iWorld
India’s affiliate industry is on track to hit $835 mn by 2025: Experts
Mumbai: The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) recently concluded the seventh edition of India Affiliate Summit (IAS) that witnessed over 3000 delegates from across the globe. Over 700 companies and 50 exhibitors participated in the event, held on 25 August.
Some of the crucial topics of discussion at the event were: ‘How to build a multi-million-pound affiliate empire?’, ‘Is performance marketing a win-win deal or has a flip side?’, ‘Growing role of affiliate marketing in fintech domain’, ‘How are influencers changing the affiliate marketing fame?’, ‘Implementing affiliate marketing in mobile gaming’, and ‘GenZ, the social media generation – vital audience for affiliates’.
Speaking about the potential of the Indian affiliate industry, Commission’s CEO, Parul Bhargava said, “India’s affiliate industry has tremendous potential of growth and is on track to touch the targeted $835 million by 2025 from around $300 million currently. The Covid-19 pandemic has not affected the affiliate marketing industry; definitely digital and affiliate has grown. Affiliate marketing still contributes about 10 per cent of digital marketing budgets. E-commerce, travel homestays, BFSI, education, D2C, gaming, web services, and health are the top industries contributing to affiliate marketing in India.”
Echoing similar views, GrabOn’s founder, Ashok Reddy remarked, “We have just scratched the surface of affiliate marketing in India. The affiliate industry has been growing multi-fold over the years and there is no doubt that there is unprecedented growth ahead. With new content creators on the block and AI that sees no limits, affiliate is shifting and will continue to shift into the hands of the users. Mobile-first strategy, influencers, and video-based content marketing will see an uptrend for the next few years.”
Optimise, managing director, LD Sharma said that while the sector has the potential to become a billion-dollar industry in the next couple of years, rising fraudulent activities seem to be a major concern. “Fraudulent clicks, cookie stuffing, bad bots, geo-masking, click spamming are some of the challenges for the industry,” he said.
Sharma also mentioned that government intervention in the form of regulations and punishments for unethical businesses will help the industry to grow further. Suggesting measures to further this growth he added, “Under the current GST regime affiliate marketers are required to pay 18 per cent GST, however, the same is not applicable in other countries. Revisiting the GST regime for affiliate marketers and setting up a regulatory body would be an impetus for the entire ecosystem.”
The key speakers at the event included Craig Campbell SEO, SEO trainer and consultant, Craig Campbell; Bright Leads Media, founder, Hassan Aanbar; Acceleration Partners, founder and CEO, Robert Glazer; Cashkaro, co-founder, Rohan Bhargava; Ferns N Petals, head – digital marketing, Sai Tota; Max Life Insurance, CVP – e-commerce and digital marketing Aditya Satpute; HDFC Bank, VP and head- digital, content and social media marketing, Jahid Ahmed; Godrej Consumer Products, VP and head – digital, Pankaj Parihar; and Lendinkart, director – marketing, Nijish Nair.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
