India-based student loan provider Kuhoo has secured $20 million in seed round funding from West Bridge Capital.

The platform plans to provide online loans to students aspiring to study at universities in India and abroad.

Talking about the development, Prashant A. Bhonsle, Founder of Kuhoo said, “We are on a mission to make Indian students Atmanirbhar. In our cumulative experience of more than 30 years in the field of Indian student loans, we have observed that many talented students do not apply to good universities because they are afraid of imposing tuition fees and fees on their parents. high living expenses. We want to change that.

“At Kuhoo, we combine our vast experience with cutting-edge technology and data science to create risk and credit models. These models help us assess the potential employability of students and their future earnings for the various courses in which students enroll. With this unique ability, Kuhoo can offer different products that are better suited to the individual profiles of students from a variety of family backgrounds. The other benefit – usually underestimated – for students will be that this loan will help them to build a credit history during their studies.As we all know, in today’s world, a good credit rating ensures that students will have access to the best financial products like credit cards, other loans, etc., once they start working,” Bhonsle added.

Kuhoo has also onboarded experienced global talent in the areas of technology, data science, consumer and student loans. Apart from launching their innovative products, Kuhoo will partner with banks and other NBFCs, as well as top colleges and coaching centers around the world.

Sponsored

“As a completely online student lender, we want to provide the most dignified experience for students, parents, universities and all our partners. We also plan to use our expertise to help students find universities, courses and even jobs best suited after completing their studies,” added Bhonsle.

Commenting on the financing, Deepak Ramineedi, Partner, West Bridge Capital, said: “We have been following India’s education sector closely for over a decade now. With the rising cost of education, we believe that India needs loan providers who fully understand the issues of students, parents and academic institutes. Assessing student employability and future earnings are two of the biggest challenges for existing banks and NBFCs that offer student loans. »

“We are happy to have found the right entrepreneur in Prashant. Apart from his experience in building one of the most successful student loan companies in India, we like his vision of using technology and analysis to create an online business model. Additionally, Prashant’s passion for organizational culture and creating impact aligns with West Bridge’s core values. We are excited to partner with kuhoo and wish the best to the talented team,” added Ramineedi.

Speaking in more detail about the investment cycle, Sumir Chadha, Co-Founder and Managing Director of West Bridge Capital Partners, added: “Over the past decades, only a tiny percentage of talented Indian students have had the chance to pursue their higher education dreams. at universities abroad. Although it will continue to grow, the emerging world order and India’s economic growth provide students with many career opportunities. Moreover, the Indian government’s policy of creating high-quality educational institutes and the Edtech revolution of recent years have opened up attractive prospects for young Indian students.

“West Bridge Capital is committed to financial inclusion through long-term investments in sectors such as affordable housing finance and education. We strongly believe that Kuhoo will play a vital role in making these expensive courses affordable, primarily for middle class Indian families. We are delighted to support Prashant and his talented team at kuhoo in their endeavor to build one of India’s leading student loan institutions,” added Sumir Chadha.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Wallace said the West ‘must not be afraid of Putin’.

He warned the Russian leader – who he said was “acting irrationally and inflicting horrors on Ukraine” – not to “test” the UK.

“The thing to tell Putin is don’t underestimate us, don’t test us,” he told the newspaper.

“History is littered with authoritarian leaders underestimating the wider West and the UK. He clearly underestimated the international community.

He added: “If we stick together and refuse to be bullied, I think he will fail.”

Mr Wallace’s comments come after growing warnings that intervention in the war in Ukraine by the West would be seen as entry into the conflict by the Kremlin.

Mr Putin warned on Saturday that the Kremlin would consider any third-party declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as participation in the conflict.

Mr Putin said Russia would view “any move in this direction” as an intervention that “will pose a threat to our military”.

“This very second, we will consider them as participants in the military conflict, and it doesn’t matter which members they are,” he said.

However, Ukraine has repeatedly said the move is the only way to prevent more deaths.

NATO allies have ruled out setting up a no-fly zone over Ukraine, fearing it could spark an all-out war with nuclear-armed Russia.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in an interview with the Sunday Express, called the Ukraine conflict the “struggle of our generation”.

She said: “We will continue to support them (Ukrainians) through thick and thin. We are here for the long term.

“This is the fight of our generation. What we see happening on the streets of Europe is something we have never experienced before in my lifetime. This is the fight for freedom and democracy, the sovereignty and self-determination.

Earlier Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the British public’s reaction to the war in Ukraine as he echoed the notion that Mr Putin would fail.

The Prime Minister said it was ‘absolutely vital that Vladimir Putin understands that this hideous and barbaric assault cannot and will fail’.

In a video message on Twitter, Mr Johnson said: “I want to thank the businesses, community groups, individuals, sports clubs, who have come together in support of Ukraine.

“I’m thinking of the group in Northern Ireland who have a local warehouse as a supply hub to go to the war zone, I’m thinking of Inna Schorr, a London-based Ukrainian who is raising thousands of pounds, while her own family is still back in Ukraine.

“And don’t forget, for all Ukrainian families here in the UK, we have ways to bring your loved ones back to the UK.”

More than £85million has now been raised to provide aid to Ukraine through the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), in what has been described as an ‘absolutely incredible’ show of support from the British public.

The government has pledged to match public donations to the pound-for-pound appeal of up to £25million.

I was lost in awe at how the British public reacted to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

From community groups to sports clubs and businesses, everyone in the UK is united in their support for the people of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/gzj0Wtb6W6

—Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 5, 2022

Mr Johnson’s message of thanks came as hundreds gathered in cities across the country to protest against Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

In London’s Trafalgar Square, the Ukrainian national anthem was sung and “Stop Putin, Stop the War” chanted, as protesters draped themselves in the country’s flag.

Volodymyr Shevetovskyy, 31, and his girlfriend Nadiia Soshenko, 27, from Kiev, said they were grateful for support from Western countries, but called for the imposition of a no-fly zone over from Ukraine.

Ms Soshenko told the PA news agency: “There are already a lot of deaths in our country.

“NATO is afraid of closing the sky by saying that it is afraid of starting the third world war.

“Excuse me, what’s going on right now?” Why can’t the whole world stop a crazy madman? Honestly, I just don’t understand why our people are dying, dying for what?

Earlier on Saturday, it was announced that a temporary ceasefire had been called so that civilians in Mariupol, a strategic southeastern port, and the eastern city of Volnovakha, could escape the fighting.

However, that did not hold up, with Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko saying thousands had gathered to get out of the city safely and buses were leaving when the shelling began.

Mr Putin accused Ukraine of sabotaging the evacuation.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the proposed ceasefire was “probably an attempt to deflect international condemnation while resetting its strength for renewed offensive activity”.

In an intelligence update on Saturday afternoon, the Department of Defense said: “By accusing Ukraine of breaking the agreement, Russia is likely seeking to shift responsibility for current and future civilian casualties in the city.” .

The tourist attraction, run by Poole-based Merlin Entertainments, says any increase will have a ‘significant negative impact’ on the tourism sector and its millions of jobs.

• Funding will help tackle youth unemployment, support communities in deprived areas and give people in need access to finance
• New government bill could unlock an extra £880m for good causes

Communities and good causes across England have received an additional £44million through the Dormant Assets Scheme.

The funding will be used to tackle youth unemployment, expand access to investment for charities and social enterprises, and help improve the availability of fair and affordable loans for people in vulnerable situations.

The Dormant Assets Scheme releases funds from dormant bank and building society accounts, which are accounts that have been open for 15 years, but during that time no transactions have taken place.

The £44 million funding will be distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund, as follows:

• £20m will enable the Youth Futures Foundation to test and demonstrate the best approaches to breaking down barriers and improving access to employment for disadvantaged young people
• £20m will go to Access – The Foundation for Social Investment, to provide urgently needed funding to up to 1,000 charities and social enterprises, particularly in the most deprived areas
• £4m will enable Fair4All Finance to accelerate its work on affordable consolidation loans for people in financial vulnerability

Already more than £800m has been released through the Dormant Assets Scheme over the past decade, including £150m that supported the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth, said:

This latest £44million allocation from the Dormant Assets Scheme will make a real difference to people’s lives in communities across England. As well as helping young people find jobs, it will also provide financial support to those who need it most.

And we won’t stop there. We are currently pushing through legislation to expand the Dormant Assets Scheme even further, so that it can free up even more money to help improve communities across the country.

This follows the government’s release of its Leveling Up white paper last week, which set out a plan to transform the UK by extending opportunity and prosperity to all parts of the country.

Following a public consultation process, a new bill is currently before Parliament, which should deliver on the government’s commitment to extend the Dormant Assets Scheme.

This could potentially unlock an additional £880million across the UK over the next few years by allowing a wider range of dormant assets to be transferred into the scheme from the insurance and pensions sectors , investment and wealth management and securities.

There are 30 companies participating in the Dormant Assets Scheme, which will continue to have consumer protection at its heart, with participants’ top priority continuing to connect people with their assets.

Where this is not possible, more companies will soon be able to voluntarily transfer dormant assets into the scheme, unlocking funding for social and environmental causes across the UK which is on top of central or devolved government funding.

The scheme has already helped people like Chris Coyle, who grew up in a deprived area of ​​Coventry and was introduced to cycling through a city center council initiative, and later set up Ebikebrum, a community bike cafe and shop . With a combined grant and loan of £83,000 from the Key Fund as part of the Growth Fund, a partnership between the National Lottery Community Fund and Big Society Capital provided by Access through a range of social investors, Chris was able to provide services from information on health lifestyle choices to a full program of cycling activities, specializing in electric bikes.

Fair4All Finance has previously used the Dormant Assets Scheme to provide Moneyline with long-term funding, enabling them to provide more affordable credit to people in vulnerable situations. A beneficiary, who asked to remain anonymous, had been divorced from an abusive relationship and was struggling financially before contacting Moneyline, who provided the support she needed.

Another organization that has benefited from the scheme is the West of England charity, 1625 Independent People (1625ip), which receives grants from the Youth Futures Foundation in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority. This funding helps youth leaving care prepare and find good jobs through its Reboot West program. The charity works in partnership with the leaving care and employment and skills teams of four local authorities in Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. It offers tailor-made coaching, training and career support.

David Knott, chief executive of the National Lottery Community Fund, said:

The money released through the Dormant Assets Scheme will be widely welcomed and comes at a difficult time for communities. We are delighted to distribute this £44million on behalf of DCMS, to support charities and social enterprises working to help people in some of the most deprived areas of England. This vital funding will impact people’s lives and support them towards a more prosperous and thriving future.

Seb Elsworth, Managing Director of Access – the Foundation for Social Investment, said:

Communities need the support that charities and social enterprises can provide, creating vital jobs and tackling rooted social issues. But too often, they can struggle to get the financing they need to innovate or grow. The additional £20m from dormant assets will help us and our partners provide the small-scale loans most charities and social enterprises need and focus investments more in places and communities that were previously neglected.

Matthew Poole, Director of Grants and Investments at the Youth Futures Foundation said:

When disadvantaged youth told us what they wanted from employment assistance, they talked about system-wide changes. That’s why we’ve launched our £6.1m Connected Futures Fund to reduce the fragmentation of youth employment and skills supply in the places that need it most. Our goal is to unite services at the local level so that young people who are furthest from the labor market benefit from quality, consistent support that understands their complex needs. We will intensify our learning of what works so that more places are able to offer an effective offer. The additional £20m from dormant assets will help us build on this momentum.

Sacha Romanovitch, Managing Director of Fair4All Finance, said:

11million people have racked up some £25billion in debt during the pandemic. Much of this burden falls on low-income people in the poorest parts of the country. Problematic debt, often well over £10,000 across multiple suppliers, quickly becomes unmanageable. It has a significant impact on mental health and general well-being. This limits opportunities and prevents people from participating in communities.

We are delighted that the government is supporting affordable debt consolidation with £4m of dormant asset funding. We would also like to see the broader credit industry play a role in working with us to service and consolidate debt through affordable credit providers where customers have reached their tipping point.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The definition of a dormant bank or building society account is contained in the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008: an account is “dormant” at any time if it has been opened for the period of 15 years ending at that time, but during this period no transactions have been carried out in relation to the account by or on the instructions of the account holder.

• To address systemic inequalities and ensure access to opportunity, funding is particularly directed to some of the most left behind regions of the country.

• Where dormant asset funding has been distributed to date:

• In England, the Scheme released £100 million to tackle financial exclusion and debt problems; £110m to remove barriers to young people working; and £485m of investment in charities and social enterprises across the country. In 2020, £150million from the scheme has been released for organizations in England to support their coronavirus response and recovery efforts.

• In Wales, £37.7m of dormant asset funding supported a variety of projects, including investing £16.3m in young people, learning, education and employment; and £4.9 million for climate change action. Sustainable Steps Wales will invest a further £16,950,000 over the next 18 months.

• In Scotland, £67.2 million of dormant asset funding has been allocated under the Young Start scheme. Young Start has awarded over 950 grants of up to £100,000 to voluntary and community organizations for projects led by young people, which help them to become more confident and realize their own potential.

• In Northern Ireland, Dormant Asset Funding is used to provide flexible multi-year funding to increase the capacity, resilience and sustainability of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector through a 22.4 million pounds.

• Funds under the program are held by Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL). RFL is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and must hold sufficient money to cover customer claims. It donates the surplus to the National Lottery Community Fund to distribute to social or environmental initiatives across the UK. The DCMS Secretary of State can issue policy guidance on the English portion of the funding.

Few laws or regulations prevent elephants from isolating themselves. The AZA requires that zoos with female elephants must “have a minimum of three females (or space to have three females)” – meaning a zoo can retain its accredited status even if it has an elephant , as long as the installation has room for three elephants. Ideally, the elephants would be herded together, said AZA President Dan Ashe. National geographic last year, but added: “Sometimes animals don’t want to be in groups.” The Animal Welfare Act, which is enforced by the United States Department of Agriculture, contains several regulations dealing with the social needs of animals, including primates, dogs, and marine mammals, but none for elephants.

The number of captive elephants has declined in the United States, and as more elephants in zoos die than are born, the number of lone elephants will increase. More than 30 North American zoos have have phased out their elephant exhibits since the 1990s for various reasons, including the cost and difficulty of caring for elephants.

“You’re going to have facilities that only have one elephant,” says Delcianna Winders, director of the animal rights program at Vermont Law School. Will they decide to send them to sanctuaries where they will be with other elephants? “Or will they claim they’re too old to move out and keep them alone?”

The AZA, which oversees conservation breeding programs for African and Asian elephants, agrees that zoo populations cannot be sustained without an influx of new animals from wild populations – a controversial position in itself because it often involves the break-up of elephant families.

An elephant never forgets

In the wild, much of elephants’ brain stimulation comes from other elephants, says elephant behavior scientist Joyce Poole and National Geographic Explorer. They are always on the move – listening, sniffing, playing – whereas solitary captive elephants are “not very lively” – they have no other elephants to interact with and nowhere to explore, she says. (Learn more about the African elephant ethogram from Poole, the most complete audio-visual library ever made on the behavior of African savannah elephants.)

Male elephants spend 10 to 14 years with their mother before leaving to form their own spouse.singles groups.” Women remain with their mothers throughout their lives, in multigenerational social groups for up to 50 years.

“Growing up in a social setting or with a family is essential to their development,” says Poole, and social interactions remain central to their well-being throughout their lives.

This may be related to certain brain characteristics of elephants. Their cells, or neurons, have a particular long branched dendrites, which may suggest that elephants process information more thoroughly and contemplatively than other mammals. They have as many neurons in their cerebral cortex like humans, and they have relatively larger pyramidal neurons, a type of cortical neuron central to cognitive processes, according to elephant cognition scientist Lucy Bates. (To learn more about how elephants communicate, check out our elephant call guide.)

Although not known for certain, these characteristics may also help explain why elephants have strong memories, especially in a social context. Some evidence suggests that after 27 years of separation, captive elephants can still recognize the smell of their mother’s urine. In the wild, elephants can distinguish between calls from family members and strangers; they can recognize the voices of at least a hundred other elephants; and they can save the locations of no less than 17 different family members. In contrast, humans are thought to be able to retain about seven items in their short-term memory at a time.

The fact that “elephant brains are so adapted to this kind of social processing [of] the information just demonstrates how important family and social interaction is to them,” says Bates.

Changes in the brain

At the Natural Bridge Zoo, Asha spends hours walking around her garden, grazing quietly.

Veterinarian Philip Ensley, who has worked with elephants at the San Diego Zoo for nearly 30 years, visited the zoo in September to observe him and assess his health for the nonprofit Free all captive elephants, one of several animal rights groups that have criticized Asha’s conditions. In a private report shared with National Geographic, he noted that Asha rocked back and forth, shifted her weight from certain limbs (potentially indicating arthritis or joint disease, which are common in captive elephants), and seemed “unstimulated” and “detached” .

“It is inappropriate in the care and management of elephants in captivity to keep a single female,” he concluded in the report. The lack of a mate “makes Asha suffer”.

The stress of captivity can change the brain, says Jacobs. In wild animals in captivity, one effect can be stereotypies – repetitive and seemingly unnecessary behaviors, like a monkey pulling its hair out. They are most often displayed by bored social animals in captivity and are rarely seen in the wild. For a solitary captive elephant, the loss of control of its environment and lack of stimulation caused by long-term isolation can trigger pacing, head bobbing, swaying or swaying, among other repetitive behaviors.

In one report 2017 on lone captive elephants in 14 accredited zoos in Japan, almost all were noted to display stereotypical behaviors.

“If there’s a behavioral issue or a psychological issue, there’s an underlying neural issue,” says Jacobs. Repetitive behaviors, according to studies in humans and other animalshave been linked to disruption of the basal ganglia, a part of the brain that helps control voluntary movement.

In elephants that sway or pace, their basal ganglia are likely so disrupted that they can’t stop these repetitive actions, Jacobs says. (This is also true for humans who suffer from basal ganglia damage, such as Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, he says, which can cause involuntary movements and debilitating tremors.)

For wild animals in captivity, this type of brain damage would be associated with a lack of stimulation. “The brain feeds on stimulation,” says Jacobs. Without it, the dendrites shrink from lack of use and the capillaries shrink in diameter, reducing blood flow to the brain. A study 2018 on the effects of prolonged isolation on the brains of mice found a 20% reduction in their neurons. “‘Use it or lose it’ – this applies to the muscles, but it also applies to the brain,” he says.

Stress, whether caused by isolation or something else, also activates the body’s fight-or-flight stress response, which releases cortisol into the bloodstream, giving the body a boost of energy to respond to the perceived threat. When the fight-or-flight response is continuously stimulated, it ends up damaging nerve cells in the hippocampus, which is central to learning and memory. In humans, a compromised hippocampus is often associated with depression, bipolar disorder and other stress-related illnesses.

‘Why is it even still allowed?’

An elephant alone in captivity has “nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to see, no one to communicate with,” Poole says.

“Why is it still allowed for these animals that we know so well? Why don’t our laws do anything about this? said Delcianna Winders of Vermont Law School.

A Coffs Harbor man who has devoted much of his professional life to advocating for the homeless is now struggling to find new accommodation himself.

Dean Evers, a longtime local and chief executive of Hope for the Homeless, said he felt the rent squeeze in Coffs Harbour.

He has been looking for accommodation for three months after receiving a notice of termination from his landlord.

“The continuous setbacks because there are so many people applying for properties, and how soul-destroying it is to keep doing it day in and day out,” he said.

“I think we applied for at least a dozen [rentals], and you just get a response saying you failed.”

Mr Evers considers himself one of the luckiest people looking for a rental – he knows families who are in far worse situations.

His organization, Hope for the Homeless, works to find people in crisis and long-term rental housing, furniture and white goods for those struggling to make ends meet.

“I know there are a lot of families that we’ve been trying to support who have been doing this for six, seven, eight months,” Mr. Evers said.

The upside-down rental market

Coffs Harbor has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the state, at just 0.8%, according to the REINSW survey of December vacancy rates.

Soaring demand and a shortage of supply have led to a spike in median rental prices according to realestate.com. The median weekly rent for a house in Coffs Harbor is $560, with units at $420.

Despite several months’ notice, Mr. Evers received refusal after refusal without any explanation from the real estate agents.

“We keep applying. What could we do better? was a wanderer,” he said.

“Don’t Go Ballistic”

Mr Evers said the market was broken, with supply and demand going the wrong way.

He was asking landlords to be more lenient with tenants who made it tough.

“If you have a good tenant, discuss it with him. Don’t do anything stupid,” he said.

Mr Evers said some families were on the brink and had no opportunity to move to a more affordable market.

“What worries me is how all the moms and dads and all single parent families will survive this,” he said.

“It’s not as simple as saying, ‘Do you really need to be in Coffs Harbour?’

“For some of them it’s the only place their supporters are, they also have jobs here.”

The operator Brittany Ferries has confirmed that it is in the final stages of negotiations for the sale of Cap Finistère to the Italian shipping company GNV.

The development comes as the Roscoff-based company prepares to welcome its next vessel to the fleet, the Salamanca (second of five “E-Flexer” class vessels afloat ordered by Stena RoRo on long-term charter to Brittany Ferries ).

The new construction that will arrive in Bilbao in the coming days, completing its six-week journey from China.

“Cap Finistère has served us well over the past decade and will be missed by crew, passengers and freight drivers,” said Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries. “She is a beautiful vessel and I am delighted that GNV is her new owner. We are now ready to finalize the agreement and say goodbye to her.

Cap Finistère has served Brittany Ferries since 2010, initially on the UK-Spain routes. Afloat also adds that, as reported nearly a year ago, the cruise ferry made its debut in Irish waters by launching BF’s second route from Rosslare to Cherbourg in response to demand for cargo bypass by the Brexit. Ropax Connemara would replace the Ireland-France role of the cruise ferry.

The ferry has taken millions of holidaymakers to the beautiful regions of northern Spain. It also transported thousands of freight units across the Bay of Biscay.

The service to Cap Finistère, alongside ships such as Pont-Aven and Galice, has made it possible to boost tourism, enrich the territories and cement partnerships which will continue with the introduction of Salamanca and Santoña respectively this year and in 2023. (All ferries except Pont-Aven are E-Flexers).

Built in 2001, Cap Finistère is 204m long, with a top speed of 28 knots and according to the company is one of the finest ferries in service.

The ferry operated Portsmouth-Santander and Portsmouth-Bilbao routes with Brittany Ferries, carrying up to 1,595 passengers or 110 cargo units.

Recruiters said they are placing a record number of permanent and temporary workers in jobs.

Alabama could enter 2023 with the largest budgets in state history. But the message from two of Alabama’s financial officials on Tuesday was caution.

In budget presentations ahead of the start of the 2022 legislative session on Tuesday, Kirk Fulford, deputy director of the Legislative Services Agency’s tax division and state finance director Bill Poole, said the reported record revenues over the past year were fueled by federal coronavirus aid. With the disappearance of this funding, the men warned that the money could slow down.

“We’re seeing a lot of key indicators that I think are unsustainable, whether it’s the growth in the personal income rate … out of whack,” Poole said at a joint meeting of the budget committees of the legislature. “All of these indicators are clearly unusual and unsustainable circumstances.”