In 75 years of our independence, India has made extensive progress. We are the world&#8217;s fifth-largest economy, home to hundreds of unicorns, have successfully conducted many interplanetary missions, and have brought millions of people out of extreme poverty. From being a food-deficit country, we are now running one of the world&#8217;s most extensive food security programs.



Our governments have done a remarkable job over the years by implementing large-scale social welfare programs such as Poshan Abhiyan (National Nutrition Mission), Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and Anganwadi services etc, across the nation.&nbsp;



While these and many other such developments are indicators of the stellar progress made, there are still challenges, such as child and maternal malnutrition, that need civil society interventions to supplement government efforts.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Stats-1-1024x512-1.png?resize=1024%2C512&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-11721" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Stats-1-1024x512-1.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Stats-1-1024x512-1.png?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Stats-1-1024x512-1.png?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>



We&#8217;ve previously witnessed movements like Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Global Citizen Festival that really made a dent through community mobilisation.&nbsp;



Towards this endeavour, we are pleased to announce the Zomato Feeding India Concert happening on 10th December 2022 in Mumbai. An annual event that will bring together promising impact makers, philanthropists, acclaimed celebrities and you – the citizens of India, who can make a big difference in supporting the fight against malnutrition. What&#8217;s better than to harness the unifying power of music to bring everyone together and spread awareness.



This year, joining us in the movement against hunger is one of the top global sensations – Post Malone, among other prominent music artists.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PM-BW-1-1024x512-1.png?resize=1024%2C512&#038;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-11722" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PM-BW-1-1024x512-1.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PM-BW-1-1024x512-1.png?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/zomatoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PM-BW-1-1024x512-1.png?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></figure>



The Zomato Feeding India Concert will be the first of many such community-driven awareness events to help accelerate our government&#8217;s efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Zero Hunger by 2030 in India. You can buy tickets from the <a href="https://bnc.lt/zfic">Zomato app</a> or on BookMyShow.&nbsp;



All donations pledged during the Zomato Feeding India Concert and profits (if any) would go towards the cause. With each ticket sold, 10 meals will be served to those in need.



What can you do? Please make your presence felt at the concert and take the first step towards making a difference. Spread the message, and take action. More actionables coming your way at the concert.&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-group is-layout-flow">
Till then, leaving you with a thought – &#8220;How wonderful would it be if we all do our bit and make sure that we leave no one behind.&#8221; 
</div>

Announcing Zomato Feeding India Concert

Zomato grows when our Restaurant Partners grow. So we constantly ask ourselves &#8211; what does it take for a great restaurant to grow further and faster? We believe it is a combination of great food, exceptional customer service, entrepreneurial team, loved brand, and easy access to capital. Ideally, capital should seamlessly follow any great restaurant, but in reality, it is not easy for restaurants in India to raise funding through growth-focused equity investors. While some large chains have attracted investors, we have barely scratched the surface – in the last three years, only about 25 restaurants and cloud-kitchens saw Series A or larger equity funding rounds, as per Tracxn. There are thousands of budding restaurants that may not have the expertise or focus to fundraise at the right time from the right investors. This is where we want to help.



We are excited to announce the launch of Zomato Wings, a platform to connect investors with restaurants. Just like ambitious restaurant entrepreneurs look for investors, investors also hunt for brands and teams that have the potential to become the next big chain. We at Zomato have seen the growth story of such restaurants first hand. By curating a set of restaurants and cloud-kitchens that could become rocketships if fuelled with equity capital, we hope to build the go-to platform for venture capital firms, angel investors, family offices, etc. that are looking to make private investments in restaurants and cloud-kitchens.&nbsp;



As we partner with more investors by connecting them with enterprising restaurants, more budding restaurants would use this platform for fundraising, and the platform’s flywheel would create a win-win for restaurants and investors, and by extension, for Zomato!



Will Zomato invest in these deals? We would have loved to! We have strong conviction in the imminent success of so many of our restaurant partners, and nothing would give us more joy than becoming closer partners. However, we are mindful that by owning an equity stake in one brand, we may raise some concern among other brands. Again, we do not want to compete with restaurants, and want to remain a fair and neutral platform for all restaurants.&nbsp;



Zomato’s role would be limited to being a facilitator of fundraising for restaurants. We will help restaurants position their story and metrics in the right manner and connect them with the right investors.



Is your restaurant brand ready to fly? Get in touch with your account manager if you believe your business can grow exponentially if backed by the right investors. If you are an institutional investor looking for a hidden gem that could be the next unicorn of the restaurant industry, reach out to us at <a href="mailto:wings@zomato.com">wings@zomato.com</a>. We hope to give wings to at least 100 restaurant brands in the next three years &#8211; join us in this exciting growth story!



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />

Introducing Zomato Wings: For restaurants who want to fly!

A couple of days ago, our Founder &amp; CEO, Deepinder shared the following &#8220;India Needs Oxygen&#8221; update with all our donors.&nbsp;
 







<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-default"/>







 Dear Donor, Hope you and your loved ones are doing well.



I want to thank you for supporting our “India needs Oxygen” endeavour and helping us help India during the second wave of COVID-19, one of the hardest humanitarian crises faced by our country.



We are nearing the end of our initiative and I wanted to share an update with you.











Feeding India was one of the very first to act to help solve the shortage of oxygen in the country. With the help of your donations, we were able to procure and distribute oxygen concentrators (OCs) to hospitals that were running out of it, and at the same time struggling with the influx of patients. To solve long-term demand, we are also helping set up four oxygen generation plants.&nbsp;&nbsp;







Around two months ago, we managed to procure a total of 9,210 oxygen concentrators [6,020 (10Ltrs) + 3,190 (5Ltrs)]. Average cost per machine at that time was ~₹70,000.&nbsp;







With the help of our on-ground partner Swasth and logistic partner Delhivery, the procured OCs were distributed directly to –



<div class="wp-block-group is-layout-flow">
<ul>
<li> government hospitals (central, state, district),</li>



<li> private hospitals, and</li>



<li> non-profit camps across 28 states (309+ districts)</li>
</ul>



The first delivery of OCs reached hospitals on May 15th. So far, 7,350 OCs have been delivered, and 1,860 are being sent to hospitals in districts where COVID-19 positivity rate is still significant.





</div>







We thank you for believing in us. We raised a total of ~₹66 crores for our endeavour. 100% of these donations were utilised for purchasing and distributing OCs. Feeding India does not keep any ‘admin fee’.



We are very grateful to you for giving us an opportunity to represent you and save countless lives. Going forward, with your support, we wish to remain true to our ethos of “be the first to act” for anything that our country will need us for. 🙏🏻



 Deepinder Goyal 
Founder &amp; CEO, Zomato

An Update on India Needs Oxygen

We have always been about being a more inclusive workplace. So far, our inclusive workplace initiatives haven’t taken into consideration the fact that only about ~0.5% of our delivery partners are women.&nbsp;



Today, we are taking our first step towards increasing the participation of women delivery partners in our fleet. To begin with, we have set ourselves a goal of reaching 10% participation by the end of 2021 starting with Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune.



Adding more women to our delivery fleet is not as simple as just targeting more women for this job. That’s because our policies need to change in order to attract and retain more women delivery partners. To achieve our goal of 10% women participation in the three pilot cities, we are working on four key initiatives –&nbsp;



<ul><li>Access to safety-related education and tools&nbsp;<ul><li>We are adding self-defense training to our onboarding process which will be mandatory for all women delivery partners to attend&nbsp;</li><li>In addition to our first-aid kits, all women delivery partners will be equipped with a handy hygiene and safety kit </li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li>Contactless deliveries by default<ul><li>To prioritize our women delivery partners’ safety, we will be making late evening deliveries contactless by default</li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li>Extended support from our restaurant partners<ul><li>Many restaurant partners have come forward to ensure access to basic facilities such as separate washrooms for our women partners</li><li>We will highlight these restaurants with a #GirlPower tag (tag subject to change) on our app to showcase their support towards an equitable society</li><li>Furthermore, our women partners will be able to rate restaurants on “ease and safety”. We will utilize these ratings to improve working conditions for all our delivery partners.&nbsp;</li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li>SOS button and dedicated support<ul><li>We are setting up a 24&#215;7 helpline – a dedicated support team for our women partners – which will focus on expediting emergency requests to prioritize safety</li><li>Once triggered, the SOS button, on our delivery partner app, will automatically share live location with our on-ground teams, central rider support, and other delivery partners in the vicinity</li></ul></li></ul>



Hopefully, in the near future, people won&#8217;t generalise this community as delivery boys, and see them for what they truly are &#8211; delivery partners.&nbsp;



We continue to take feedback from our delivery partners and work towards making necessary changes &#8211; big or small, whatever may be the need of the hour to make Zomato a more inclusive workplace. If you have any suggestions or actionable insights to help us reach our target sooner than later, do reach out to me at d@zomato.com