Leap of faith: Spiritual apps on global quest

AppsForBharat, Utsav, Vama.App and DevDham, devotional apps that harnessed the unprecedented wave of religious fervour sweeping throughout the nation by the Maha Kumbh to exponentially multiply handphone display screen presence, are actually wanting past India’s water margin to increase each gross sales and subscriber depend.

Eyeing the more and more rich and culturally anchored Indian diaspora, Wavemaker Companions-backed Vama.app is about to launch within the US, the UK, and Canada through the April-June quarter. Cofounder Manu Jain stated the app plans to increase later into the Center East and Southeast Asian markets.

In the meantime, Elevation Capital-backed AppsForBharat, the guardian firm of Sri Mandir, is presently catering to devotees in additional than 5 worldwide markets, together with the UK, Australia, Canada, and the UAE. Over the following yr, the Bengaluru-based firm plans to increase into areas with giant NRI populations – Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, and the richer neighbourhoods of Europe.
“The Maha Kumbh has been a catalyst for apps like ours. Individuals have both visited in particular person, or those that could not wished to remain up to date on what’s taking place there,” Jain instructed ET. “They need stay streams, they need to take heed to Kathas, and anybody who has attended wish to keep re-engaged with the expertise.”

Vama.app, which noticed a 22% development in general customers through the Kumbh, expects to succeed in the Rs 100 crore income mark within the subsequent 12 to 18 months.

“I imagine 25% of the Rs 100 crore in my marketing strategy will come from worldwide customers,” stated Jain.

The platform’s goal markets, Jain stated, have the biggest Indian diaspora and robust buying energy.The six-week-long Mahakumbh, which concluded on February 26, attracted quite a few Hindu devotees from internationally, boosting patronage for these digital platforms.

Sri Mandir noticed practically 20,000 devotees from internationally take part in varied poojas, with a big rise in engagement from worldwide customers.

Religion sans borders

“Devotion will not be certain by geography, and for thousands and thousands of Hindus residing overseas, Sri Mandir serves as a bridge to their devotional roots,” stated Prashant Sachan, founding father of Peak XV Companions and Elevation Capital-backed AppsForBharat, the guardian firm of Sri Mandir.

Sachan stated the proposed enlargement past residence permits devotees to remain related to their religious roots even in an alien setting.

“By increasing our providers globally, we’re making certain that distance isn’t a barrier to devotion, permitting devotees internationally to remain related with their religion anytime, anyplace,” Sachan stated. “Our enlargement plan focuses first on introducing extra region-specific pujas and choices that cater to the devotional practices of the diaspora. Second, we goal to strengthen logistics and partnerships to make sure seamless world ecommerce deliveries of prasad, jal, and ritual gadgets.”

Titan Capital-backed devotional platform, DevDham (previously DevDarshan), additionally noticed a 50% month-over-month income development through the Mahakumbh. The platform already has a consumer base within the US, the UK, and the UAE. Based on DevDham cofounder Pranav Kapoor, these markets contribute 20% to the platform’s general income.

Platforms on this house have skilled fast development, attracting important investments from enterprise capital corporations in latest months. They’ve been capitalising on varied spiritual occasions to increase their consumer base and drive development.

On January 30, Utsav raised Rs 6.35 crore in a funding spherical led by Mumbai-based enterprise capital fund Equanimity Investments, with participation from current investor India Quotient.

The Kolkata-based firm is increasing its operations each inside India and internationally. Utsav additionally plans to roll out its ecommerce providers within the coming months.

“This course of, the place a puja will be supplied in my identify even when I am not current, and prasad will be obtained on my behalf, has existed for a very long time,” stated Ankita De, cofounder of Utsav. “Nevertheless, what folks in all probability missed was a trusted associate to supply these providers.”

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