iWorld
Helo and India Film Project partner for ‘Campus Connect season 2’
MUMBAI: Helo and India Film Project have partnered for season 2 of Campus Connect. The partnership aims to encourage content creators at grassroots level and provide them a platform to showcase their talent to a wider audience.The association also allows Helo’s diverse community to explore fresh and professionally generated content in addition to learning filmmaking techniques directly from IFP’s reputed mentors.
As part of this initiative, Helo and IFP are organising workshops followed by a 24-Hour filmmaking challenge in 20 of India's leading colleges including IIM Ahmedabad, IIT (Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Hyderabad), Hindu College, DTU etc. Helo is also hosting an in-app contest called #IFPMyMovie2020, for users to engage and create videos across various themes such as education, social responsibility, emotions, food, entertainment and humour. The winners of the contest stand a chance to win exciting prizes, including a chance to feature their videos in flagship India Film Project event in October.
Helo has emerged as one of the biggest hubs for the most innovative user and professionally generated content in 14 different Indian languages. The project has been successfully executed in 16 colleges until now and has till today witnessed a participation from over 8000 students. Campus Connect in the second season is looking forward to witnessing more than 800 short films made in multiple Indian languages as well as more than 10,000 enthusiastic creators across the workshops held in different parts of the country sharing their ideas and love for the films.
Helo Creator Strategy and Growth head Raj Mishra said, “At Helo, we are committed to empower budding content creators with best possible opportunities to showcase their creativity through our platform. Our partnership with IFP for campus connect 2 is a testimony of our endeavour to bring the best quality content on our platform and foster an enabling environment of cross learning. We have received an overwhelming response from our existing users and are confident that this association will further motivate and encourage like minded people to connect, create and share quality content in their native languages.
India Film Project founder Ritam Bhatnagarsaid, “At IFP we strive to bring the best experience and opportunities to content creators across the country. Campus Connect helps us connect, encourage, interact and help the young talent that our country has. With Helo’s large and growing user base, we are able to provide a huge audience to the young filmmakers who are usually looking for more viewers. We are glad to have Helo on board with all the opportunities, exposure and incentives they have to offer for the participants.”
Helo users can participate in the contest by creating videos under hashtags #IndiaFilmProject2020, #IFPMyMovie2020. The national project is slated to end on 30th April 2020.
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.
