Today Koine, the post-trade custody and settlement platform for institutions, and Panxora, the crypto treasury management service, are working together to provide mutual clients with services dedicated to reducing risks associated with holding cryptocurrencies for the growing numbers of institutions investing in the digital asset class.

Equity investment in the UK’s tech businesses increased by 27% in 2019 to £4.0bn, the highest amount since the series began in 2011, reveals the British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker report, published today. The UK’s thriving tech sector remains highly attractive to equity investors, accounting for 47% of total equity investment in UK SMEs through 691 deals in 2019.

Quant Insight (Qi), the macro data analytics firm that applies innovative quantitative techniques to financial markets, today announced the firm has launched their desktop application on OpenFin, the operating system of finance. 

Qi provides quantitative macro analytics across multiple asset classes to a wide array of investors from discretionary to systematic, from equity long/short to absolute return. Qi brings a single, comprehensive and robust solution to its clients with actionable signals.

Connect Ventures, the London-based venture capital firm focused on seed-stage technology investments, today announces a new $80M (£65M) fund to support product-led founders across Europe. This third fund was raised from a combination of existing and new LPs including Top Tier Capital Partners, Isomer Capital, British Patient Capital, De Agostini, Big Society Capital, Draper Esprit and Korelya Capital.

In cooperation with Hamburg-based Varengold Bank, Berlin fintech Kapilendo is now offering small and medium-sized enterprises the first fully digital application process for instant loans (GER: Schnellkredite) offered by KfW, a German state-owned development bank based in Frankfurt. German companies with more than ten employees can apply via www.kapilen.do/kfw-schnellkredit. The loans will be 100% guaranteed by the German Federal Government.

Smartway2, a next-generation technology company specialising in workplace scheduling solutions, announced the expansion of its COVID-Safe Workplace capabilities to include the automation of approvals and certification processes for those who want to come back to the office, as well as employee surveys to gauge how people feel about their return to work.

These new capabilities reflect the rising demand for technology that can adapt to fast-changing needs as the pandemic continues. These needs are twofold:

An initiative created by chairman and founding member Allan Green, Ezra has a powerful vision: to partner with mobile operators, NGOs, foundations and organizations to enable a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable communities through digital and financial inclusion. 

Manchester based staff tech group, Orka has announced the launch of their next innovative product, Orka Pay. Orka Pay allows hourly paid workers to withdraw a percentage of their wages as soon as they’ve worked a shift, so there’s no more waiting until payday or taking out high-interest loans. The platform is app based, allowing workers to choose how much they want to withdraw from their available balance, facilitated by full integration with their employers’ payroll systems.