Author: Asia PEVC

Babylon Project issues Immutable Certificates to Hackathon Participants using Certificado

The Babylon Project has issued verifiable and immutable certificates of participation to all active attendees of its 2020 blockchain hackathon, using a decentralized application built by members of its developer community. Participants can easily claim and verify their certificates with the Discord group by simply calling on the discord-bot, and instantly receiving their certificates with hash pointers to the Waves blockchain.

The certification app is called Certificado, designed by one of the top developers at the hackathon. Certificado is solving the problem of counterfeit certification using blockchain, which no prior technology directly addresses. By enabling businesses, individuals, and enterprises to issue authentic certificates, Certificado wants to bring massive value to any industry which deals with a large number of documents like Education, Art, Events, Healthcare, Insurance, Real Estate, and Banking.

Since the pandemic, there has been an increasing demand for blockchain protocols that digitalize, authenticate, and verify documents. Certification of documents by blockchain creates a validating, traceable, and secure way of data storage and delivery. With many existing blockchains, there is a need for a cross-chain protocol that unifies blockchain certification across different chains. Certificado is developed with this in mind.

Says Gideon Nweze, the founder of The Babylon Project, “It is very exciting to see members of our community deploying blockchain-powered solutions that are usable. Technology becomes meaningful to people only when it is usable. Reducing friction in decentralized applications is very important in order to increase adoption and Certificado is doing a great job at this.”

The Babylon Project is an international sandbox for the advancement of innovative, easy to use, and user-centric blockchain applications, a hackathon initiative committed to democratizing access to global innovation and fostering the inclusion of minority backgrounds in tech. The Babylon Project kicked off this year’s hackathon on October 9th with 1000 active participants on its virtual Discord server.

Contact: Anastasiia Ilicheva, Anastily@worldblockchainhackathon.com, http://worldblockchainhackathon.com

QRC Group Sponsors Development of First Security Token Specification with BSI

The QRC Group (QRC) has announced the first publication of a Security Token Specification, independently facilitated and published by BSI, the UK National Standards Body. Called PAS 19668, the specification provides requirements for the publication of relevant information and the technical attributes of security tokens, covering tokens issued on any distributed ledger system.

In the absence of an industry-wide standard, security token information has been organized and presented in various formats and different locations, making access highly inefficient and increasingly complex for investors and active market participants. PAS 19668 is an effort to fill that gap by specifying how information and properties relating to security tokens should be structured and presented.

PAS 19668 is for use by international security token issuers. It is also a reference for security token holders, security token exchanges and custodians, investors in security tokens and auditors checking conformity, and any third parties that provide services to issuers of security tokens. PAS 19668 does not cover utility tokens or unregulated tokens.

“PAS 19668:2020: Publication requirements for security tokens – Specification” is available here: https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail?pid=000000000030376033

PAS 19668 has been independently facilitated by BSI following consensus by a steering group of experts from various industries including digital asset exchanges, traditional financial exchanges, issuance platforms and academia.

Shogo-Ishida, CEO of QRC Group, the sponsor of development, said: “We are very pleased to announce PAS 19668. With BSI standardizing security token technology, and with development of a draft specification, we take a great step forward in legitimizing security token offerings and STO fundraising. Standardization will consolidate technology innovation and best practices from disparate STO platforms, and accelerate STO market growth.

“Issuers will trust BSI-standards technology, with greater confidence in their technology provider or token distributor, this will drive adoption of STO fundraising activity,” continued Ishida. “As digitization continues in various industries, PAS 19668 will lead to further efforts to digitize securities backed by blockchain technology. We hope that people will welcome the standard, and issue security tokens more securely and conveniently.”

Alexandre Kech, CEO, Onchain Custodian, Convenor ISO TC68/SC8/WG3 Digital Token Identifier: “Standards are critical for the maturing of any new industry. PAS 19668, which already leverages the ISO 10962 Classification of Financial Instruments (CFI) standard, will be powerful when used in combination with the ISO 24165 Digital Token Identifier expected to be finalised and available for us in 2021.”

Thomas Borrel, CPO, Polymath: “Mass adoption of security tokens can only happen through standardization. ERC1400 established the standard for security tokens and PAS19668 will materially contribute to transparency through simplified access to information and attributes of each token. PAS19668 reliance on existing and upcoming ISO standards will ensure consistency across all assets, traditional and digital.”

Luc Falempin, CEO, Tokeny Solutions: “Blockchain technologies represent a great opportunity to use a common IT infrastructure for the world of finance. It is therefore essential to facilitate the interoperability of solutions and to formalize the data. We are delighted with this initiative as we can now complete the institutional-grade security token protocol T-REX with the PAS19668 specification model.”

Jor Law, Director, Prime Trust and consultant to several key players in the STO ecosystem: “Having a standardized method of identifying security tokens globally promulgated by the BSI is important for the evolution of STOs and increased adoption. With a uniform method to digest security tokens, data flow and transaction handling can improve to allow greater interoperability across geographic regions and more seamless interaction between the different participants that comprise a healthy capital markets system.”

BSI Steering Group is composed of representatives from 1st Idea Limited, Bank Frick, BC Group, BitGo, Blockstream, BnkToTheFuture, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, CryptoCompare, DeversiFi, DSTOQ, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Onchain Custodian, Polymath, Prime Trust, QRC Group, Singapore Management University (SMU), Tokenomica, Tokeny Solutions.

PAS19668 Technical Author: Adam Vaziri.
BSI Announcement: https://tinyurl.com/bsigroup-mediacentre-15dec20
QRC Announcement: https://www.qrc.group/top-news

QRC Group (QRC) is a RegTech and blockchain advisory firm providing technical solutions for the deployment of digital securities in conformity with international standards, including PAS19688. HK-based QRC has related company offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Vietnam. Visit https://www.qrc.group.

Media Contact: Shogo-Ishida, enquiries@qrc.group, QRC Group.

Greenbriar Capital Corp Announces Private Placement

Greenbriar Capital Corp. (TSXV: GRB) (OTC Pink: GEBRF) (“Greenbriar”) is pleased to announce that it has arranged a private placement for 250,000 units at $2.00 per unit for total proceeds of $500,000.00.

Each unit comprises one common share plus one whole common share purchase warrant exercisable at $2.50 per warrant, converting into one full common share. The warrants will have a two (2) year expiry commencing on the day the units are issued. All securities are subject to a four (4) month hold period.

About Greenbriar Capital Corp

Greenbriar is a leading developer of sustainable real estate and renewable energy. With long-term, high impact, contracted sales agreements in key project locations and led by a successful, industry-recognized operating and development team, Greenbriar targets deep valued assets directed at accretive shareholder value.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Jeff Ciachurski”
Jeffrey J. Ciachurski
Chief Executive Officer and Director
949.903.5906

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release may contain forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute “forward-looking statements” and include any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including the Company’s strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance and other statements that express management’s expectations or estimates of future performance.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/70697

Telefonica Partners With Subex for Next-Gen Fraud Prevention

Subex, a pioneer in the space of Digital Trust, announced a partnership with Telefonica, one of the largest mobile network providers in the world, to provide the latest version of ROC Fraud Management. As part of the engagement, the operator will be deploying Subex’s ROC Fraud Management, to all opcos in Telefonica’s Hispam unit: Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Colombia.

Telefonica is widely recognized as one of the most innovative companies on the digital front, by consistently providing its customers with trusted and secure new-age offerings. As a torchbearer of combatting fraud, Telefonica was keen to find the right partner that would enable them to transcend from fraud detection and management to a proactive fraud prevention approach.

Through ROC Fraud Management, Telefonica can leverage the solution’s Big Data Hadoop architecture to reduce fraud detection time, improve scalability, and ease integration with Telefonica’s local data lakes. The solution will also enable Telefonica to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), owing to its Open Source capabilities, and its low hardware footprint. Finally, and more importantly, Telefonica can leverage the AI/ML and Signaling Intelligence capabilities of ROC Fraud Management to detect and prevent traditional and new-age frauds across voice, data, and digital services.

According to GSMA, the Latin American market is growing at a promising rate, with a total mobile subscriber base of 440 million and an estimated penetration rate of 73% by 2025. This growth has also led to an increase in the overall digital engagements for the region. However, what this trend has also resulted in is an increased number of targets for cybercriminals to mark through means such as identity theft, social engineering and extortion.

Commenting on the partnership Shankar Roddam, Whole-Time Director & Chief Operating Officer, Subex, said, “This win marks another chapter in our long-standing relationship with the Telefonica group. It is extremely positive to see Telefonica, one of the largest operators in the world, taking such proactive measures to combat telecom fraud. It gives Subex immense pride to be working with them to protect their customers, in addition to our existing partnership with Telefonica’s cybersecurity venture. Subex was selected post a very competitive and diligent evaluation process, which pitted us against all other fraud management vendors in the market.”

Miguel Sancho Caceres, Deputy Global Director of Security, said, “Improving our effectiveness in the fight against fraud is one of the key priorities for us at Telefonica. Towards this goal, we consider it imperative to ensure that our services are equipped with state-of-the-art fraud prevention capabilities. To make this reality, we are pleased to partner with Subex and deploy the latest version of their ROC Fraud Management solution. This will ensure much faster processing and detection times, providing far more flexibility, easier access, and agility to our business operations.”

Sandeep Banga
Marketing and Communications
+91 99168 24122
sandeep.banga@subex.com

Related Links
Subex https://www.subex.com/
Fraud Management https://www.subex.com/fraud-management/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/70600

Greenheart CBD – Building a Global Brand Through Tokenized Innovation

2020 has been a very difficult year for many people. The uncertainty and fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy, have meant people have started to look at alternative products to help manage stress and anxiety.

One of the areas that have seen a huge increase in interest has been CBD products. CBD is the legal alternative to cannabis, as it is derived from the hemp plant, rather than its cousin the marijuana plant.

One Irish company that is leading the field in this area is Greenheart CBD. The company is based in County Meath, Ireland, and was formed two years ago by childhood friends Mark Canavan and Paul Walsh. Greenheart produces a full range of CBD oils – and shortly – edibles and balms to the retail market.

Although the company only began selling its CBD oil in January 2020, it already has over 1,500 customers and a repeat customer rate three times the industry average. Before launching Greenheart, Paul and Mark spent years researching extraction methods to produce the most effective CBD products for the end consumer, with full traceability from “seed to shelf”.

Once the production model was finalized, Paul and Mark secured Irish government licensing, allowing them to grow hemp for the first time with farmers in County Wicklow. The process was covered extensively by RTE – Ireland’s national TV broadcaster – and showcased the company’s use of unique six feet Artificial Intelligence Drones to help grow, weed, and cultivate the CBD crop.

During CBD production, Greenheart used a number of unique processes and technology to ensure the quality of its product range. The company is the first CBD producer to use the full scope of “CBD Tech” in hemp cultivation – which includes Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, and Blockchain technology at each stage of the planting, harvesting, production, and retailing process.

Data gathered from AI drones (which continually monitor plant health) can be used to provide meaningful insights and data tracing for farmers and producers. The machines can ensure only the best plants are kept and matured and cut down massively on wasted crops and investment – vastly increasing the profit margin for CBD farmers.

The company’s “Homogenized Cold Press” technology uses no chemicals, is low on energy consumption, and enables a zero-waste operation – producing only 2 natural products through our process. By utilizing QR codes the company stores data at each stage of the production process ensuring the highest quality, organic verification, and end-to-end product traceability.

The final CBD product can then be sold directly to consumers via Greenhearts new decentralized (dApps) marketplace, cutting out the traditional expensive middleman and keeping the product affordable for consumers.

Since the company’s launch, Greenheart’s CBD oil has been recommended in Vogue (UK), features on Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance, and won multiple awards at The Cannavist magazine. The company has also been nominated at the World CBD Awards in Barcelona 2021 and the founders were featured as part of last year’s Sunday Independent “30 Under 30” business people to watch.

Greenheart Punt Token – Building a global brand

On 2 December 2020, the company launched its own product token – the Greenheart Punt – allowing its tokenholders to access its CBD products at the greatest possible discount.

The Greenheart Punt token is backed by a real commodity – 1,000 liters of Greenheart’s CBD oil in year 1 (with a retail value of $4 million US dollars) – allowing token holders to redeem their tokens directly on the dApps marketplace for Greenheart CBD oil at a significant discount to the retail market price.

The token project is led by Shane Brett, a three times technology entrepreneur with decades of experience in scaling startup businesses and raising institutional investment. The Greenheart Punt has already been listed on the DigiFinex Exchange in Singapore – increasing from 10 cents USDT to over 25 cents USDT in its first two weeks of trading.

Building a global CBD brand

Funds raised in the Greenheart token sale are being used to build the brand globally, including expanding into the US and Asia, purchasing new land for CBD production, and building a state-of-the-art Decortication Plant, to enable an expansion into new product lines (e.g. insulation, Hempcrete, bio-plastics).

The company plans to develop a “modular franchise system” which will enable indigenous and minority groups, as well as established farmers, to utilize the land for the growing of hemp and CBD products worldwide.

Source: https://bit.ly/2LQzaMu
Shane Brett, Greenheart CBD

The Collective for Equality Launched; Aims to Enlist C-Suite commitment for better Workplace Gender Balance in Singapore

Singapore-headquartered WomenIconsNetwork.com (WIN), has announced the launch of an initiative – The Collective for Equality (Singapore) – to promote and support the actions of organizations, programs and people working towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 that deals with achieving Gender Equality and empowering all women and girls.

A not-for-profit country-specific initiative, The Collective will be guided on a pro bono basis by a Council of Leaders and will urge CEOs in Singapore to not only commit time, effort and resources for ensuring gender-balanced workplaces but also share their goals, experiences and challenges, thus inspiring equality in all walks of life. The aim is to 1) Expand C-Suite support for Gender Equality; 2) Deepen organization commitment for Gender Equity; 3) Broaden the pool of aspiring women leaders.

Grace Park, Manisha Seewal and Dr Vinika Rao join as the Council of Leaders to advise on The Collective’ efforts in Singapore. The Council will be expanded with other like-minded leaders.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Grace Park, Co-Founder & President, DocDoc said, “Though the SDG 5 Goals are common for the world, every country has to work within the boundaries of economic, social, and cultural realities. Thus, it is important that leaders in Singapore come together to discover innovative yet effective ways to overcome the challenges of gender inequities.”

?Every organization irrespective of their size, sector or domicile will have to play its part to ensure that Singapore is truly a gender-balanced place of work. However, we have to recognize and assist organizations that need a nudge and a push to discover the long-term benefits of pursuing a gender-balanced strategy,” said Manisha Seewal, Group CMO, Carro and CEO, Jualo.com.

Dr Vinika Rao, Executive Director, INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute & Gender Initiative and Asia Director, Hoffman Global Institute for Business & Society, said, “Some of the reputed corporates in Singapore have covered considerable ground in the journey towards gender equality. Their experience should both inspire others to follow suit and provide learnings on best practices for developing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This is especially relevant today, to ensure that Covid19 does not disrupt decades of hard-earned progress towards developing a gender-balanced workplace and society in Singapore.”

Building awareness about an organization’s intent for promoting gender-equal place of work is a key benefit of joining The Collective. By sharing news, views, and developments about the gender equality initiatives, an organization can not only attract and retain talent but also distinguish themselves clearly from others in the minds of half the world.

Vishwesh Iyer, Co-Founder & Director, Women Icons Network, said, “The problems of addressing Gender Inequities have been further exacerbated by the pandemic. It is important for leaders to recognize that working towards a gender-balanced workplace is one of the biggest challenges facing us today at the intersection of social and economic inequities.

The initiative, led by the Women Icons Network, aims to internalize the issue of Gender Equity into the collective consciousness as envisaged by the Singapore government. It will also add to the “Conversations on Women Development” that the government has recently rolled out. Following the Singapore launch, The Collective will also be launched in Malaysia and India soon.

About Women Icons Network

Women Icons Network (WIN) is an engagement and data aggregation platform that captures the value of gender-equal places of work across South and South East Asia. Integrating workplace feedback and published data on companies to create a Diversity Metric that differentiates places of work around gender equality, the platform will amplify the efforts of all stakeholders operating in the area of diversity and inclusion.

WIN, headquartered in Singapore, is promoted by two experienced professionals and supported by hundreds of women leaders across South and South East Asia.

For Media Enquiries
Vishwesh@WomenIconsNetwork.com
+65-9101 8487

CloserStill MediaWins a Hat-trick at the Prestigious Association of Event Organisers Excellence Awards

The Association of Event Organisers (AEO) the trade body representing trade and consumer events honoured CloserStill Media last week with 3 industry awards of excellence – Best Organiser Team, Best International Show Asia Pacific and Best International Show Americas.

Organiser Team of the Year was earned by CloserStill’s Operations Team, the AEO judges praised the impressive team, who delivered a diverse range, and ever-growing portfolio of events. The team pulled out all the stops, overcoming huge challenges, to deliver the 2019 events.

Best International Show – Asia Pacific was won by CloserStill’s Singapore Tech event, the judging panel commented that the event showed a clear and measurable growth strategy which enabled it to achieve spectacular results.

Best International Show – Americas was awarded to DevLearn 2019, the judges remarked that the fantastic and highly successful event was led by a passionate team, that clearly demonstrated a key understanding of its audience’s needs.

Since CloserStill was founded, it has earnt 8 AEO Excellence Awards, and has won more industry awards than any other company in the exhibition industry.

“Whilst running live events seems a long time ago, we are delighted to win 3 AEO awards and to be reminded by the leading body of just how amazing our teams are. We have achieved so much in our first decade and will continue to do so through having great brands, partners and employees. The pandemic will not stop us!,” says Alexia Maycock, Chief Marketing Officer at CloserStill Media.

About CloserStill Media

CloserStill Media run more than 70 events in the UK and international markets including the United States, Germany, France, Spain and Singapore.

CloserStill is of the world’s fastest-growing exhibition businesses, running best of class events in the learning, medical & healthcare, technology and veterinary sectors. In the last 10 years, it has won over 50 major industry awards, including the coveted ‘Best Business Exhibition’ seven times, featured in The Sunday Times 100 Best Places to Work (2018 & 2019), been voted by members of the Association of Exhibition Organisers as the ‘Most Respected Company’ in the exhibition Industry.

SMEStreet Foundation Unleashes Prestigious SMEStreet GameChangers 2020 List

SMEStreet Foundation is proud to announce the season one of SMEStreet GameChangers Award Listing Series. COVID-19 has emerged as a global challenge, the SMEStreet GameChangers Award Listing initiative is conceptualized to recognize agile and concerned thought leaders who, through their strategies, initiatives and activities, have contributed in restricting pandemic’s impact or helped MSMEs in getting back to business growthpath.

The first list of recipients of SMEStreet GameChangers 2020 includes Hon’ble Union Cabinet Minister, Road & Transport and MSME Ministry, Govt of India, Shri Nitin Gadkari; Hon’ble Cabinet Minister-Industries & MSME, Uttar Pradesh Govt, Shri Siddharth Nath Singh; Shri Vinai K Saxena, Chairman of KVIC; Shri Arun Kumar Jha, Director General, National Productivity Council; Shri Abhishek Singh, CEO MyGov; Shri Nikhil Arora, Managing Director & Vice President, GoDaddy India; Shri Tejas Goenka, Managing Director, Tally Solutions; Dr. Hari Eppanapally, Chairman, Lead India Foundation, NJ, USA; Shri Ajay Thakur, Head BSE -SME, BSE India; and Shri Khalid Wani, Director of Western Digital India.

“The COVID Pandemic has led to greater global cooperation and collaboration especially in the field of medical supplies and vaccine research. In the fight against COVID, MSMEs hold a key role in restoring economic growth and well being of people. MSMEs have been on the front end of an economic recovery plan by all countries, and hence all efforts are aimed to help MSMEs to come back to normal. Policy initiatives like Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, with a strong focus on restoring liquidity, creating jobs, creating markets for products, and creating a facilitating manufacturing ecosystem all have MSMEs at their focal point. I want to congratulate SMEStreet Foundation for taking this initiative to multiply the goodwill impact of leaders who contributed in the fight against the COVID Pandemic,” commented Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble, Cabinet Minister, MSME Ministry, Govt of India.

Commenting on the recognition and this activity, Shri Siddharth Nath Singh, Cabinet Minister of UP Government for MSMEs commented, “Since the pandemic started, we started our assessments and impacts of this on the economy of the state. Uttar Pradesh has powerful potential from the perspective of small businesses, local artisans and much more. On the other hand, we have also witnessed major reverse migration from other parts of the country. We have worked in ensuring job opportunities for local migrant workers who opted to come back from various places in the country during the lockdown period. We are thankful to the UP Government’s leadership through CM Shri Yogi Adityanath ji in taking all possible measures to enable a support ecosystem for MSMEs and local workforce. I would also like to thank SMEStreet Foundation for taking this initiative to highlight such success stories from across backgrounds.”

“With Pandemic impact, everything suddenly started getting considered for a restart and business activities. This effect has caused a major halt of financial flow among small entrepreneurs and the local artisans. At KVIC we aimed to break this halt and through our various efforts, we aimed to bring back economic revival for such entrepreneurs and artisans. I wish to thank SMEStreet’s team for taking up this venture of GameChangers as this will spread the right message of a strong come-back spirit among Indian job creators,” added Shri Vinai K Saxena, Chairman of KVIC.

Working rigorously on ensuring a strong communication flow around COVID-19, Mr. Abhishek Singh, CEO of MyGov, MeitY, Govt of India congratulated SMEStreet by adding: “Technology has been playing a critical role in ensuring continuation of normalcy and MSMEs are key to reviving our growth story post covid-19. During the Pandemic, ensuring availability of authentic information and fighting fake news and busting myths have been the focus of the communications on COVID19 by MyGov. In this endeavor, the role of MSMEs has been very important and many of them have emerged as true champions of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. SMEStreet Game Changers recognition by SMEStreet Foundation is a welcome step for our collective work towards ensuring a robust communication stream around COVID awareness.”

“At SMEStreet Foundation, it is our great pleasure to recognize important game-changers who led our society to come out of this crisis of pandemic, which impacted the economy and the entire economic cycle. Industry leaders, policymakers have made a lot of efforts during the last nine months and ensured a support mechanism for their respective business ecosystem,” says Mr. Faiz Askari, Secretary-General and Editor of SMEStreet Foundation & SMEStreet.in. Congratulating all the distinguished listed GameChangers, he mentioned, “I am thankful to all the listed professionals, policymakers and bureaucrats who made their efforts to support their respective business ecosystem in the times when it is needed most.”

SMEStreet.in will publish detailed success stories of listed title recipients of SMEStreet GameChanger 2020. However, the campaign of SMEStreet GameChangers is still on. We are open for more success stories from the corporate world and recommendations from policymakers who inspired positive change in their respective ecosystem of MSMEs in response to COVID 19 Pandemic. You can click here to nominate your recommendation for SMEStreet GameChnagers 2020 Season 1.

Shri S Ravi Founder and Managing Partner of Ravi Ranjan & Co and Ex-Chairman of BSE India commented, “Whatever we witnesses was a lifetime-first experience, and we never wished to see such conditions again. We realized the importance of motivating such motivated leaders as Game Changers who paved this phase with their dedication and professional acumen in emerging as a winner for their organization and society.”

Shri Arun Kumar Jha, Director General of National Productivity Council also expressed his views by saying, “Well we are committed to working towards ensuring the best level ecosystem for professional productivity. Initiatives like SMEStreet GameChangers will create a strong impact on those who are working hard in ensuring the best for their ecosystem, which got impacted during the pandemic. It is like motivating the motivators, which is a noble cause.”

Representing world’s leading digital company which is committed towards taking businesses online, Mr. Nikhil Arora, MD & VP of GoDaddy India congratulated other recipients of this listing and commented, “Today, as the world is experiencing the unprecedented impact of COVID-19, we at GoDaddy stand committed to support India’s dynamic MSME ecosystem. Digital technology has emerged as a key survival mechanism for businesses and we aim to continue providing MSMEs with all the help and tools they need to successfully run their ventures online. In line with the government’s vision to promote local businesses in the country, we have introduced a slew of initiatives throughout the year, like the GoDaddy Academy, product and pricing incentives and even some philanthropic efforts, to help them get back at pace with their business goals. Motivation can often be in short supply, especially during a global pandemic, and we are extremely honoured and humbled to be receiving this award. We also commend the SMEStreet Foundation for their effort in recognizing all the incredible work being done in these challenging times.”

Congratulating the team of SMEStreet Foundation, Mr. Ajay Thakur, Head of BSE-SME, BSE India stated, “Pandemic has created huge challenge for business operations specially for the MSME entrepreneurs, but as we move ahead, we found that MSME Entrepreneurs require more proactive efforts which can help them to avail the stock market listing. Hence we made necessary steps to ease out the pressure of getting into stock market listing during the pandemic days. We are delighted to be part of the SMEStreet GameChangers listing by SMEStreet Foundation.”

Acknowledging SMEStreet GameChangers as a needed initiative, Mr. Khalid Wani, Director- Sales for Western Digital have shared his perspective on Indian SMEs and their potential for bringing back the economy into the growth path, he said, “SMEs play a pivotal role towards shaping the economic progress of a nation and I would like to congratulate SMEStreet for their role towards creation of a robust platform that helps to create a strong engagement and collaborations across various segments and become a catalyst for growth for SMEs.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how fragile, yet how resilient we are as a society, and within that we have seen the tremendous spirit of the entrepreneurs in India and across the world to push through to serve and survive. We are blessed to play whatever small part we can to help them in their journey and are thankful to SMEStreet for the role they have played and for this recognition,” says Mr. Tejas Goenka, Managing Director, Tally Solutions while getting listed into SMEStreet GameChangers 2020.

Dr. Hari Eppanapally, Chairman, Lead India Foundation, NJ, USA stated, “I would like to thank the team of SMEStreet for taking this initiative. Recognizing those who have committed their lives in the last few months in doing everything possible to restrict COVID impact, is a noble work in itself.”

SMEStreet GameChangers is an attempt to recognize such individual success stories which have made a significant impact in their respective horizons of business. Success stories of successful COVID Warriors while doing something innovative, something constructive in sustaining business will get showcased here. We can refer to these heroes as COVID warriors of supporting business.

“Only few companies in the pandemic days were able to record miraculous turnarounds by adapting technology, efficient management and quick turnaround time for implementing realtime solutions to problems that dragged many down. At SMEStreet Foundation, we feel obliged and proud to be honouring such GameChangers via this recognition,” commented Mr. Deepu Madhavan, Director Operations and Research at SMEStreet Foundation.

While thanking the distinguished stakeholders of SMEStreet GameChangers initiative, Faiz Askari also said, “We are convinced that to come out from the Pandemic impact MSMEs require a long-term strong movement. I am obliged and thankful to all the distinguished leaders and thinkers who are mentioned above. Their participation has made the start of this campaign very positive and gradually, the Indian economy will bounce back and MSMEs will become the heroes of this success story.”

However, SMEStreet GameChangers will be a nationwide as well as global movement aimed to highlight those leaders, thinkers and heroes who acted smartly and proactively to curb the economic impact of Pandemic and helped MSME ecosystem at any respective level.

About SMEStreet Foundation
Click here: https://smestreet.in/smestreet-foundation

For More:
Tabinda Hilal
9354645130 /foundation@smestreet.in / smestreet.in@gmail.com

ZALL Smart Commerce and CIC Launch Digital Silk Road Initiative

Commodities Intelligence Centre (“CIC”) announces a momentous 2020 as it has jointly launched a “Digital Silk Road” initiative led by ZALL Smart Commerce Group (“ZALL”), Asia’s leading B2B e-commerce Group, and joined Singapore’s Blockchain for Trade & Connectivity (BTC) Network. As Singapore’s first global physical commodities B2B e-trade platform powered by blockchain, together with ZALL’s latest global digital trading platform, and China’s largest online and offline integrated wholesale trading platform “Zallgo”, CIC will help Singapore businesses uncover new opportunities and reap the benefits of the global digital trade economy through enhanced digital connectivity, in turn boosting trade across the Asia-Pacific region on the back of the world’s largest trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Zallgo was officially launched during the “2020 Global Digital Trade Conference” that was held in Wuhan last month. A total of 300 merchants sign 252 agreements on-site through ZALL’s digital platform, amounting to a total of S$56.3 billion (US$42.2 billion) of cooperation agreements. The newly formed partnerships underscore the increasingly important strategic role of CIC in facilitating the expansion of regional trade and investment as it aims to develop more than 10 winning commodities that will be popular worldwide over the next three to five years.

Peter Yu, CEO of Commodities Intelligence Centre, shared, “We have withstood the test of the pandemic and have witnessed the impact of the industrial internet economy on global trade and investment. As digital trade becomes the new engine of global economic growth, digital connectivity becomes increasingly important for companies to expand their market footprint quickly in a safe and secure manner. The new partnerships forged with the Digital Silk Road initiative and BTC network strengthens CIC’s existing networks in the region that will enable SMEs to uncover new trading opportunities and optimize their supply chains in cross-border trade through our ecosystem in Asia.”

CIC is also one of the six commercial partners to be part of the recently formed Blockchain for Trade & Connectivity (BTC) Network, an initiative by the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG), supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) to develop a risk assessment framework for small and medium-sized enterprises to assess how blockchain can support their business needs.

The BTC network was officially launched at the sidelines of the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) on 7 December 2020. The BTC network to drive innovation and test bedding of blockchain solutions with multimodal global supply chain companies, digital trading platforms and technologies. Other five commercial partners who will be helping to create, trial and lead the BTC Network’s implementation includes Ascent Solutions, Blockchain-based Service Network, GeTS, Trames and VeChain Technology.

“CIC is well-placed to provide the necessary tools and guidance in promoting greater efficiency and transparency across global supply chains to help SMEs embrace the power of digitalisation to explore opportunities, casting their net wider, reaching out to a larger pool of reliable partners and suppliers beyond their usual reach,” added Peter.

Since the start of the year, CIC’s platform has reported more than 20 per cent increase in customers joining their platform compared to the same period last year. The company also saw a surge in online transactions with over 4,000 customers searching for trading opportunities on the platform on a daily basis. CIC has since achieved a gross merchandise volume of US$13.2 billion (S$17.6 billion), with over 5,200 registered users covering markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and China, among other countries in Asia.

About Commodities Intelligence Centre (CIC)

The Commodities Intelligence Centre (CIC) is a global trading platform for physical commodities including Ferrous & Non-Ferrous Metals, Chemicals & Plastics, Oil & Petroleum, and Agri Commodities. Officially launched in Singapore on 12 Oct 2018, CIC is a Joint Venture between China-based ZALL Smart Commerce Group, Global eTrade Services (GeTS) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) to build trade connectivity through digital marketplaces and to grow a vibrant trading ecosystem in Singapore. CIC aims to revolutionize commodity trading and facilitate cross-border trade through deal matching, trade finance, supply chain logistics, track and trace and global trade compliance. Since its establishment in October 2018, CIC has achieved a GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) of more than US$12.7 billion (S$17.7 billion), with over 5,000 registered users covering markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China, among other countries in Asia. For more information, please visit www.cic-tp.com.

For media queries, please contact
PRecious Communications for CIC
cic@preciouscomms.com

Captiva Verde Announces Mushroom Update to Agreement with Mexican Health Care Workers Union for up to USD $142 Million per Year of Annual Product Sales

Captiva Verde Land Corp. (CSE: PWR) (OTC: CPIVF) (the “Company” or “Captiva Verde”), is pleased to announce that further to its news release of July 27, 2020, where Captiva Verde has executed a share exchange agreement to acquire 100% of Salud Esmeralda de Mexico SA de CV, (“Esmeralda”) whereby Esmeralda holds a comprehensive pharmaceutical license to sell, market and distribute an entire suite of 300+ pharmaceutical, health, wellness and veterinarian products which include all narcotic, psychoactive and non-psychoactive drugs listed under Groups I, II & III in Mexico, and has executed a sales agreement with the Chairman of both the 380,000 member Health Care Workers Union in Mexico and the broader 1.2 Million member Union Federation, whereby Esmeralda can expressly distribute and sell all medicinal health and wellness products, including mushrooms, to the Union Federation on a direct basis, with direct payment from the Union, the following is an update to our large scale legal micro-dose mushroom initiative.

UPDATE

The structure of our new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Mexico is now complete. Considering the restricted working hours of the regulatory authorities in Mexico, (a third of their staff working in person and the excessive accumulated workload due to the outbreak of Covid19 in CdMx), we can safely estimate that by March 15, 2021 or earlier, we are going to be on the market selling in large scale quantities, our mushroom micro-dose product.

Regarding the medical protocols of our product, everything required by law in terms of documentation and formulas has already been presented to the regulatory authorities and we will obtain our authorizations as quickly as allowed by the restrictions imposed by the Pandemic.

The Share Exchange Agreement is subject to the Canadian Securities Exchange once the Mexican Notario Publico has verified the Canadian resolutions including the corporate documents of Captiva Verde.

The exact wording in the Mexican Health Care Workers Union sales agreement is as follows:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6138/70274_b0be4ff034a40831_001.jpg

Jeff Ciachurski, the CEO of Captiva Verde states:

“This is an extremely significant milestone in the history of the Company. Without question, this Union agreement transforms Captiva Verde into a player in the legal health and wellness business, as we execute sales to one unified buyer, avoiding middlemen, agents, dealers and brokers, offering directly to the Mexican Union Members significant cost savings that are not available in the wholesale or retail markets.”

On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Jeff Ciachurski”
Jeffrey Ciachurski
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Cell: (949) 903-5906
www.captivaverdecorp.com
E-mail: westernwind@shaw.ca

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/70274