Published
- 03:00 am
- Fundraise: Rocket Academy raises $1.1m in pre-seed funding from consortium of business angels
- Demand: Over the past 3 months, demand for their Coding Basics course has increased 10x
- Growth: Rocket Academy is actively hiring to double its headcount by end 2021 to address global talent shortage of developers, expected to reach 85.2m in 2030
- Impact: 100% of students who graduate from Rocket Academy bootcamp course secure jobs
Rocket Academy, a start-up providing online coding courses, today announced it has raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding. The investment comes from a consortium of 50 marquee tech investors and venture capitalists including entrepreneurs Darius Cheung from 99.co, Marcus Tan from Carousell and Stanley Tang from DoorDash, former Singapore Ambassador to the UN Kishore Mahbubani, SEA tech leaders’ investment network XA Network, and VC firms Taurus Ventures and Hustle Fund. Rocket Academy will use this funding to grow the company into the leading coding school in Southeast Asia helping to address the current industry-wide shortage in software engineers.
Rocket Academy has developed two courses to date: Coding Basics, an introductory course for beginners to learn the basics of coding; and Software Engineering Bootcamp (SEB), which prepares students for a career in software engineering. All course material is pre-recorded for students to review and complete at their own pace. Rocket Academy holds regular live classes over Zoom for students to clarify concepts with instructors, apply learning in pair exercises and network with classmates. Classes are online allowing greater flexibility and efficiency, and the course platform allows high levels of engagement between students and teachers.
Kai Yuan Neo, Founder and CEO at Rocket Academy commented: “There is a mounting global talent shortage of developers around the world. As of December 2020 this amounted to 40 million developers worldwide. By 2030, that is expected to reach 85.2 million. Not only this but companies worldwide risk losing $8.4 trillion in revenue because of the lack of skilled talent. Rocket Academy exists to solve this equation and we are on a mission to scale further and faster.”
In addition to teaching, Rocket Academy helps its SEB graduates find their dream software engineering jobs through resume development, portfolio development and interview preparation. Rocket Academy leverages its network of companies sourcing for software engineers, makes referrals and helps set up job interviews for SEB graduates. To date, Rocket Academy has a 100% success rate in placing SEB graduates in software engineering jobs within companies and organisations such as 99.co, Xfers, Glints, GovTech, and GoTrade.
“Getting our students good jobs is our top priority. The better jobs our students get, the stronger our alumni network becomes, which enables us to find better jobs for future students,” said Neo Kai Yuan Neo. “Over the past months the demand for our SEB graduates from businesses has doubled. So far we have successfully placed all SEB graduates. We are so confident that our SEB graduates will find coding jobs that we will refund their fees if they still cannot find a job 6 months after graduation.”
Although Rocket Academy is a small start-up, it has lofty ambitions – to train and supply the best software engineers in the region. Rocket Academy will invest its pre-seed funding in two key areas. First, further developing its flagship products, Coding Basics and Software Engineering Bootcamp courses. This involves strengthening course curriculum and improving the learning platform to boost the student experience. Second, expanding to new markets, specifically Hong Kong and Australia in the short term, other Southeast Asian markets in the medium term, and then globally in the long term.
To succeed, Rocket Academy will need the best software engineering and education talents to craft its student experience. The company prides itself on a work environment with highest-calibre peers, transparent company progress, decentralised decision making, and flexible work arrangements. Rocket Academy is actively hiring and targets to double its headcount by end 2021.
“Over the past 3 months we have seen a 10-fold increase in demand for our Coding Basics course and a 4-fold increase in demand for our SEB course. We are regularly in touch with businesses to understand technical skills that software engineers need. This allows us to refine our curriculum to make it relevant and appropriate for students looking for rewarding software engineering careers,” added Neo Kai Yuan.
“Rocket Academy is exactly what Singapore needs now. To get good middle-class jobs, young Singaporeans need to be globally competitive in the digital space. Rocket Academy provides these critical skills. This initiative couldn’t be more timely!” said Kishore Mahbubani, Former Singapore Ambassador to the UN and angel investor in Rocket Academy’s pre-seed round.
- 03:00 am
Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc. (“Clearwater Analytics”), a leading provider of SaaS-based investment accounting, reporting, and analytics solutions, announced today that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") relating to a proposed initial public offering of shares of its Class A common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. If Clearwater Analytics elects to proceed with an initial public offering, Clearwater Analytics expects to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CWAN."
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are acting as lead bookrunners and as representatives of the underwriters for the proposed offering, with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Piper Sandler & Co. and William Blair & Company, L.L.C. acting as additional bookrunners. BNP Paribas Securities Corp., D.A. Davidson & Co., AmeriVet Securities, Inc., Loop Capital Markets LLC, Penserra Securities LLC, R. Seelaus & Co., LLC and Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC are acting as co-managers for the proposed offering.
The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus filed with the SEC. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the proposed initial public offering may be obtained by contacting:
· Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, via telephone: 1-866-471-2526, or via email: prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com;
· J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (866) 803-9204, or by email at prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com; or
· Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014, Attn: Prospectus Department.
A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to the proposed offering has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. The securities to be registered may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time when the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
- 03:00 am
One-stop-shop platform empowering retailers to modernize trade and accelerate digital adoption
• Aims to offer host of tech-enabled trade offerings to drive mass acceptance
• To offer an all-inclusive digital payment hub that ensures easy acceptance across different form factors, simplified for both retailers and customers
• A store management tool to offer one-click process to take stores online, digital ledger for better credit management and unified platform offering wholesale procurement options
• Eyes to digitize millions of largely underserved MSMEs as well as bring a new set of retailers into the PayNearby fold
In its bid to mass modernize the retail sector across the country, PayNearby, India’s leading branchless banking and digital payments network, has associated with Retailers Association's Skill Council of India (RASCI) to launch “PayNearby NeoDukaan” to digitally upgrade its retail partners and gear them towards a better livelihood. PayNearby NeoDukaan is a first-of-its-kind holistic store management tool aimed at digitizing the retail stores and accelerating digital adoption at the last mile. With multiple digital payment options, digital ledger for credit management and online wholesale procurement options, PayNearby NeoDukaan looks to create a thriving ecosystem for its retail partners by empowering them digitally and bringing them at par with the current times.
In India, retail is evolving, retailers are not. Retail is India’s largest industry, accounting for over 10% of the country’s GDP and 8% of employment, however, despite its large size, the sector has remained predominantly unorganized due to the presence of local stores and vendors. To win in this changing landscape, the local retailers need to change too. To be indispensable to the consumer, local retailers must constantly update to accommodate their various needs. And, PayNearby is completely transforming the retail outlets and making them future-ready. The company has enabled more than 38+ lakh retailers across 17, 600+ PIN codes to have a strong online presence and ensures that small and local shops are not left behind in the transforming digital world.
Echoing this sentiment is PayNearby’s latest business vertical – the NeoDukaan app. This store management package is an end-to-end comprehensive suite that exclusively focuses on helping retailers modernize their stores, simplify their lives and bring them at par with the times. With this app, PayNearby intends to make retailers future-proof and take them to the level where they can compete with the e-commerce giants and large format superstores. PayNearby NeoDukaan enables stores to go online with a single click and service customers in their neighborhood and beyond to avail the digital store at their convenience. With this platform, PayNearby aims to digitally empower the local retailers in India whilst enhancing their efficiency and opportunities to serve their customers better.
Today, it is crucial for all stores to have digital formats of digital payments. This all-new platform will enable retailers to offer wide-ranging payment options such as UPI QR, Aadhaar Pay, mPOS and SoftPOS to the customers in the local community. Besides being cost-effective and easily implementable, retailers will not lose customers due to limited payment options and will be able to offer digital financial services seamlessly. PayNearby NeoDukaan will help retailers provide a slew of choices to their customers and will help accelerate digital adoption in the country, especially among the underbanked spectrum, reducing the demand for cash and cash-led transactions. Besides, in the wake of COVID, it will enable customers to make safe, contactless payments too. NeoDukaan, thus, aims to democratize digital payments, ensuring the availability of form factor agnostic transactions at the last mile such that digital payments become as seamless as exchanging cash.
In the majority of Tier II, Tier III cities and beyond, most of the daily businesses run on credit. Retailers end up breaking their backs to maintain a physical ledger and spending long hours on reconciliation. While retailers are used to traditional bookkeeping by maintaining bahi-khatas, NeoDukaan will help them manage customer credits more efficiently with ‘Customer Khata’ - a digital ledger. Besides offering enhanced security, Customer Khata will help retailers to go digital, streamline their accounts and reconcile better. With Customer Khata, retailers can record all transactions digitally, set automatic payment reminders for customers - so that they can collect the dues on time, and view customized reports too.
Moreover, many small businesses do not have a good supply management. They often end up shelling out exorbitant prices for supplies that are way beyond the wholesale rates, incurring losses. To help with this, PayNearby NeoDukaan will also function as an aggregator platform, whereby retailers can easily access various wholesale procurement alternatives such as Big Basket, ITC, Unnati etc. all in one spot. Currently, no other player offers multiple wholesale procurement options on a unified platform. Besides operational efficiency, the app will enable retailers to digitally procure goods timely and at competitive prices.
Commenting on this occasion, Mr. Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby, remarked, “We are thrilled to present the PayNearby NeoDukaan app to help our retail partners grow non-stop in life. Retailing in India is one of the pillars of our socio-economic structure, with retailers having deep-rooted relationships in the local communities. For India to thrive and grow, it is important that the retailers are given the necessary support and tools to stay relevant in the fast-evolving economy. PayNearby NeoDukaan is one such effort committed to enabling financial inclusiveness and the economic wellbeing of the retailers.
As the word ‘neo’ denotes transformation, PayNearby NeoDukaan will be a game-changer for the mass retail community offering them opportunities to acquire new customers, engage better with existing customers and reduce the cost of operations. This will further accelerate the growth of the digital economy even across hinterlands and remote towns whilst making ‘Digital India’ a closer reality. PayNearby NeoDukaan will transform every shop in the country into a shop ready for a new era.
As an organization, PayNearby acknowledges the deep symbiotic relationship it has with the retailer community, and with PayNearby NeoDukaan, we want to assure the progress of our retailers. Our association with RASCI will ensure that our retail partners have all they need to get ahead in life. This is our ‘Zidd Aage Badhne Ki’. A ‘Zidd’ to make every shop in Bharat modern, digitally-empowered and future-ready.”
On the occasion, James A. Raphael Executive Head - Retailers Association's Skill Council of India (RASCI) and Joint Central Apprenticeship Adviser - Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (GOI) said, “PayNearby is paving the way to bridge the gulf of Bharat and India. NeoDukaan is a committed stride towards the digital empowerment of local retail at the last mile. It will position Indian retailers at the forefront of a new consumption economy whilst offering a huge stimulus to the ‘Digital India’ movement. This digital transition will usher in a new era of commerce, transform 'job seekers' into 'job creators' and will create millions of livelihood opportunities in the hinterlands and small towns thereby driving economic growth and social upliftment in the real Bharat.”
Additionally, the company has set an ambitious target of on-boarding 100 million retailers by 2025. PayNearby NeoDukaan is designed to bring a completely new set of retailers into the PayNearby fold.
- 09:00 am
Proficient European P2P investors choose liquidity on the secondary market
According to the investment platform Robo.cash, 62% of European P2P investors support the opportunity of buying loans on the secondary market. The growing demand for this option is primarily driven by experienced customers with sufficient funding.
Over the past year, the platform has seen an increase in the number of investors favoring the secondary market. Since mid-2020, around 100 customers per quarter went for this liquidity-boosting alternative when setting up a portfolio.
However, the growth of the platform investor base outstrips the secondary market extension, and the share of the latter decreases over time. For example, of those who registered in Q2 2021, only 56% invest in the secondary market, compared to 74% who registered in Q2 2019.
"We can assume that new investors trust the secondary market less and do not invest in it initially due to the fact that they are not yet familiar with the platform or due to little experience", the platform analysts comment on the statistics.
Depending on the investment volume, the amount of funds entering the secondary market also changes. Only 59% of customers with funds of less than 1,000 euros invest in the secondary market. The number of the investors with a balance of 15,000 euros reaches 70%. The average investment of those who choose the secondary market is 25% higher than those who do not participate in it at all. Thus, mainly sophisticated players enter the secondary market.
“Large investors are keen to maximize their income on the platform and are not afraid to take advantage of its benefits. This includes actively using the secondary market, as this is where you can buy a loan with an attractive interest rate, as well as keeping funds on the platform and reinvesting them”, add Robo.cash analysts. "At the same time, the already small percentage of investors who prefer to withdraw funds from the platform immediately after closing the loan is decreasing. This could indicate a growing trust in both the P2P market in general and the Robo.cash platform directly".
- 02:00 am
Fime’s PersevalPro Issuer tool has received an additional approval from Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB. The tool can now be used to test the personalization of payment cards in line with CB’s new CPACE (CPA Contactless Extensions) card personalization specification. CPACE brings consistency across European card schemes to offer a unified experience for cardholders across contact, contactless and mobile payments.
With the new PersevalPro CB CPACE library, Fime’s consultants are supporting French issuers to define and deliver migration strategies for their CB branded projects. Defining and debugging card profiles is essential ahead of in-house pre-validation testing and formal certification in a Fime laboratory, as well as for quality assurance with the PersevalPro Quality Control module. Using the same tool throughout can significantly reduce time-to-market and associated costs.
“Europe is moving to more unified payments systems, and CPACE is a key part of the process,” says Raphaël Guilley, VP Testing Solutions at Fime. “It can bring greater independence for European issuers so it is great to see CB leading the way. Our tool and expertise empower issuers to make this step with confidence, relying on official test plans for a range of schemes to fast-track compliance for single and co-branded projects.”
- 06:00 am
The joint venture will combine their technological expertise leveraging data to bring digital transformation and reshape financial inclusion in Bharat
Spice Money, India’s leading rural fintech, has entered into a joint venture with Tarya group, Israel’s leading fintech player with 70% P2P market-share in Israel, to bring Bharat to the fore of the ongoing data-led digital revolution by launching a lend-tech platform targeted towards rural India. The synergy between Tarya Fintech and Spice Money will lead to the creation of an innovative, agile, assisted and technologically superior digital lending platform. The JV aims to fill the credit gap in India by offering underserved and underbanked rural India a convenient platform to access credit easily with minimal documentation. This platform will address challenges that have kept rural India financially excluded such as lack of data, limited access and unviable unit economics.
India’s credit gap is estimated to be over $330 billion*. Small businesses and rural consumers find formal credit limited and inaccessible due to the cumbersome application process, lack of financial data, collaterals needed for credit assessment and inappropriate products. This leads to them resorting to often-exploitative informal credit sources. The wide adoption of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning has turned data into a great enabler for financial inclusion. The credit model in rural India needs to reimagine the products and processes by leveraging AI and ML to enable collection of alternative data, in absence of traditional financial data. This can help to determine a rural business’ credit-worthiness and capabilities.
This new JV would step in with a community lending model enabling rural borrowers to access credit on a digitised assisted platform quickly and seamlessly. The digital lending market in India is expected to grow from $110 billion in 2019 to $350 billion in 2023 on the back of MSMEs’ credit demand of estimated $490 billion along with the increased internet penetration*.
Dilip Modi, Founder, Spice Money, said, “At Spice Money, we serve approx. 20 million monthly transacting customers on an average, through our 7 Lakh Adhikari network across semi urban and rural India. This has helped us observe the multiple financial needs of rural India and the key role that far-reaching technology can play in fulfilling these needs. There is a data and digital-led revolution in financial inclusion waiting to happen in India. Through our joint venture with Tarya, we are confident that we will play an integral role in this revolution in the interiors of our country.” He also added, “One of the major demands has been access to easy loans. Accessible and timely credit is important for the growth of rural India. We have partnered with Tarya to bring in financial inclusion by empowering rural borrowers with access to easy credit. This will further financial freedom in Bharat and lead to overall national development.”
Eyal Elhayany, Founder & CEO, Tarya, said, “India has a huge potential for lending technology, especially in rural areas. India is a great country to diversify and expand in due to the sheer size of its economy and the emerging technological opportunities for collaborations. Technological innovations can easily reach the financially underserved parts to accelerate financial inclusion, as can be seen in the great work Spice Money and its Adhikaris have been doing. Leveraging Spice Money’s rural fintech expertise and experience, we aim to tap into the unaddressed rural credit gap and make it easy for rural India to get loans for their growth and development.”
- 01:00 am
The Board of Banking Competition Remedies Ltd (BCR) today publishes progress updates for Pool A, B, C and D recipients, providing a summary of performance against their public commitments to the period 30th June 2021.
The updates of those awarded, their original commitments made and key achievements to date can be found here.
In this reporting period, BCR approved a business case change for iwoca mainly due to reallocation of spend to support future initiatives following success of its lending offering. These changes have now been reflected in its public commitments.
Aidene Walsh, CIF Executive Director, said: “This latest round of reporting continues to demonstrate the strong performance from the majority of awardees in creating new products, services and networks in support of UK SMEs with an increasing number of Public Commitments being met ahead of schedule. Awardees have also delivered strong customer experiences which will serve them well in increasing their SME impact.”
A summary of performance against awardees public commitments can be found in the notes to editors, with links to the full updates provided below:
Pool A ninth quarter update
- Starling Bank Limited public commitment progress update
- Metro Bank plc public commitment progress update
- ClearBank Ltd public commitment progress update
Pool B eighth quarter update
- Investec Bank plc public commitment progress update
- The Co-operative Bank plc public commitment progress update
Pool C seventh quarter update
- Atom Bank plc public commitment progress update
- The Currency Cloud Group Ltd public commitment progress update
- iwoca Ltd public commitment progress update
- Modulr Finance Limited public commitment progress update
Pool D eighth quarter update
- Codat Limited public commitment progress update
- Fluidly Limited public commitment progress update
- Form3 Ltd public commitment progress update
- Funding Options Limited public commitment progress update
- Swoop Finance Limited public commitment progress update
The next progress updates for Pool A, B, C and D awardees will be in November 2021. Pool E awardees will provide their next reporting update in October 2021. As part of BCR’s role in monitoring the way that organisations are using the funds, BCR holds awardees to account on their progress against business plans which includes meeting all the recipients. For more details on how BCR monitors CIF awardees see here.
Pool F: new funding round under the CIF scheme
Following the consultation period for Pool F, BCR has confirmed that the grant sizes to be made available are 2x£5m and 1x£2.5m. The application window opened on Wednesday 25 August with over 60 companies indicating early interest. Further details can be found here.
Notes to editors:
A summary of Pool A, B, C and D performance against public commitments / business cases
Pool A ninth quarter update
Starling Bank Limited public commitment progress update: Starling now has 374,245 SME customers, resulting in a 6.3% share of the UK SME market. Over 54,000 SME businesses have directly benefited from the £2.3bn of lending made available by Starling to date. Starling continues to enhance its launched products, for example, customers are now able to receive payments in foreign currencies into their EUR or GBP accounts, and access the first two sessions of Starling’s Business Class videos.
ClearBank Ltd (CTBB) public commitment progress update: CTBB now has 353,014 SME customers, resulting in a 5.9% share (5% directly attributable to Pool A) of the UK SME market, and has built significant brand It also continues to develop and launch propositions, including enhancing its fast onboarding process not only through the app but also through the web.
Pool B eighth quarter update
The Co-operative Bank plc public commitment progress update: The Co-operative Bank is making strong progress with its transformational initiatives. It continued to improve its onboarding journey, mobile app for business customers and suite of product and services (including Business Concierge services and SME insurance). The Co-operative Bank was confirmed as the UK’s best rated high street bank for ESG credentials in June 2021 by Sustainalytics.
Pool C seventh quarter update
Atom Bank plc public commitment progress update: Atom has over £0.6bn of funding applied for through its secured lending CBILS product (including £143m of BCR attributable secured lending). It also achieved a market leading customer Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +88, surpassing the committed 2025 target. It is, however, experiencing delays to two commitments associated with the challenges to delivery of its Next Generation Broker Portal due to challenges with a partner.
The Currency Cloud Group Ltd (Currencycloud) public progress commitment: Currencycloud has processed cross-border payments for 7.1% of all UK SMEs trading internationally (over 23,700 UK SMEs) over the last twelve months and continues to enhance its cross-border payments proposition. This quarter it signed 20 financial institutions serving UK SMEs and UK-based Fintechs.
iwoca Ltd public commitment progress / business case update: iwoca has successfully achieved its no and limited personal guarantee commitment almost three years ahead of schedule, originating £376m as at 30 June 2021. In addition, it launched a new iwocaPay partnership with Futrli with the number of transactions tripling in the last quarter.
Modulr public commitment progress update: Modulr delivered its second automated Onboarding initiative - integration with PassFort, and launched Payment Initiation Services (PISP) Standing Orders and Confirmation of Payee Inbound this quarter. It also successfully launched its Alpha pilot Integration with Brightpay. It has surpassed its SME reach commitment for the Payment Innovation product.
Pool D eighth quarter update
Fluidly Limited public commitment progress update: Fluidly made further enhancements to its VAT insights tool and investigated alternative data sources for the benefit of a wider range of SMEs. This quarter, it offered 1,000 free licenses to members of the Enterprise Nations network enabling SMEs to avail of its wide-reaching functionality.
Form3 Ltd public commitment progress update: Form3 continued to build its SWIFT solution whilst engaging in sales and marketing activities in advance of launch.
Funding Options Limited public commitment progress: Funding Options launched Funding CloudTM, a platform that connects businesses, lenders and partners to facilitate and secure funding at scale. It continues to surpass lending value targets despite the number of additional SMEs being slightly behind target due to government backed loan schemes.
Swoop Finance Limited public commitment progress update: Swoop launched a new unsecured lending partnership with BNP Paribas and developed an Equity Scorecard with NatWest for its high growth customers. It continues to forge ahead with key partnerships in supporting SMEs to apply for and secure finance. 248k SMEs are utilising Swoop’s Virtual CFO marketplace and 835 providers have been onboarded. It continues to experience challenges in reaching some impact targets due to the current economic environment but remains committed to its ambitious targets as the market moves towards recovery.
- 08:00 am
Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych S.A. (PBKM), which leads the international FamiCord Group, Europe's largest stem cell bank, signed a transaction agreement with shareholders of Smart Cells Holdings Limited, based in London UK, to acquire a majority stake in the stem cell bank operating in Great Britain, Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and others) and Hong Kong.
The transaction was closed on August 4th, 2021. FamiCord acquired 84.2 percent of shares in Smart Cells Holdings Limited. The transaction was financed from PBKM's own funds.
- We are very pleased to welcome another well-organized and highly efficient stem cell bank to the FamiCord Group. This is another step in our strategy towards consolidation of the European family cord blood banking market which itself attracts multiple takeover targets we are interested in. By making this move we also entered new markets, substantially strengthen our position in Europe and our global presence on the markets in Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain , Kuwait and others) and Hong Kong, where Smart Cells Holdings operates.
We're going to focus on strengthening Smart Cells UK and UAE markets with the goal to reach number one position within the next two years. We believe with our diverse product range, scientific expertise across many countries and financial strength, we will be the strongest service provider for stem cells and related healthcare products.
I wish to add that we are continuing to seek further acquisitions from the European and other markets - says Jakub Baran, the co-founder, a shareholder and the President of the Management Board of PBKM S.A (the leading entity for the international FamiCord Group).
Shamshad Ahmed- Founder and CEO , Smart Cells International Ltd says:
- I am delighted that Smart Cells has become a part of the Famicord family of businesses. We are confident that bringing together our excellent customer care and world class storage facilities with PBKM's global reach and research capabilities will provide existing and new customers with unrivalled product offerings to protect their family's health.
Our vision has always been for Smart Cells to be a global enterprise empowering people to store their children's stem cells with a company that is based on excellent science and integrity.
I am so proud of what Smart Cells have accomplished together, and now with scale and presence, we are even closer to inspiring many more to take charge of their family's health and wellbeing.
Smart Cells Holdings Limited was founded in 2001. It is the first private UK stem cell storage company to have released stored stem cell units for the use in the treatment of children with life-threatening or debilitating illnesses. Since its establishment, Smart Cells have released the greatest number of samples for use in transplants from a private UK bank for use in transplants in the UK and other countries (21 releases to 6 countries) from some of its 40,000 clients. The Company operates in the UK (laboratory near London Heathrow airport),Italy, Albania, Middle East, South Africa, Kenya , Pakistan, and Hong Kong. After the collection at the site of birth, biological materials are transported for storage to the Company's laboratory in the UK''
Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych leads the international FamiCord Group, which manages stem cell banks located in Europe. After the transaction FamiCord Group will store 610.000 samples belonging to over 450,000 families. FamiCord's core business is the procurement, processing and long-term storage of stem cells from umbilical-cord blood and other post-foetal tissues on behalf of parents (family banking). The purpose of this banking is to provide security for the family in the event of a serious illness which requires a stem cell transplant in the donor or his/her immediate family members.
The FamiCord Group is now present in over 35 European countries. It directly offers services to clients in Poland, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and more recently in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Great Britain, Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Lebanon) and Hong Kong. It is one of the leading companies in almost all of these countries. In addition, it provides services to partners who acquire clients in Sweden, Denmark, Serbia and the Balkan countries, Italy and Ukraine. The Group's services are provided through a network of its own banks and through cooperating banks located in Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine, the USA and other countries.
On May 31st, 2021 PBKM and Vita 34 AG - the largest private stem cell bank in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) signed a business combination agreement. The business combination will be carried out through the exchange of PBKM shares for newly issued Vita 34 shares. The proposed business combination will create a stronger pan-European family stem cell bank with combined revenues of approximately EUR 67 million (based on the 2020 reported results) and having a total market capitalization of approximately EUR 249 million (at closing prices as of 28 May 2021).
In addition, the Group invests in the development of advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) manufacturing services, considered to be one of the most important developments in medicine. The PBKM Group is also involved in close to 10 clinical trials, in which stem cell fraction drugs have already been administered to patients about 700 times.
Since May 2016, PBKM has been listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
- 01:00 am
The ongoing semiconductor shortage caught many businesses off guard as production of chips slowed down during the global pandemic. From domestic appliances to cars, almost every technological device relies on semiconductors, and the global shortage has taken its toll: car manufacturers idled their production lines1 or – on the more creative side – utilized dummy chips in their production, which will be replaced by functional semiconductors as soon as the capacity allows it2 . While there is a shortage, demand for semiconductor technology increases in the light of a global 5G rollout, interconnectivity, and smarter consumer technology. Major Australian issuer ETF Securities now releases an ETF, the ETFS Semiconductor ETF (ASX: SEMI). This fund is the first Australian passive investment productin that space.
In its market forecast, the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) expects the worldwide semiconductor market growth to rise from 6.8 percent in 2020 to a staggering 19.7 percent in the year 2021, which corresponds to a market size of US$ 527 billion. For 2022, WSTS expects growth by 8.8 percent.3 Enjoying tailwinds, companies active in the semiconductor business can be expected to outperform for the foreseeable future.
The ETF tracks the Solactive Global Semiconductor 30 Index, which is a representation of 30 companies active across the semiconductor value chain. Eligible companies must be part of the Solactive GBS Global Markets Semiconductor All Cap USD Index and classified – by a common industry classification system – in the semiconductors industry, or semiconductor equipment and services and semiconductor manufacturing subsectors. Furthermore, companies must have their primary listing in one of the countries that are part ofthe Developed Markets – as defined by the Solactive Country Classification Framework (https://www.solactive.com/documents/solactivecountry-classification/) – or in South Korea or Taiwan. All eligible securities are ranked based on their free float market capitalization in descending order, and the top 30 ranked securities are selected for index inclusion.
Timo Pfeiffer, Chief Markets Officer at Solactive, comments: “Semiconductors serve as the heart and soul of every electric device, and with a growing need for chips to fuel our future smart economy, companies active in this megatrend now are well positioned for future growth. ETF Securities realized the vast potential of this industry, which will accompany us for the next decades to come. We are excited to be part of this thematic ETF release in Australia, and we look forward to launching more innovative products with ETF Securities soon.”
Kanish Chugh, Head of Distribution at ETF Securities, comments: “We are delighted to have partnered with Solactive to bring to market the ETFS Semiconductor ETF. At ETF Securities we have a focus on identifying and developing products that enable our clients to benefit from rapid technological advances across the globe. Observing the rise in prominence of the semiconductor across a vast array of industries from gaming to automobiles, this product addresses a gap in the Australian market for investors wanting exposure to this growing sector.”
- 06:00 am
Tata Consultancy Services’ SaaS Offering to Help the Leading South African Insurer Process Claims Faster, Offer Personalized Customer Experiences, and Drive Product Innovation
Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, announced that Standard Bank’s short-term insurance business in South Africa has selected TCS BaNCS™ Cloud for Insurance to power its digital claims transformation and reaffirm its leadership in the region.
TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance will be offered on a SaaS model on AWS Cloud and will help the insurer harmonize more than 60 products spread across four claims administration platforms, enabling faster and accurate claims processing. The solution will also integrate with 16 different downstream applications including the enterprise GL system, payment gateway, CRM, business intelligence solutions, as well as all other peripheral systems identified in Standard Bank Insurance’s technology roadmap.
Combined with a cloud-first approach, a faster claims processing engine and high configurability, the solution will help Standard Bank Insurance improve operational efficiency and streamline claims management. TCS BaNCS APIs will help Standard Bank Insurance connect to ancillary systems easily and offer personalized experiences to their customers. Additionally, TCS’ analytics and data-driven insights tool will help in decreasing customer churn and speed up decision-making related to claims settlements.
Dr Nolwandle Mqoqi, Head of Insurance, Standard Bank South Africa, said, “Customer satisfaction and loyalty are of utmost importance to us and with TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance’s SaaS-based solution, we expect to vastly improve policy holder claims experiences, deliver superior performance in a secure environment and benefit from the scale that a highly configurable solution offers. We have been a leading cloud adopter in the region and selecting TCS BaNCS Cloud as one of the partners is the next step in this journey. Availing TCS’ analytics tool for intelligent insights, we will approach product innovation differently, take advantage of new opportunities and deliver differentiated customer experiences.”
R Vivekanand, Co-Head, TCS Financial Solutions, said, “TCS cherishes the over 20-year relationship with the Standard Bank Group and our long-standing commitment to the South African financial services industry. We are pleased to be selected as the strategic partner to the company for this engagement. TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance will help Standard Bank’s short-term insurance enhance customer experience, reduce operational risk, improve claims efficiencies, and take advantage of emerging opportunities by seamlessly collaborating with an extended innovation ecosystem of insurtechs. This claims transformation sets up Standard Bank well for its next leg of thought leadership and client-centered delivery in the South African market.”
TCS BaNCS Cloud for Insurance is an end-to-end rules-driven core insurance platform spanning capabilities in underwriting, customer policy servicing, claim processing, co-insurance, finance, reporting and branch operations across P&C, Health and Life insurance businesses.
This SaaS offering has been adopted by banks and financial institutions of varying sizes across the globe for its future-ready digital architecture, functionality, business agility and operational efficiency. Its proven application architecture ensures anytime, anywhere digital access, scalability, resilience, high performance, and compliance. Cloud agnostic, it ensures that customers gain from a standardized and consistent platform. With a predictable and committed roadmap, systematic regulatory updates, and a complete operational model it provides customers with the reassurance to concentrate on their core competencies rather than on building and maintaining costly IT infrastructure. TCS BaNCS Cloud handles over 100 million transactions per month for more than 220 customers across the world.
