Venturi Partners Hits Final Close of USD 175M in Maiden Fund

Singapore, Apr 26, 2022 – (ACN Newswire) – Venturi Partners, a Singapore-based investment platform that empowers audacious brands in India and Southeast Asia, announced today that its maiden fund has hit its final close of USD 175 million. The firm may, however, increase the quantum of the fund with demand for investments going up.

(L-R) – Rishika Chandan, Managing Director; Nicholas Cator, Founder and Managing Partner; Lauren Burns, Chief Operating Officer and Sarvesh Nevatia, Executive Director of Venturi Partners

Nicholas Cator, Founder and Managing Partner, Venturi Partners

Founded by veteran consumer investor Nicholas Cator, the investment platform's expertise lies in identifying and supporting Asian high-growth consumer companies with an online or offline presence in sectors ranging from FMCG to education and healthcare services. The Venturi team has, in their previous roles, invested and supported a variety of consumer brands such as Byju's, Lazada, Pristyn Care, Cure.fit, Chewy, Oatly, Global Fashion Group, Burger King, Sula Vineyards, Domino's & Future Consumer.

Venturi has already deployed 30% percent of the fund across three investments in India and South- East Asia, and aims to deploy the rest over the next 24 months. The platform typically invests $10 million to $40 million in series B to series D rounds. The team has strong prior entrepreneurial and operating backgrounds and will leverage this experience to be a value-added partner to its companies.

"The Venturi team has a unique expertise, network and track record in the Consumer space in the region. Founders today are looking for more than just investors – they want long term partners that understand consumer trends and brands and have a long-term mindset. Adding value to portfolio companies by being sector focused, operationally minded and supporting management teams on specific projects is more relevant now than ever. We will only make 8 investments from Fund – 1 and work closely with our founders," said Nicholas Cator, Managing Partner at Venturi Partners.

The platform has raised commitments from large EU and Asian family offices, such as Peugeot Invest, Ackermans & Van Haaren and Frederic De Mevius, Founder of Verlinvest and a member of the family ownership of ABI.

"Our aim is to build a long-term, partnership-based investment platform with a small number of Families with similar values that want to participate in the Asian consumer growth story. We offer our Families more transparency on our portfolio than a traditional fund and will offer up to 100% of their commitment in co-investment opportunities. This enables us to deploy larger amounts into our portfolio companies and to support them over multiple rounds," said Nicholas Cator, Managing Partner at Venturi Partners

About Venturi Partners

Founded in 2019 by veteran consumer investor Nicholas Cator, Venturi Partners is an Asia-focused investment platform that enables consumer-facing business startups to build disruptive brands in India and Southeast Asia. The firm provides growth funding to customer-centric, purpose-driven brands in India and Southeast Asia, with a focus on education, healthcare and fast-moving consumer goods, that have a shared desire to create a positive impact on the world. Venturi has built a unique investment platform for families wanting to participate in the long-term consumer growth trends in Asia. The platform is built around shared values and long-term partnerships, and aims to bring operational value-add to entrepreneurs building tomorrow's leading brands in Asia.

For more information, please visit www.venturi.partners.

Media contacts:
Adfactors PR:
Snigdha Nair, India: Snigdha.nair@adfactorspr.com
Namrata Sharma, Singapore: Namrata.sharma@adfactorspr.com

Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Believe Pte raises $55M in Series C funding to continue its global mission of delivering breakthrough personal care and beauty products

Singapore, Apr 21, 2022 – (ACN Newswire) – Singapore-headquartered Believe Pte Ltd, a fast-growing consumer products company serving the global Muslim audience with brands spanning skincare, fragrances, make-up and hair care has raised Series C funding of US $55M from incoming investors Venturi Partners and IIFL AMC alongside continued participation from Jungle Ventures, Accel, Alteria Capital and Genesis Alternative Ventures. Investment from IIFL AMC is subject to approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Nicholas Cator, Founder and Managing Partner, Venturi Partners

The Company (started in mid-2019) has delivered rapid growth in its relatively short history, thereby inspiring investor interest and has cumulatively raised over US$ 80M over the last two years.

The Series A and Series B fund raises were led by Accel and Jungle Ventures with participation from Wamda Capital, a Middle East based fund. The current Series C raise in Believe's third year of operation is led by Venturi Partners, a Singapore-based investment platform founded by veteran consumer investor Nicholas Cator. Venturi Partners enables consumer-facing business startups to build disruptive brands in sectors such as FMCG, education, health-tech, home improvement, etc. in India and Southeast Asia. IIFL AMC's private equity fund that has backed several leading consumer brands will also co-lead this round, subject to approval from SEBI.

This is Venturi's second investment and is a testament to the investment platform's expertise in identifying and supporting multi-geography, high-growth consumer brands with an online and offline presence. Nicholas Cator, Founder & Managing Partner at Venturi said, "We are excited to be backing the most experienced BPC founders in the region and have been extremely impressed by their ability to build a diversified portfolio of products and a unique distribution network during a pandemic. We are convinced that with its strong team and group of investors, Believe will become the leading global halal and clean BPC house of brands."

With the likes of Swiggy, Licious, Dailyhunt, and Country Delight in its portfolio, IIFL AMC looks to back market leaders and disruptors across businesses, while keeping sight of profitability at steady state. Chetan Naik, Fund Manager at IIFL AMC, said, "Believe has demonstrated unprecedented traction and growth in a very short period via its brands focused on the global markets in the BPC segment. With its unique positioning of halal based clean products (devoid of alcohol and animal ingredients), it has addressed the latent need of a large target market in a highly focused manner. Its growth is a testament to how a relevantly positioned brand with strong product efficacy creates resonance with its consumer and creates value for all. We are delighted to partner with the exceptional team at Believe for the company's next phase of growth."

Believe is a house of brands that includes Lafz, ZM and Dr.Rhazes. The brands have received incredible customer love in Bangladesh and India with a growing base in GCC countries. They are sold in over 8 countries and are manufactured across the globe including countries like South Korea, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and UAE.

While Lafz is the flagship premium brand crafted with traditional ingredients; ZM's vegan, cruelty free, single ingredient positioning finds popularity among the youthful and aspirational.

Believe's vision to create enduring brands consistent with consumers' belief systems while ensuring highest efficacy, quality and uniqueness drives its success across distribution formats in the Middle East and Asia. This fundraise will catalyze consolidating market share in Bangladesh and India (via strategic acquisitions) while deepening reach in GCC and South East Asia (through both organic and inorganic growth) paving the path to becoming a large global CPG conglomerate.

Ankit Mahajan, CEO of Believe PTE Ltd said, "We have received tremendous consumer love all the way from launching our first product in 2019 to witnessing 2.5x growth in last 1 year. Our 2000+ family of happy Believers is our eyes and ears to the ground that help us be nimble and responsive to consumer needs. We have created a relentless marketing organization that has the ability to identify consumer needs, use of 12-member strong R&D expertise to make fantastic products and then put our international supply chain to deliver global standard products to countries across the world."

IndigoEdge, Bangalore (India) headquartered investment bank focused on new age consumer brands was the sole advisor for this transaction.

Media contacts:
Adfactors PR:
Snigdha Nair, India: Snigdha.nair@adfactorspr.com
Namrata Sharma, Singapore: Namrata.sharma@adfactorspr.com

Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Women of Venusverse “Genesis” Collection with NFT Validation by UREEQA now available on Opensea

ONTARIO, CA, Apr 20, 2022 – (ACN Newswire) – Venusverse, an organization designed to give women insight into the world of Web3, announces the launch of a ground-breaking new NFT collection that will be protected by UREEQA, a leading digital validation company that helps creators protect, manage and monetize creative work.

The Women of Venusverse "Genesis" Collection of 2,022 NFTs is a one-of-a-kind art collection with membership access to the Venusverse community.

Ten percent of revenue from the collection will be donated to the CivicAction Leadership Foundation in support of women in that organization's leadership programs, including the DiverseCity Fellows and the Emerging Leaders Network.

The "Genesis" Collection launched on April 19 on the Opensea.io marketplace.

"2,022" is somewhat of a representation of the number six (2+2+2), which is said to be the number of unconditional love and selflessness. Venus (named after the Roman Goddess of love and beauty) is the sixth planet in the solar system in terms of size and mass. And the 0 comes in because the stars aligned considering Venusverse launched as a company in 2022.

According to Venusverse CEO and co-founder, Janelle Chalouhi, the beautiful, eclectic and diverse 2,022 art pieces "represent women from across the world, bringing us all together under one collection."

Chalouhi described to Ontario-based digital artist and designer Fatima Gharaibeh her vision behind representing diversity among women from across the world as well as the properties and layers she wanted to include in the collection and Gharaibeh brought the vision to life in a beautiful way. That is how the first 114 NFTs were first created, 104 of which are animated. The properties were then used to generate the remaining 1,908 NFTs through generative art.

"To me this was a nod to the new digital era we have entered into, where we use tech to enhance the work we do and hopefully to do good," Chalouhi said.

Collectors who buy into the Genesis Collection of 2,022 NFTs will gain membership access to the Venusverse community, and they'll also be granted peace of mind thanks to UREEQA.

THEMUSEUM's CEO, David Marskell, introduced the two startups and asked both CEOs to serve on a recent panel with Museums Canada. It's only fitting that THEMUSEUM will be hosting the Women of Venusverse launch event in May at their Voodoo Lounge followed by an exhibit.

The next step for Venusverse was to protect the collection, and that's where UREEQA came in. The entire collection will be validated by UREEQA's Responsible Minting(TM) technology, with the platform's Package of Proof(TM) giving buyers the critical assurance that what they're purchasing is the real deal.

"Since I decided to go this route, I knew that the provenance and the authenticity of the collection was so important, especially given the amount of scams that are happening right now," Chalouhi said. "I needed the collection to essentially have a digital signature, which is why we've partnered with UREEQA to validate and authenticate the art, and to make the collection even more exclusive."

"Not only is this UREEQA's first opportunity to validate an entire NFT collection, but it also represents a chance for us to team up with a platform that shares similar values," UREEQA CEO Kirk Fergusson said. "Both UREEQA and Venusverse are focused on launching and supporting art that is honest and authentic, and the best way to provide that assurance to a buyer is by having the work validated. We are thrilled to provide that for the 2,022 collection."

A global network of validators will use UREEQA's platform and technology to analyze the authenticity of the full collection. At the end of the validation process, a Package of Proof will be generated which documents all the steps taken by UREEQA and its validation team to verify the authenticity of the work. The key information is made available on a provenance page, which is contained in the Venusverse website, providing an easy-to-use resource for prospective NFT buyers to verify the authenticity of a creation of interest.

And because key information about the creative work's authenticity is stored in a record on the blockchain, drop-day purchasers and those who buy the validated work on resale can be assured that they're getting the legit product, no matter when or where they're jumping in.

About VENUSVERSE

Venusverse is Canada's first female-founded female-focused educational program, incubator and NFT collection. Through awareness, education, thought leadership and a supportive community, Venusverse removes barriers to entry for women in the world of Web3.

– Website: www.venusverse.ca
– Instagram: @venus_verse
– LinkedIn: Venusverse
– Twitter: @venusverse_ca

About UREEQA

Established in Canada in 2020, UREEQA is modernizing the inefficient and bureaucratic systems currently in place for copyright protection. By building a robust and compelling Package of Proof(TM) for source creative work, UREEQA only mints Validated NFTs to represent creative rights. This helps keep buyers safe by giving them confidence that the work they are purchasing was minted by the smart contract approved by the creator of the work and is therefore authentic.

The UREEQA platform strives to protect creators' work, their rights and their revenue by harnessing the power of blockchain technology. UREEQA provides value and opportunities for its creators, validators and token holders via URQA, the token at the heart of the UREEQA ecosystem. For more information on UREEQA and upcoming announcements, please visit our website, join our Telegram channel and Discord server, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

– Website: https://www.ureeqa.com/
– Discord: https://discord.com/channels/756566642418384906/824682437417369654
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ureeqa_inc/
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ureeqainc/
– Telegram: https://t.me/UREEQA
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/UREEQA_Inc

About THEMUSEUM

We are THEMUSEUM – ONEWORDUPPERCASE. We are a new kind of experiential museum – one of maverick ideas and unexpected intersections. No dusty objects and no velvet ropes. We are a premier cultural destination dedicated to presenting fresh, inspiring content from around the globe in unique and immersive ways designed to showcase art & technology at play.

– Website: www.THEMUSEUM.ca
– Instagram: @THEMUSEUMkitchener
– Facebook: THEMUSEUMkitchener
– Twitter: @THEMUSEUM
– YouTube: THEMUSEUMtv

For additional information, please contact: David.Marskell@THEMUSEUM.ca

Disclaimer:
Statements in this article, including any statements relating to UREEQA's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in technology development and commercialization. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Do your own research!

Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Witness Twelve MedTech Startups showcasing latest HealthTech Innovations

TAIPEI, TW, Aug 23, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – SC Hospital (SCMH) and IRCAD Taiwan are collaborating with BE Accelerator, the largest healthcare accelerator in Asia, to present Batch 5, 'DemoDay 2021: Applied Technologies for Minimally Invasive Surgery'. It's the celebration of 12 brilliant startups x 24 intensive weeks, sharing their applied technologies and solutions for minimally invasive surgery, medical devices, and AI-based healthcare, shaping the future of the industry today.

Incubated for 24 weeks, the twelve startups and accelerator teams collaborated with mentors and partners to make this acceleration program remarkable. As the world marks a year and a half of intense disruption by the COVID pandemic, our teams demonstrated extraordinary resilience in coming up with significant innovative solutions through the digital transformation of our program.

We are excited to host this year's Demo Day, live and online August 28, celebrating the progress of our twelve startups as they graduate from our 24-week Proof of Concept (POC) program, to explore opportunities for new programs or offering Health-Tech and further MedTech collaboration. [https://reurl.cc/EnAG9m].

Our 12 accomplished startups from Taiwan, Thailand, and Canada :

– EPED, Inc., Taiwan
A leader in the field of minimally invasive surgery, developing real-time, adaptive medical and dental navigation systems and solutions, with augmented reality AR-based technologies for precision medicine and education.

– Meticuly Co., Ltd., Thailand
Thailand based startup, provider of personalized, cutting-edge 3D printing implant solutions for bone-related surgeries. The end-to-end platform produces personalized bone implants with SLM 3D printing technology.

– Asia PathoGenomics, Inc., Taiwan
Startup providing high throughput, precision pathogen detection services called Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS). The non-culture based, hypothesis-free precision diagnosis of infectious diseases provides early identification of pathogens and allows for rapid adjustment of therapies.

– Dot Space Biotechnology, Taiwan
Startup involved in measuring intra-abdominal pressure for the clinical prevention of Acute Compartment Syndrome. The system consists of an abdominal capsulized pressure detector/sensor that can be swallowed by patients for continuous measurement of intra-abdominal pressure.

– INOPASE, Japan
Entrepreneurial concept with wireless miniaturized implant neuromodulation for Overactive Bladder (OAB) and Fecal Incontinence (FI) treatment. Current implant neuromodulation requires multiple implantation surgeries and still has additional safety issues, INOPASE is closing the gap to improve the treatment efficacy.

– Medscope Biotech Co., Ltd., Taiwan
Brilliant startup that minimizes the risk during Minimally Invasive Surgery, or MIS. created a 15 degrees slope design for better visibility. Anti-drop jaw design helps ensure a surgeon won't drop e,tra clips during operations (which happens occasionally..).

– Protect Biotech Co. Ltd., Taiwan
Committed to the research and development of companion animal immunotherapy drugs, to become the leader in pet disease immunotherapy in the Pan-Asia region. Protect Biotech currently has the world's first broad-spectrum animal cancer treatment product PT001, ready to enter clinical trials.

– Wiseger Corp., Taiwan
Innovative concept that develops biochemical detecting systems with microfluidic technology. Wisergers is committed to supplying affordable, fast and convenient products for biochemical detection for food safety and blood tests.

– Smart Surgery Technology Co., Ltd., Taiwan
Startup that improves the quality of surgeries and records surgical procedures intensively. Smart Surgery's visual computing AI model includes a surgery simulation system, automatic medical image labelling and a surgery assistance system to better facilitate education in surgical operations.

– Point Robotics MedTech, Inc., Taiwan
Operating room innovations and minimally invasive solutions that reduce variability in surgery, lower surgery risks, reduce medical costs, shorten recovery times and improve precision in surgeries.

– AltumView Systems, Canada
Canada-based AI startup that focuses on the development of smart vision technology for elderly care, rehabilitation, behavioral and cognitive health solutions. Seminare is a revolutionary smart activity sensor for senior care.

– HemoCath, Canada
Another Canada-based startup that guides diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of inpatients and outpatients with heart failure (HF). HemoCath Intelligent HF Monitoring Platform reduces hospital length of stay and rehospitalization.

Registration
All participants of the virtual demo day will have access to the event live and the recorded video. Moreover, we will have an exclusive campaign for registered VIPs in our mailing list, including VIP booklets files and the opportunity to attend 1-1 facilitated introductions with the founders.

Please RSVP to be included in the VIP mailing list at https://pse.is/3m2uu9
When ticket purchases are completed, you are able to enter the live stream directly from the ticket page.

Show Chwan x BE Demo Day 2021 : Sat, Aug 28 14:00~16:30 P.M. UTC+8

Batch 5 Agenda
14:00 – 14:05 Opening
14:05 – 14:08 Opening Remarks
14:08 – 14:18 SCMH x BE Introduction
14:18 – 14:25 David & Thomas
14:25 – 15:10 Pitch Session
15:10 – 15:20 Break
15:20 – 16:20 Pitch Session
16:20 – 16:30 Dr. Lee panel

An event by IRCAD Taiwan and BE Accelerator:
– https://www.beaccelerator.com.tw/
– https://www.facebook.com/beaccelerator/
– https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-accelerator/
– https://www.instagram.com/be_accelerator_tw/

About BE Accelerator
BE Accelerator is the leading biomedical venture capital fund and venture accelerator in Taiwan, focused on early-stage biomedical start-ups entering the Asian market, has nurtured 72 biomedical start-ups thru 5 editions (8/2021) and assisted teams to raise over US$70 million. We leverage the unique strengths of our thriving ecosystem to position as the "Gateway to Asia for HealthTech and MedTech, Local+International."

BE Accelerator is expanding its local and international biomedical ecosystem, including hospitals, investors, R&D, manufacturing and government to help worthy startups, not only from Taiwan but from across the globe to break into the Asian market. Visit www.beaccelerator.com.tw.

About SCMH – Show Chwan Memorial Hospital
'Show Chwan' originated with the commemoration of President Huang Min-Ho's late father. It represents an aspiration to show concern for the elderly, love for the young, and care for everyone's health. Show Chwan is a hand-in-hand family healthcare system currently with eight hospitals. For medical and healthcare, President Huang advocates the spirit of Mayo Clinic in establishing a sound rural hospital system, allowing people in the most remote areas to enjoy the quality medical care found in cosmopolitan cities. Visit www.scmh.org.tw.

About IRCAD Taiwan
In 1994, IRCAD opened on the grounds of the University Hospital of Strasbourg, gaining renown over the years as a leading research, technology and surgical education institute. The Asian Institute of Telesurgery (AITS/IRCAD-Taiwan), created in 2008 under the guidance of IRCAD/EITS, is now an alliance with Show Chwan Health Care System, bringing 800 international experts affiliated with IRCAD/EITS into closer proximity with Asian surgeons, providing the same level of excellence in education while saving time and money in travelling. Tens of thousands of surgeons from the world over have come to IRCAD-Taiwan to obtain high-level skills, find cutting-edge technology and pioneering medical devices. Visit www.ircadtaiwan.com.

Contact:
BE Accelerator
Polly Chen
Polly@behealthventures.com
https://www.beaccelerator.com.tw

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Gaming platform Zupee closes Series B at over $500 Million valuation

New Delhi, India, Aug 17, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Zupee, a leading innovator in India's online skill-based gaming industry, has announced that it has raised $30 million at a pre-money valuation of $500 million in Series B funding round. This round of funding has been co-led by Silicon Valley based WestCap Group and Tomales Bay Capital, with participation from Matrix Partners India & Orios Venture Partners.

Dilsher Singh

This round comes within 6 months after its Series A round at a $100 million valuation, which is more than 5x increase in the company's valuation. With total funds raised now at $49 million, Zupee is backed by some of the best in the industry – WestCap Group, Matrix Partners India, Smile Group and Orios Partners. The company has an existing user base of over 10 million users. This new round of funding will be used to enable scaling efforts through expanded product portfolio, deepening market reach and hiring global talent.

Founded in 2018 by graduates of India's leading institution IIT Kanpur, Dilsher Singh and Siddhant Saurabh, and incubated with funding from Smile Group, Zupee innovates by reengineering time-tested games and enabling them to enhance skill, joy and hope. The company's portfolio has innovative gaming formats of multiple popular board games. The flagship gaming app hosts live trivia quiz tournaments and has seen over 250 million gameplays.

Dilsher Singh, Founder and CEO, Zupee said, "Games inherently celebrate the journey and nurture self-expression. That's what I am committed to building with Zupee – an organization which enables people anywhere in the world to enhance their intrinsic happiness through games. We innovate to ensure our games provide an intersection between skill and entertainment, enabling our users to earn while they play. We thank our investors for believing in our purpose and enabling us to progress on our journey to transforming it to reality. Our journey has just begun; 10 million happy users in India, billions more globally we want to touch through our innovative games."

"WestCap remains a key strategic investor and operating advisor to Zupee and we are increasing our interest again as part of this most recent funding round," commented Laurence A. Tosi, Founder and Managing Partner of WestCap and early investor in Zupee. "Dilsher and his world class team have innovated some of the most compelling and widely used mobile games of skill in India. The enduring appeal of the Zupee games brings engagement, enjoyment and empowerment to the widest audience of any gaming platform in the market. This funding will enable the Zupee team to invest further in innovation, expand its suite of games and aggressively pursue international expansion. Zupee has exponentially accelerated its growth over the last 12 months, making them one of the largest and fastest growing game companies globally."

According to industry reports, the global online gaming industry is estimated to grow from $98 billion in 2020 to $272 billion in 2030. In 2020, the industry saw over 53 billion mobile gaming downloads worldwide, of which 17% came from India. By the end of this year itself, there will be 2.9 billion players worldwide.

About Zupee

Zupee is an online skill-based gaming platform startup based in India that is focused on innovating and creating games that engage, entertain and empower users.
More information about the company and its founder is available at https://www.zupee.global/

For further information, please contact:
Vikas Kumar – 9811054648; vikas.kumar@zupee.in
Himani Rautela – 9711306576; himani.rautela@zupee.in

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

TheCapitalNet appoints Privity FZ LLE to expand MENA footprint

DUBAI, UAE, Aug 2, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – TheCapitalNet (TCN), a SaaS company driving digital transformation in the Private Investment, Innovation, and Startup ecosystem globally, today announced that it has appointed Privity FZ LLE, an independent venture-focused advisory firm in the UAE, to bring the TheCapitalNet ecosystem to stakeholders across MENA, powered by Privity's strong presence and understanding of the ecosystem and the region.

The MENA region is well placed on the digital transformation curve, backed by a growing investment landscape (know more about the investment landscape of MENA on TheCapitalNet TV [https://tv.thecapitalnet.com/tv/559544556]). The partnership aims to bring efficiencies and intelligence to stakeholders in the ecosystem provided for by the suite of products offered by TheCapitalNet.

Startups, Innovation, and Investment

TheCapitalNet products are used globally by Venture Capital firms, Private Equity funds, Angel Investors and networks, and family offices (TheInvestorNet); Incubators and Accelerators (TheIncubatorPro); Startups and Aspiring Entrepreneurs (TheBizPlanner) in many countries across the world, helping users attain a high degree of deal and business efficiency, with strong collaboration, secure data management and business intelligence.

"The customers TCN were seeking to target in the MENA region were precisely those that Privity interacts with, and after witnessing the power and potential of the different SaaS products and solutions, it became evident that Privity join forces with TCN to evangelize Dr Bhatia's mission in the MENA region," said Sleem Hasan, Founder and CEO of Privity FZ LLE.

"We are excited to partner with Privity," said Dr Rakesh Bhatia, Founder and CEO of TheCapitalNet. "This partnership brings us a step closer to establishing a foothold in the MENA market, and exploring the innumerable possibilities that are present, and further realizing our vision of digitally enabling the stakeholders in the ecosystem here."

"We have an ideal partner in Privity, a strong player with an exceptional understanding of the MENA market," added Rakesh. Gain insights into the MENA innovation and investment ecosystem from Mr. Sleem Hasan on TheCapitalNet TV *.

* TheCapitalNet TV Special: Understanding the MENA startup and innovation ecosystem with Mr. Sleem Hasan –
https://tv.thecapitalnet.com/tv/580670728.

About TheCapitalNet

TheCapitalNet, with offices in Dallas TX, Silicon Valley, and Hyderabad, India, is an enterprise SaaS and knowledge media venture operating in the Private Investments, Innovation, and Startup ecosystem. TheCapitalNet products drive the digital transformation journey by enabling business processes and making them smarter and more intelligent, thus redefining business operations, decision making, and business outcomes.
– TheBizPlanner (www.thebizplanner.com)
An application for Founders/Entrepreneurs to plan their businesses and connect with the private investment and innovation ecosystem, used by 17,000+ startups across 70+ countries globally.
– TheIncubatorPro (www.theincubatorpro.com)
An end-to-end productivity suite for incubators, accelerators, and/or open/corporate innovation with 180+ incubators and accelerators spread across various countries globally.
– TheInvestorNet (www.theinvestornet.com)
An application for private investors including PE/VC/Angel Networks/Family offices/CVCs to manage the end-to-end business operations with over two dozen investments firms spread across various countries globally.
– TheCapitalNet.TV (www.thecapitalnet.tv)
A knowledge media that produces and shares global content focusing on TheCapitalNet ecosystem through knowledge sessions, news and trends, research reports, interviews and discussions with over 6 million impressions across 110+ countries.
Visit https://www.TheCapitalNet.com, Email: contact@thecapitalnet.com

About Privity

Privity FZ LLE was founded in 2004, an independent venture-focused advisory firm that seeks entrepreneurs with interesting and unique ideas and helps them to develop and grow. Privity is agnostic to geography and industry vertical, focusing on the quality of the entrepreneur and the compelling value proposition of the idea. Privity draws upon its unique methodology '4i' – Ideas, Intelligence, Invention, Innovation – to deliver insightful advisory and consulting services. The 4i methodology is a result of Privity's vast and diverse experience gathered over the years, as well as the application of highly specialized domain expertise.
Visit https://www.privitylle.com, Email: info@privitylle.com

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Alphaus enters Singapore Cloud Financial Management market with Cloud Comrade win

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 29, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Alphaus Inc. (https://alphaus.cloud/jp/), a prominent start up in the Cloud Financial Management space in Japan, has made a successful foray into the Singapore market in line with its strategic growth plans. The company will provide its suite of cloud financial management (CFM) solutions to the fast-growing Managed Services Provider (MSP) Cloud Comrade (https://cloudcomrade.com/). The overall value of Alphaus' solutions and support, with the ability for bespoke integrations to the financial services system, were key considerations for Cloud Comrade to switch to Alphaus' products as critical components for its business operations.

Andy Waroma and Hajime Hirose

Signing Cloud Comrade- the first Singapore-headquartered AWS Premier Consulting Partner that is also a Google Premier Partner and Microsoft Gold Cloud Platform partner- as a client gives Alphaus great impetus in achieving its strategic goals for the Southeast region. Its growing Global Delivery Centre in Kuala Lumpur, established last year, is a testament to the company's commitment to provide dedicated support for the unique needs of a diverse clientele across various countries and industries in this high-potential region.

Solving cloud financial management challenges

Cliched as it sounds, the 'New Normal' is upon us with increasing clarity that it is in the cloud. According to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 2020, the Asia Pacific- including India and Australia- is leading this charge as the adoption of the public cloud in the region outpaces that in the US and Western Europe. From a modest 3 percent of their IT spend on the public cloud in 2016, businesses in APAC are projected to spend over 10% of the IT budget on the public cloud by 2023.

Despite the promising growth and outlook for migration to the cloud, the complexity and lack of adequate clarity into the costs of cloud infrastructure deployment present a serious challenge for businesses making or facilitating such a transition. This was highlighted in a survey of over 100 companies in Malaysia carried out last year. In the recent past, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has also highlighted this problem while recommending that companies take appropriate steps for CFM. 'Cloud waste' or sub-optimal utilization of cloud resources is another major pain point, preventing businesses from deriving maximum ROI on their cloud spend.

Alphaus precisely addresses these challenges, expanding its footprint in APAC as a pioneer in simplifying billing/spend management and tackling cloud waste for companies. Its suite of user-friendly and feature-rich Software-as-a-Service products – Wave* and Ripple** — is serving as a catalyst to faster, greater, and better adoption and use of the cloud.

Helping Cloud Comrade in its growth journey

Cloud Comrade is one of the many companies experiencing the value of Aphaus' solutions. The company had been on the lookout for a more effective solution and a reliable partner who could help navigate the dynamic future of cloud management to jointly deliver even greater value and a better cloud experience for their customers.

"As a cloud Managed Services Provider, we enable several large organizations in the region with their digital transformation and migration to the cloud. It is a critical success factor for both our clients and us that we not only have complete clarity on all the costs associated with the cloud infrastructure but are also making optimum utilization of any cloud resources deployed. The SaaS solutions from Alphaus for billing management and cloud cost optimization provide us with the requisite tools, information, and intelligence to achieve these seamlessly. These tools are integral to our operations and in use 24/7. Alphaus' Wave and Ripple go a long way in helping maximize ROI, one of the key value propositions for moving to the cloud," said Andy Waroma, Co-Founder & Co-Managing Director of Cloud Comrade.

"We are thrilled to have a leader like Cloud Comrade as a client and help it deliver better customer service with bespoke integrations to its financial services system," said Hajime Hirose, CEO of Alphaus Inc. "The APAC is a digital hub that is at the cusp of unprecedented use of cloud services. Our goal is to enable every business to fully realize the value of migrating their IT infrastructure to the cloud. All change does not have to be painful. This belief explains our relentless focus on simplifying billing/spend management, helping companies realize cost and time savings, optimizing resources and consequently, directly impacting their bottom line. We are committed to continually introduce features that fulfill these objectives for our partners and clients; our strong presence and expansion in the APAC market manifests this commitment."

*Wave- Cloud Cost Optimization and Management
Manages multiple AWS cloud accounts in one place, analyzes organizations' cost and optimizes budget easily. Wave helps organizations get a clear picture of the cost of cloud infrastructure, discover wasted resources and excessive costs.

**Ripple- Billing Management Solution for MSPs and resellers
Recalculates AWS invoices and reallocates Reserved Instances (RIs) only to linked accounts they belong to, helping the former to accurately charge their customers. Ripple helps service providers save significant time and hassle in complex accounting and billing. Service providers can also use Ripple to plan their RI procurement strategy for maximum ROI.

About Alphaus Inc.

Alphaus, a VC-backed tech start-up on a mission to simplify cloud computing for everyone specializes in Cloud Financial Management (CFM) solutions. The company is focused on enabling its cloud services partners and clients to understand, manage and optimize complicated cloud spend, billings and resource allocation for maximizing ROI on their investments in the cloud. An AWS Advanced Technology Partner, Alphaus provides a suite of Software-as-a-Service solutions for multi-cloud management supporting AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Founded in 2015, Alphaus Inc. is backed by reputed investors like DNX Ventures, NTT DoCoMo Ventures, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Archetype Ventures, Accord Ventures and 500 Startups. The company's roster of clients includes NTT Data, Nomura Research Institute (NRI), and ISI-Dentsu. Headquartered in Japan, Alphaus has a rapidly growing Global Delivery Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia comprising 10 team members to support its rapid expansion in the Asia Pacific and Oceania regions.

Media Contact
Rishanty Navaratnam, People & Administration Lead
Tel: +60 12 952 2655
E-mail: rishanty@alphaus.cloud

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Cuentas and WaveMax Sign an Exclusive and Definitive JV Agreement for 1,000 Locations to Offer Advertising on WiFi6 Next Generation Patented Technology in Cuentas’ “Bodegas” Network throughout the USA

MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE, Jul 23, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Cuentas, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUEN & CUENW) ('Cuentas'), a leading FinTech provider (Top 4 Fintech) of mobile banking, digital wallet and payment solutions focused on Hispanic and Latino communities signed an exclusive, Definitive JV Agreement to rollout WaveMax's SharedWiFI6 patented technology (Wavemax Patent) in 1,000 locations. This Rollout will begin in the greater New York City Metropolitan Area with 500 Locations in NYC, 330 locations in New Jersey and 170 locations in Connecticut. The agreement also includes plans to roll out the service in other areas throughout the US. The parties will install advanced WiFi6 Access Points and Small Cells in these 1,000 "Bodega Stores" in a 50/50 joint venture. These will become Cuentas premium locations that will be near public train stations and mass transit hubs and will be offering all Cuentas products and services on secure networks. The WiFi6 service will enhance the customer experience while in the Bodega store, by automatically connecting them to SharedWiFi high speed internet and receive special in-store offers. Users at Cuentas Points of Sale (POS) locations will also receive promotions for the Cuentas GPR card and discounted products sold through the Cuentas Mobile App.

This unique agreement that our organizations are bringing to the market will allow Cuentas to enter the advertising ecosystem using major brands to advertise through mobile handsets and additionally Cuentas products & services will benefit from 50% discounts for most favored nation pricing on this digital advertising platform.

WaveMax's SharedFi patented technology allows for a shared network of WiFi access points and small cells. The user has access to this shared network and, if he has opted in, be impacted with location-based advertising. These ads are configured by advertisers using WaveMAX's dashboards targeting, manually or programmatically, the right audience, at the right time, and the right place.

"I am proud that we were able to sign a definitive agreement with WaveMax for their state of the art technology. This is the first time that Cuentas is announcing to its public shareholders that it was able to complete this unique agreement and I am looking forward to expand this network for the rest of Cuentas' Bodega network nationwide," said Arik Maimon, Cuentas Founder and Interim CEO.

"We are very pleased to enhance our original commitment to the first 1,000 bodegas in Cuentas' network. We are happy to add value to Cuentas' unique proposition in the US market and its Mobile Banking App," said Eduardo Velasco, WaveMAX CEO. (Shared Wi-Fi 6 Network)

"Cuentas was recently classified and deemed as a technology sector vertical (Technology Sector), we are very excited for the upcoming events of our company and we are very confident that Cuentas has a bright future," said Michael De Prado, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman of Cuentas.

ABOUT CUENTAS

Cuentas, Inc. (Nasdaq: CUEN & CUENW) is a Fintech company utilizing technical innovation together with existing and emerging technologies to deliver accessible, efficient and reliable mobile, new-era and traditional financial services to consumers. Cuentas is proactively applying technology and compliance requirements to improve the availability, delivery, reliability and utilization of financial services especially to the unbanked, underbanked and underserved segments of today's society. Its products are supported by its core methods, procedures, contracts and intellectual property. For more information, visit https://cuentas.com.

ABOUT WAVEMAX CORPORATION

WaveMax is a WiFi-5G sharing company leveraging US patented technology to create an ecosystem monetizing mobile interactions between Telcos, Retailers, Providers, Apps, and Users. WaveMax ecosystem in 2020 supported millions of Wi-Fi accesses and it is rapidly growing, creating new synergies and network effects.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains 'forward-looking statements', as that term is defined in section 27a of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21e of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this news release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this news release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements that are preceded by, followed by, or that include such words as 'estimate', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'plan' or 'expect' or similar statements are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include statements relating to other publicly available information regarding Cuentas.

Contact:

Cuentas:
investor@cuentas.com
800-611-3622

WaveMax:
info@wavemaxcorp.com
512.902.8038

SOURCE: Cuentas, Inc.

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Outplay Raises USD 7.3 Million to Make Outbound Sales Scalable

San Francisco, Jul 22, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Multi-channel sales engagement platform, Outplay today announced its $7.3M series A fundraise from Sequoia Capital India. Outplay will use the funds raised to invest in technology and hiring exceptional talent across the globe.

Businesses today rely on a combination of inbound and outbound sales models to drive revenues. While the inbound sales process has rapidly evolved over the last 10 years, outbound sales hasn't. Outbound sales teams typically use high-volume tactics to drive revenue. But this approach is not scalable and the revenue eventually becomes a function of the size of the outbound sales team. This is because outbound sales teams don?t have a data-driven approach for targeting prospects that are most likely to convert and end up spending time emailing or cold-calling hundreds of prospects hoping to convert a few.

Launched in 2019, Outplay is on a mission to change this by bringing predictability to outbound sales and help every salesperson talk to the right prospect at the right time through the right channel. The platform helps outbound sales teams plan, execute, track, measure and optimize interactions between companies and their prospects across multiple channels like email, phone, SMS, social media as well as live chat.

Laxman Papineni, CEO of Outplay commented, "Outbound sales teams are truly the dark horse of the sales organization – the targets are high, but the methods aren't scientific. Outplay is committed to making outbound outreach data-driven, so that sales teams are talking only to the warmest prospects at any given point across multiple channels, optimizing time and resources. The continued partnership with Sequoia Capital India is a testament to the fact that the sales engagement space, which is poised to be a $5.59B market by 2023, is a huge opportunity for Outplay."

With Outplay, sales managers can create data-backed sales playbooks to coach their team members and help them achieve their sales targets. The platform's combination of automation and personalization helps teams start genuine conversations at scale, enabling them to stay on task by using multiple channels through a single interface to drive more meetings. Sales reps are thus able to build a multi-channel outreach plan for their prospects across email, phone, SMS, LinkedIn, Twitter and chat.

For example, Outplay helps sales teams engage with warm prospects by notifying them when their prospect visits their business website. Enabled by Outplay's industry-first outbound live-chat feature, Magic Outbound Chat, the rep can initiate live chat and have a contextual conversation with the prospect. Customers have been able to qualify prospects faster and grow their pipeline by 300% using the tool alongside inbound chat.

"We continue to be very excited by Outplay's mission of making every sales rep perform like the best rep on the team. Outbound sales needs are evolving rapidly and reps now need personalized, automated and contextual tools to drive sales which Outplay is successfully enabling. Sales reps spend an average of four hours per day on Outplay, demonstrating the effectiveness of the product which has category-leading customer reviews. Additionally, rapid digitization due to COVID has been a significant accelerant for the business and we believe these tailwinds will continue as outbound sales becomes more digital," Harshjit Sethi, Principal, Sequoia India

Outplay also offers support to ensure software adoption across customer teams is done within days, not weeks or months. Since the seed fundraise – USD 2 Mn from Sequoia Capital India's Surge early this year, the company has grown 4X in revenue, 3X in team size and has customers from more than 50 countries. Outplay was a part of the Surge 04 cohort.

About Outplay

Outplay is a multi-channel sales engagement platform that ensures outbound sales teams deliver the most powerful message at the perfect time in the buyer journey through the right channel. With features like dynamic sequencing, magic outbound chat and detailed analytics, Outplay gives sales development representatives (SDRs) and business development representatives (BDRs) the right signals so they only work on the warmest prospects across multiple channels like email, phone, SMS, LinkedIn, Twitter and Chat.

Source: Platodata Intelligence

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Habitat for Humanity’s ShelterTech accelerator ends with bold vision for affordable housing

MANILA, Jul 21, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – A Global Summit held on July 14 topped off Habitat for Humanity's ShelterTech accelerator in Southeast Asia, the 10 startups pitched their work and progress to date, while investors and ecosystem partners wrapped with a critical reflection on innovation in affordable housing markets today. Launched in 2017 with accelerator programs in Mexico, India and Kenya, ShelterTech has grown into a global platform connecting ideas, products and services in affordable housing, with a special focus on solutions that work in a COVID-19 context. ShelterTech aims to make affordable housing a top impact investment category.

Ten SE Asian startups pitched their housing solutions following seven months of support and mentorship by leaders in the technology and impact investment sectors. Hosted by Villgro Philippines & Global Urban Village, 7/14/21. (Habitat.org)

Patti Chu, Mana Impact Partners, moderated a plenary on housing and climate change with panelists Dr. Pablo Jorillo from BASE Bahay Foundation, Zahra Zanjani from CUBO Modular and Soe Win Zaw from Pounamu. (Habitat.org)

Startups from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore were selected for the program in late-2020. In addition to an initial catalytic grant of US$10,000, the ventures completed a seven-month acceleration process, which included learning laboratories, masterclasses on housing and business topics, dialogues with regional investors and one-on-one mentorship with experts from global corporations including Hilti, Dow and Autodesk.

During the pitches, the startups recounted their growth journey since joining ShelterTech and their plans to bring affordable housing products and services to millions of low-income families in the region.

CUBO Modular, which is based in the Philippines and manufactures modular homes out of bamboo, has sold out units of their award-winning homes for the remainder of the year. Sampangan's proprietary "magic box" turns waste into activated carbon which is used to create building materials. This Indonesian startup secured new contracts with the government and is now the largest startup in Indonesia to create more long-lasting products out of waste materials.

"ShelterTech works across sectors, industries and geographies to bring together the most impactful and cutting-edge innovations, to improve housing conditions for low-income families across the globe. We chose 10 startups in the Southeast Asia cohort because we believe they will make significant contributions to addressing the global housing deficit," said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity, at the opening of the Summit. Launched in Southeast Asia in July 2020, the accelerator attracted more than 100 ventures, vying for a chance to be part of the world's leading platform for affordable housing innovation.

Reckford's message was echoed by Marco Meyrat, chairman of the Hilti Foundation board of directors, who said "ShelterTech puts housing entrepreneurs at the centre of a highly connected ecosystem, and collaborators who share a passion for revolutionary solutions in affordable housing. This is well-aligned with the Hilti Foundation's commitment to helping identify and catalyze innovative technologies for housing that lay the groundwork for a better future."

Following the Global Summit on July 14, ShelterTech will continue to provide recognition and growth opportunities to startups, while developing its close-knit ecosystem of ventures and partners including national and regional accelerators, in fields including PropTech and smart cities, integrating affordable housing tracks into these programs. To date, ShelterTech has supported more than 60 startups and scaleups worldwide.

ShelterTech is supported by a network of key partners, including Autodesk Foundation, Dow, the Hilti Foundation and the Keith V. Kiernan Foundation, while the Southeast Asian accelerator was run from Manila in partnership with Villgro Philippines and Global Urban Village.

About ShelterTech
ShelterTech is a global innovation platform advancing entrepreneurial housing solutions that radically improve the lives of low-income families. Supported by Habitat's Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter and its partners, ShelterTech puts entrepreneurs at the center of a highly connected ecosystem of mentors, investors, peers, alumni and technical experts who share a passion for revolutionary ideas in affordable housing. For more information and opportunities, visit www.habitat.org/sheltertech.

About Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter
The Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, a unit of Habitat for Humanity International, works with housing market actors to expand innovative and client-responsive services, products and financing, so that households can improve their shelter more effectively and efficiently. The goal of the Terwilliger Center is making housing markets work more effectively for people in need of decent, affordable shelter, thereby improving the quality of life for low-income households. To learn more, visit www.habitat.org/tcis.

About Habitat for Humanity
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on an interracial community farm in the U.S.A., and has grown to become a leading global nonprofit, working across 70 countries. In Asia-Pacific since 1983, Habitat for Humanity has supported millions of people to build or improve a place they can call home. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit www.habitat.org/asiapacific.

Notes to Editors:
For interviews, photos or additional information, contact Rutuja Powle, +91 7718089122, rpowle@habitat.org or Michele Soh, +65 92331544, msoh@habitat.org.

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com