New Feature launch - Find, Message and Buy on WhatsApp

 at the first-ever WhatsApp Business Summit in Brazil, Mark Zuckerberg has shared an update on what we’re building to help people find, message and buy something from a business on WhatsApp. These new features are introduced to offer an enhanced end-to-end commerce experience for users and connect with their favourite brands while discovering new ones.

 

1. Find a Business 

• Business Search – Find a larger brand on WhatsApp using our API (select country launch – Brazil, UK, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia)
• Directory – Discover a local merchant (SMB) on WhatsApp (Brazil only; expanding to the entire country after testing in Sao Paulo)

  

2. Buy 

• P2M - Pay a local merchant directly in WhatsApp (Currently testing in Brazil; expected to expand to other markets as well)

 

The new Business Search feature will be available Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and the UK.

 

We hear from people all the time how they want a simple way to not only find but reach out to businesses on WhatsApp so they can get assistance quickly without having to look up a phone number, send an email to a support@ address or navigate a complicated website. And while many businesses already promote their own WhatsApp number in packaging materials, store signs and websites, they often ask us for a better way to help more people know about this channel. That’s why we’re launching the ability to find a business right on WhatsApp so people can now browse businesses by category – such as travel or banking – or search by the business name. This will save people from having to find phone numbers off websites or type a number into their contacts. To start, we’re bringing this feature to Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the UK. In Brazil, people will be able to browse categories of small businesses in their neighborhood as well.

 

Once people find a business they want to chat with, they can ask product questions, browse their catalog of goods and services and add items to a cart so the business knows what they want to buy. From there, we want people to be able to make a secure payment right from a chat with their credit or debit card. We recently launched this experience in India and we’re excited to now be testing this in Brazil with multiple payment partners. This seamless checkout experience will be a game-changer for people and businesses looking to buy and sell on WhatsApp without having to go to a website, open another app or pay in person. Our goal is to expand this experience to more countries in the future.

The India Game Developer Conference 2022 returned on-ground with 4000+ attendees and 60+ exhibitors

The 14th edition of the 1GDC – The India Game Developer Conference that was held between the 3rd and 5th of November, 2022 witnessed over 4000 attendees. This event featured game developers. publishers, investors as well as gaming enthusiasts at the Hyderabad International Convention Center.  This initiative with the tagline “by the industry, for the industry”, focused on empowering game developers with opportunities to network and upskill their craft. This event had 150 speakers featuring 80+ sessions ranging from workshops, talks and panels across games technology, art, design and production. The three-day event also featured CXOO panels that discussed the Indian gaming industry, investment trends and their predictions for the future. IGDC’s flagship networking initiative, the Investor- Publisher Connect saw the highest ever entries with around 75 startups, 28 investors and publishers conducting over 600 meetings in 2 days. The IGDC Awards also boasted a record number of 150+ game entries that featured a new category of popular choice. This quipped the interest of the audience and made it an engaging event. Lastly, the BYOG initiative (Build Your Own Game) also saw a record number of 700+ participants together making 170+ game submissions for the judges to evaluate.

Day 3 of the Conference saw a new initiative called IGDC Futures being launched with the sessions focussed on opportunities in the gaming industry with the intent of encouraging the next crop of talent into the gaming industry.  

Commenting on the conference, Rajesh Rao, Convenor and Chairperson, IGDC, said, “IGDC 2022 has exceeded all expectations as we made our on-ground appearance for the first-time post pandemic. It was heartening to see the tremendous turnout and participation from all parts of the gaming ecosystem, people clearly wanted to meet in person and network.  This year saw a record number of meetings between investors, publishers and startups. Key trends included seeing a number of upcoming games with Indian themes, with local cultural and social flavour. IGDC Awards saw a jump in overall quality of submissions. Wrapping up yet another buzzing year, we are confident that this edition’s success will yield greater achievements and contribute to the overall growth of the gaming industry.”

IGDC had strong support from across the Industry. Epic Games’ Unreal Engine was the Presenting Sponsor for this year’s conference, KRAFTON, Inc. the Platinum Sponsor, AWS as the Gold Sponsor, Rockstar Games & Kwalee partnering as Silver Sponsors; Games24x7 as Experience Partner; Microsoft, Xbox, Ventana Ventures, Arsht Rock, Winzo, Hyper Hippo, Hero Vired, Tezos as Bronze Sponsors; Nazara Technologies was the Awards Sponsor; London Stock Exchange Group, Payoneer, Loco and Hungama as Associate Sponsors. IGDC Futures was supported by Crazy Labs and PTW while Global Victoria was the Country Partner. Lakshya Digital and Yesgnome as the ecosystem partners.

-By Aaron and Rajesh