iWorld
IAMAI’s India Affiliate Summit gets underway on 25 Aug
Mumbai: The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is organising the seventh edition of India Affiliate Summit (IAS) on 25 August. The event will witness about 3,000 delegates from different spheres of the affiliate marketing industry including online publishers, bloggers, traffic sources, retailers, networks, and technology firms. Over 700 global companies and 50 exhibitors will converge at the conference.
Among the key speakers will be vCommission, CEO, Parul Bhargava; 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.
Some of the key topics of discussion at the summit will include ‘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’.
According to reports, affiliate marketing continues to grow at 10 per cent year-on-year, thanks to the boom in online. Today, most of the brands and online marketplaces are partnering with the affiliates as they increase their bandwidth in the business of gaining more customers.
One of the keynote speakers, Parul Bhargava said, “India Affiliate Summit is an event very close to my heart – being the only affiliate/performance-centric event in the country. The event historically has experienced great brainstorming and networking by and with stalwarts of affiliates from our country who contribute to the global industry. Since the pandemic restricted our travels, it’s amazing to see how IAMAI is working so hard to ensure the affiliate industry comes together virtually every year with great insights on how affiliate trends are emerging.”
“Indian e-commerce has seen massive growth and a shift in consumer behaviour over the last two years,” said Rohan Bhargava. “With D2C brands gaining popularity, CashKaro and EarnKaro have witnessed the same trends in sales and high ROI we drive for our partners like MamaEarth, MCaffeine and Ustraa. Cashback, rewards and affiliate programs are definitely the place to be right now for real results. I am really excited to explore this further with other players in the space at the India Affiliate Summit.”
“Having the second-largest e-commerce market in the world and with digital shoppers increasing, India has seen immense growth in affiliate marketing in the last one-and-a-half year,” Admitad Affiliate India’s country manager, Neha Kulwal remarked. “With inventories like content sites, influencers, loyalty partners being capitalised by brands via affiliate marketing, it is imperative for brands to launch their affiliate programs to maximise growth. In line with e-commerce, other sectors such as fintech, online education, and many more have added affiliate channels into their advertising mix.”
“Affiliate marketing has become an integral part of our growth strategy and the event is a great platform to discuss ideas and best practices. The affiliate ecosystem in India is still at a nascent stage. As the ecosystem matures, media tie-ups could transform into strategic win-win business partnerships in the future,” added Aditya Satpute.
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.
