menu_open Columnists
Meha Agarwal

Meha Agarwal

Inc42

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The Battle For India’s Kirana Stores Has Begun

India’s kirana stores are suddenly in demand. Over the past few months, Meesho acquired Kirana Club; Udaan acquired ShopKirana; and …

23.06.2026 10

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

The Era Of Micro-Vertical Marketplaces

If you’ve been scrolling through shopping apps lately, you’ve probably noticed that something has changed on many platforms. There is…

05.05.2026 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Repair, Resell, Relove: India’s Circular Fashion Era

A few years ago, circular fashion was a niche buzzword whispered at sustainability conferences and tucked into Instagram captions of…

21.04.2026 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Gourmet On The Pet Plate

Picture a sweltering Delhi evening: a young professional is busy preparing dinner while her golden retriever watches her with hopeful…

14.04.2026 60

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Long Game Begins For Furniture Ecommerce

India’s furniture ecommerce market has moved from experimentation and execution to consolidation. The IPO pipeline reflects this change. In the…

07.04.2026 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

India’s Convenience Economy Is Getting Expensive

Open any food delivery or quick commerce app today, and the final bill rarely matches the item price, thanks to…

31.03.2026 50

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Quick Commerce & India’s Micro Festival Boom

Sunday, March 8; It’s International Women’s Day and the Indian men’s team is about to play in the T20 World…

10.03.2026 60

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

The Hiring Reset: AI Has Raised The Skill Bar In India

India’s education and skilling ecosystem is at an inflexion point. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes deeply embedded in how companies…

07.02.2026 20

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

The Next Big Startup Hubs: Inside India’s New Innovation Engines

For nearly two decades, India’s startup story has centred around three cities — Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai — which…

05.02.2026 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

How IIT Delhi Built India’s Most Influential Founder Ecosystem

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has emerged as one of India’s most influential academic institutions, playing a significant role…

31.01.2026 20

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

How Funding, Valuations And Execution Are Being Rewritten In Ecommerce

For over a decade, ecommerce has functioned as the backbone of India’s consumer internet story, repeatedly absorbing capital across market…

09.01.2026 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Will Investors Open Their Wallets Again In 2026?

By the end of 2025, India’s tech startup ecosystem was operating in a far tighter capital environment. Total funding closed…

31.12.2025 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Will 2026 Be The Year Of Startup M&As?

India’s M&A market may not make a resounding comeback in 2026, even as global M&A activity turned more buoyant in…

27.12.2025 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Of Dry Powder And Wet Blankets: How India’s VC Hit Reset In 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, the contours of India’s venture capital market look clearer than they appeared at the…

26.12.2025 50

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Fintech 3.0? What 2026 Holds For India’s Digital Money Machine

As 2025 heads into its final stretch, fintech in India finds itself at a defining moment, shaped by shifting regulations,…

19.12.2025 20

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Reset Or Rejuvenation? Mapping India’s Digital Lending Course In 2026

The digital lending ecosystem in India spent most of 2025 learning to breathe differently. After two years of regulatory resets,…

12.12.2025 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Beyond Easy Growth: How Indian Ecommerce Will Be Tested In 2026

When 2025 kicked off, we put out eight predictions for how ecommerce would move through the year. By December, the…

10.12.2025 70

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Indian Banks And The GenAI Quandary

Back in 2018, when GenAI had yet to become the biggest buzzword in the tech industry, one of India’s major…

28.10.2025 70

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Inside IPO-Bound Curefoods’ Cloud Kitchen Network & Acquisitions Playbook 

When Ankit Nagori launched Curefoods in 2020, the cloud kitchen market was on the verge of an inflection point. Even…

22.10.2025 50

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Through The IPO PRISM: Is OYO Ready For The Spotlight? 

What’s in a name? Especially one that most people might not even utter. Few people think of Zomato as a…

17.09.2025 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

How Zepto’s Brand Engine Keeps Its 10-Minute Promise Alive

By early 2021, India’s online grocery market had reached an inflexion point. The initial challenge, persuading consumers to buy from…

16.09.2025 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Inside Tata 1mg’s Data-Led User Acquisition & Retention Engines

In June 2021, Tata Digital, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata group, acquired a majority stake in the online…

09.09.2025 50

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

India’s VC Exit Puzzle: Valuations Fall, Secondaries Rise

When Catamaran Ventures’ President, Deepak Padaki, recently observed that loss-making companies are seeing secondary sales at a 30–40% discount, it…

04.09.2025 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Inside Fireflies.ai’s Rise To The AI Unicorn Club And Its Bold India Strategy

In the age of AI-GenAI, technological innovations are not mere tools. They fundamentally change the nature of how our world…

23.07.2025 80

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Why Premji Invest Led The $43 Mn Series C Round In WoodenStreet

In December 2024, Jaipur-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) furniture brand WoodenStreet secured INR 354 Cr (about $43 Mn) in Series C, one…

10.07.2025 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Decoding TDV Partners’ Investment Playbook For India’s Booming Spiritual Tech Market

India recently witnessed two mega-events: The Mahakumbh and the inauguration of the Ram Temple. But these were not just great…

26.06.2025 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Inside 3one4 Capital’s Decade-Long Exit Track Record 

In early 2022, enterprise HR tech startup Darwinbox raised its Series D round, joining the unicorn club. Most observers saw…

19.06.2025 70

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Demystifying SEBI’s Rules For Co-Investment Vehicles: Will It Impact Startup Funding?

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released a consultation paper last month that could streamline co-investment strategies within…

12.06.2025 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

How Arise Ventures’ AI Rethink Is Shaping Its INR 500 Cr Bet On Consumer, Climate & Enterprise Tech

Venture capital across the globe has never been more obsessed with artificial intelligence (AI). Consider this. Out of the total…

05.06.2025 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

In It For The Long Haul: How Indian VCs Are Making A Case For Patient Capital

A couple of years ago, the leading Indian stockbroker, Zerodha, made a surprising announcement. Its investment arm, Rainmatter Capital, would…

29.05.2025 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Will AI Change How Indian VC Funds Work?

A shift is underway in India’s venture capital sector, and we don’t mean in the way these firms are investing…

15.05.2025 40

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

From Zero To INR 3,145 Cr: How Groww Engineered A Retail Investing Revolution

Fintechs have long been viewed as giant killers, aiming to disrupt all major components of the financial world, be it…

07.05.2025 50

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

From Pre-Revenue To Growth Stage: How Sauce.vc’s Thesis Kept Up With India’s D2C Boom

In 2014, Manu Chandra made what he describes as the riskiest investment decision of his life — he poured money…

01.05.2025 60

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Mapping GenAI’s Influence On Indian VCs Betting On Ecommerce, Retail Tech

In 2013, Indian organised retail was defined by large-format stores and modern trade chains. All that changed with ecommerce platforms…

17.04.2025 20

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

The AI Rush In SaaS: How Indian VCs Are Reinventing Their Thesis

By mid-2024, the Indian SaaS landscape reached a turning point. AI was no longer an edge or an innovation layer;…

10.04.2025 30

Inc42

Meha Agarwal

Decoding Samara Capital’s $2 Bn Private Equity Investment Thesis

Private equity (PE) in India has undergone a transformation in the past two decades, evolving from a fledgling sector into…

03.04.2025 60

Inc42

Meha Agarwal