. Progcap's new vertical will digitise this supply chain end-to-end and is already live with over 40 companies. Progcap plans to scale up embedded credit on this platform. Embedded credit means getting a loan right where you're buying or selling something, without going to a bank. 'We want to be the operating system for these brand-distributor-retailer ecosystems," said Shrivastava. This comes as Indian businesses such as Zepto's Atom, Big Basket's BB Matrix and InsuranceDekho's Heph launch their SaaS verticals to diversify revenue streams. Currently, Progcap's SaaS vertical offers credit only through Progfin, its non-banking finance company. The company aims to onboard over 200 brands and will open the SaaS platform to other banks and financial institutions by year-end, the founders said. Revenue contribution from the SaaS and embedded credit vertical is expected to be 10-15% over the next two to three years as lending will continue to be the main business. 'It is significantly reducing our customer acquisition cost. If the transaction is initiated on our platform, there's a high likelihood that we'll also be chosen to finance it," said Chandra. He added that it is helping reduce feet-on-the-street sales teams. 'Sales teams of our partner brands essentially became our onboarding channels, and we didn't need to send field teams," said Chandra. Automating processes This comes as companies actively think of further automating their processes and reducing costs to become leaner and turn profitable. Progcap's revenue from operations almost doubled to ₹139 crore in FY24 from ₹71 crore in FY23, while it managed to narrow its loss to ₹46 crore from ₹49 crore. The company is yet to file its FY25 financials. Founded in 2017 by Srivastava and Chandra, the financial service company, last valued at over $600 million, gets 95% of its revenue from lending to micro and small businesses. Within the SaaS platform, direct monetisation will come from subscription-based fees charged to brands and distributors. In addition, the new vertical opens up international expansion possibilities for Progcap. 'Lending is heavily regulated and requires deep market understanding. SaaS, however, is globally scalable," said Chandra. 'Some large brands are already asking us if we can deploy this in Bangladesh or Indonesia. So, once we prove the product in India, we will consider expanding it internationally." Though still at an early revenue stage, the SaaS platform is expected to be spun off as a separate entity company in two to three years as Progcomm, said Shrivastava. Co-founder Chandra leads this vertical fulltime, she added. Funding in the works Progcap is also preparing to raise a fresh round of equity capital to fund growth. The new round will include a secondary component to provide partial exits to early investors, the founders said. 'We haven't hit the market yet," said Shrivastava. 'But we're looking at capital to expand geographically, grow the team, scale the lending book, and double down on SaaS plus embedded credit. A portion may go into secured lending pilots as well." The company has been diversifying revenue outside of unsecured lending, an area that's come under greater scrutiny of the banking regulator. So far, Progcap has raised about $110 million across four funding rounds from marquee investors such as Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India and Google. 'The valuation will depend on timing and market conditions. We're not chasing vanity milestones," Shrivastava said. Progcap aims to grow its assets under management to ₹3,000 crore by the end of FY26, riding on strong demand for formalised credit in India's underserved micro, small and medium enterprise sector.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Progcap aims Rs 3,000 crore AUM, loan sanction of Rs 5,200 crore by fiscal-end
MSME fintech Progcap looks to cross assets under management (AUM) of Rs 3,000 crore by the end of the current financial year, driven by huge demand for formal credit from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector, according to a top company official. The fintech firm, which obtained an NBFC licence in 2022, has been witnessing very high growth, and this year too it is eyeing for 40-50 per cent rise in business. "We closed at the AUM level of Rs 2,000 crore at the end of March 2025, and we are expecting AUM to rise by 50 per cent to around Rs 3,000 crore by the end of the current financial year," Progcap co-founder Pallavi Shrivastava told PTI. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Indonesia (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo As far as loans sanctioned are concerned, she said, it should increase to Rs 5,200 crore by the end of FY26 as against Rs 3,600 crore at the end of last financial year. Asked about a capital raising plan to fund growth, Shrivastava said, "We are looking at one more round of funding later this year. The process is on, but we have not decided on quantum." Live Events The firm has raised USD 110 million through four rounds, including Tiger Global and Google, she said. With regard to asset quality, she said, the gross non-performing assets improved to 1.1 per cent at the end of FY25 from 1.5 per cent at the end of the previous financial year, supported by live monitoring, strong partner oversight, and transaction-led underwriting. The fintech is currently present in 500 cities Tier II, III and IV cities with over 30,000 borrowers with average ticket size of loan of Rs 10 lakh, she said, adding, the lending firm focuses on loans to retailers and wholesalers across 10 industries like Consumer Durables, 2 Wheelers, FMCG, Agri etc and have 128 anchor brand partnerships. Explaining the uniqueness of the firm, she said, "unlike traditional fintechs that serve salaried, urban consumers, Progcap designs inclusive financial solutions for India's 60 million retail backbone, basically MSMEs in Tier II to Tier IV towns." The NBFC operates a proprietary, tech-led co-lending platform, designed to deliver capital and credit intelligence across India's most complex and distributed MSME supply chains, she said. Pointing out that India's MSMEs face a USD 100 billion credit gap , she said these businesses don't just need capital, they need capital that understands their informality, seasonality and cash flow rhythm.
