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MENA $659 million investment boost for startups during COVID-19

27Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

MIDDLE EAST

MENA $659 million investment boost for startups during COVID-19

The Middle East startup ecosystem is set to uncover another startup unicorn, according to experts amid a $659 million investment boom during the COVID-19 crisis. The record-breaking regional funding surge comes despite global startup funding in the first quarter of this year seeing the biggest downturn since the 2008 financial crisis, according to research from Crunchbase. Across the Middle East there are ongoing efforts to build VC Communities and startup ecosystems from scratch, as part of region-wide economic diversification efforts. One woman at the forefront of driving this movement is Areije Al Shakar, Fund Director of Al Waha Fund of Funds, the Bahraini government fund established to kickstart a VC community across MENA. Now, experts like Al Shakar are predicting that conditio...

25Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Swoop raises $3.2 Million in Funding

Los Angeles based mobility tech company Swoop raises $3.2 million in seed funding led by Signia Venture Partners, South Park Commons, and a handful of angel investors to build a tech solution for group mobility owners. Alongside Signia Ventures, a number of high profile investors participated in the financing, including South Park Commons led by their two Managing Partners, Ruchi Sanghvi and Aditya Agarwal, the former CTO of Dropbox, etc. The fragmented industry of vehicle owners will now be able to effortlessly book, dispatch, track and manage all their rides through Swoop's SaaS tool. With more than 100,000 passengers on board, the Swoop team has gained outstanding domain expertise and is on the best path to take the $40B group transportation industry to the next stage and we ar...

PicsArt Acquires Motion-Based Video Effects Company D’efekt

23Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

PicsArt Acquires Motion-Based Video Effects Company D’efekt

SAN FRANCISCO, 23rd Jul 2020-- PicsArt, the world’s largest visual creative platform has acquired advanced video effects company D'efekt for an undisclosed sum. The female-led startup has been featured as an Apple “App of the Day” various times and offers motion-based video effects including light illusions, music responsiveness, and fractal motion-activation. D’efekt’s three co-founders will continue to build an independent app with further resource investment from PicsArt. The D’efekt app which will be rebranded to include the PicsArt name over the next few weeks adds to PicsArt’s suite of powerful visual editing apps, including the all-in-one PicsArt photo and video-editing app on web and mobile. D’efekt turns users’ videos into works of art through world-class audio reac...

Mobile vs Land-Based Casinos: Who will Win the Race in the Next 5 Years

21Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

Story

Mobile vs Land-Based Casinos: Who will Win the Race in the Next 5 Years

Ever since the emergence of online casinos, it has raised like a comet. The online gambling industry has entirely changed the face of the gambling market. People find it much more convenient and fun to use gambling portals such as Gclub on mobile and desktop devices.. Gone are those days when you have to travel to an actual casino to bet your money. Life has become very busy today, and no one likes to travel distances. Technologies have brought everything in our grasp. And the casino industry is no exception. Hence, when it comes to the question of the battle between land-based casinos and online casinos and who will win the battle in the next five years or so, online casinos seem to be the clear winner. There are a few significant reasons why online casinos will win the battle. In thi...

Logistics Trends for 2020 You Should Know About

20Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

ANALYSIS

Logistics Trends for 2020 You Should Know About

In any year, keeping up to date on the latest trends is vital for logistics business owners and operators. In 2020, though, when the world has been hit by a pandemic and shipping and other areas have been impacted, it’s even more important to keep your finger on the pulse. Market conditions and operational possibilities change all the time, but here are some of the key logistics trends for this year that you need to know about. New Marine Emissions Standards At the beginning of this year, the new maritime regulations for sulfur oxides (SOx) came into effect. Shipping and logistics firms now must cut their sulfur oxide emissions to achieve compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2020 regulations. The rule is designed to curb pollution produced by the worl...

20Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

INDIA

Indian MSMEs on Amazon crossed $2 billion in Global Selling

American E-commerce giant Amazon's Indian subsidiary said Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and brands that are part of its Global Selling Programme (GSP) have crossed $2 billion in cumulative exports. The company, which had started GSP in 2015, allows Indian companies to export to other countries through 15 Amazon websites globally. The program had started with a few hundred sellers and now has over 60,000 exporters. In January this year, Amazon had pledged to enable $10 billion in cumulative exports by 2025. Amit Agarwal, senior VP and country head Amazon India, said, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of the Indian economy and by digitizing them, the company is contributing towards boosting exports and job creation that will empower in...

Netflix Appoint content chief Ted Sarandos as co-CEO, Shares Fall 10%

17Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Netflix Appoint content chief Ted Sarandos as co-CEO, Shares Fall 10%

San Francisco, 17th Jul 2020: Online streaming platform Netflix promoted its content chief Ted Sarandos as a co-CEO after it forecast that subscriber growth would slow even more than Wall Street expected during the third quarter, sending its shares tumbling 9.5% to $477.15 in after-hours trading. The move to promote content chief as a co-CEO is a clear indication of a successor to co-founder Reed Hastings. Sarandos will continue his role in leading the content operations. Hastings said the two would each work full time as co-CEOs and that he had no plans to leave the company soon. Netflix also gave Chief Product Officer Greg Peters the additional role of a chief operating officer. Netflix forecast it would add 2.5 million new paid streaming customers around the world in this qu...

15Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

INDIA

End of Huawei’s 5G Journey in India? Reliance Jio Launch Made in India 5G solution

New Delhi, Jul 15, 2020: India's leading company Reliance Industries said that its telecom unit Jio has built a Made-in-India 5G solution that can be ready for field deployment next year and has teamed up with Google for developing affordable smartphones. Asserting Jio's move to make India free of 2G, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani emphasized on the need to accelerate the migration of 350 million Indians 2G phone users to an affordable smartphone, at a time when India stands at the doorsteps of the 5G era. At Reliance 43rd AGM, Mukesh Ambani said, "There are many feature phone users who are waiting to upgrade to a conventional smartphone, if only it was somehow more affordable. So, we have decided to address this challenge head-on. We believe we can design entry-level 4G or even 5G smart...

Google invests $4.5 billion for 7.7% stake in Jio platforms

15Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Google invests $4.5 billion for 7.7% stake in Jio platforms

Mumbai 15th July 2020: Google acquired a 7.7 percent stake of India's leading online company Jio platforms for $4.5 billion, adding to a series of large U.S. investments into an India based online venture that has nearly 400 million users in India. The global search leader is acquiring 7.7% of the fast-growing internet unit for 337.4 billion rupees, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a Reliance AGM event. Google, whose Android software runs on most smartphones, will help Jio create an entry-level, affordable mobile device, he added. Google joins rival Facebook Inc., which recently invested $5.7 billion toward a 9% stake of Jio. Total 14 investment came in Reliance Jio in the last two months which includes chipmakers Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc etc. Jio is a highly prefe...

14Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

News

UK bans Huawei from 5G Network

London, Jul 14, 2020: The UK government banned Huawei from its 5G telecom network, reversing an earlier decision to allow the Chinese tech giant a limited role in building the country's super-fast wireless infrastructure. Huawei will be completely removed from the UK’s 5G networks by the end of 2027, the government announced after a review by the country’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the impact of US sanctions against the Chinese telecommunications company. In the lead up to this complete removal of all Huawei kit from UK networks, there will be a total ban on the purchase of any new 5G kit after December 31, 2020. The decision was taken at a meeting of the UK’s National Security Council (NSC) chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in response to new US sanctions ag...

13Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

MIDDLE EAST

Middle East loses $270 bn oil income amid virus, recession

Dubai, Jul 13, 2020 (AP): The Middle East's energy producers are expected to earn $270 billion less in oil revenue compared to last year as the region's economic heavyweight, Saudi Arabia, sinks deeper into recession amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund's outlook released on Monday. The international lender expects an overall economic contraction of 7.3% in Mideast oil-exporting countries this year due to hits from the coronavirus outbreak and oil market turmoil. The contraction is 2% greater than the IMF's initial projections in mid-April. “We are in a year like no other and therefore developments are very fast and coping with them is challenging for everyone,” Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, told The...

13Jul By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Incnut Digital raises USD 4 mn in series A funding led by RPSG Ventures

New Delhi, Jul 13, 2020: Media and eCommerce startup Incnut Digital raises around USD 4 million (approx Rs 30 crore) in a Series A funding round led by RPSG Ventures, a fund backed by RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. Series A funding is typically the first round of institutional funding that could be led by one or more investors. Incnut Digital, in a statement said it has raised around USD 4 million funding in Series A from RPSG Ventures, an early stage consumer-centric venture capital fund backed by RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group as its sponsor investor. Incnut Digital, which owns and operates online beauty and wellness community StyleCraze and parenting network MomJunction and personalised beauty care brands - SkinKraft and Vedix, said the funds will be utilised for strengthening and expanding i...