Scale-Ups.eu, a spinoff of the European collaboration innovation platform B-Hive, is organizing SuperNova together with Flanders DC on September 27-30. This four-day event aims to bring the most promising scale-ups, outstanding tech companies, and thought leaders from all around the globe in Antwerp to talk, pitch, and showcase.

One of the highlights of SuperNova is a two-day deep pocket investor program featuring 55 most promising European tech scale-ups. On September 27 & 28, all pitching tech companies with trailblazing potential have a 10-minute opportunity to present their future-proof business concepts to 100+ top-tier global investors including JVP, Columbia Lake Partners, Idinvest, Summit Partners, and more.

Open call for scale-ups to pitch for growth financing

In line with its ambition to become the top-of-mind time squeezer for scale-ups in Europe, Scale-Ups.eu is launching an open call for all scale-ups that want to boost their growth and score their extra investment round. 

“Reducing time is the essence of entrepreneurship. SuperNova squeezes time for both scale-ups and VCs by connecting them for two days. As a result, we at Scale-Ups.eu help accelerate the growth of their company or portfolio.”, Jurgen Ingels, Founder Scale-Ups.eu.

To join the pitching stage at SuperNova, scale-ups have to meet the following growth criteria:

• Raised at least €1 million funding but less than €40 million (excluding loans)
• At least €3 million recurring revenue
• Annual growth of more than 20% in the last three years

The final selection of scale-ups that will pitch at SuperNova will be selected by Scale-Ups.eu’s co-curating VCs namely Colombia Lake Partners, Fortino Capital, GIMV, HPE Growth Capital, ID Invest Partners, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Prime Ventures, Runa Capital, Smartfin Capital, Summit Partners and Volta Ventures. The Belgian Venture Association is also supporting this initiative. 

Scale-ups that meet the growth criteria and want to pitch their solutions & ambitions to top-tier VCs at SuperNova can submit their profile until May 4th on Scale-Ups Preselections page.

Digital Week 2018

SuperNova (September 27-30) is the final stop of B-Hive’s Digital Week 2018 in Belgium. This full week gives all tech and financial players from all Europe the opportunity to shape the future together and connect with top thought leaders and innovators in the region. Discover the full program on B-Hive’s events page.

Digital disruption has brought a new level of convenience to retail, with product information available at the press of a button and payments completed almost instantly. With 44% of global consumers still shopping at physical outlets every week, however, many businesses are challenged to deliver a consistently excellent customer experience whether online or in-store.

That’s why PayPal, in partnership with point of sale (POS) solution provider, ebizmarts, has developed an omnichannel payment system to help retailers deliver the best of both worlds when it comes to shopping in-store.

For example, by combining PayPal’s mobile card solution - PayPal Here - with ebizmarts’ iPad-based app, Magento retailers can synchronise their online catalogues and in-store product suites. The combined technologies allow retailers to provide product information to customers and conduct orders and payments seamlessly in-store.

Products, pricing, customer requests, redeemable coupons, orders and returns can all be managed by in-store staff via the app, while PayPal Here’s card reader enables payments to be taken conveniently and quickly. As a result, retailers can seamlessly translate their online customer experience to the physical environment and give customers all the advantages of online shopping when visiting retail outlets in person.

John Fitchett, Managing Director UK & Europe, ebizmarts commented that by combining their expertise, PayPal and ebizmarts offer a well-rounded solution for merchants looking to provide the next level in in-store omnichannel technology. He went on to say that retailers can offer their customers a more enhanced consumer shopping experience – especially important considering the amount of time that consumers still spend in physical stores.

For more information about the partnership, please watch this video.

At PayPal, we believe paying should always be painless. PayPal Here provides an innovative and easy-to-use solution that can help drive sales for all retailers and stores, regardless of size.

Sberbank announces the appointment of Mark Zavadskiy as Vice President for Strategic Digital Partnerships at Sberbank. In this position he will be responsible for developing partnerships with leading Russian and international digital companies. Mark Zavadsky will take the position starting from second half of May 2018.

Prior to joining Sberbank, Mr Zavadskiy worked at AliExpress for four years as its Russia and CIS business development director, and was also head of Alibaba Group’s representative office in Russia. During his tenure, AliExpress achieved considerable success in developing cross-border e-commerce in Russia.

“I am certain that Mark’s experience at one of the world’s biggest digital corporations will help us develop Sberbank’s ecosystem in cooperation with major Russian and international tech companies,” commented Lev Khasis, First Deputy Chairman of Sberbank’s Executive Board.

“I believe in Sberbank’s potential to build Russia’s most powerful digital ecosystem and I am excited to take part in such an ambitious task,” said Mr Zavadskiy.

IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in information, analytics and solutions, today announced it acquired DeriveXperts, a provider of valuation services for OTC derivatives and other complex financial securities. The acquisition complements and enhances the existing derivatives data and valuations businesses at IHS Markit.

“IHS Markit strives to be the best source of independent valuations of OTC derivatives and other complex financial assets and this expansion shows our commitment to providing customers with exceptional coverage and quality,” said Gianluca Biagini, managing director for derivatives data and valuation services at IHS Markit. “DeriveXperts brings us a skilled team and a high-quality service that extends our offering for derivatives, particularly in equity-linked products, an area that we see growing across all of our customer segments.”  

“We are excited to take this next step forward in serving the derivatives marketplace as part of IHS Markit,” said Francis Cornut, founder and CEO of DeriveXperts. “Together, we will continue to deliver unparalleled expertise and best-in-class capabilities that move with the speed of evolving global markets.”

DeriveXperts specializes in daily and monthly computations of hard-to-value assets, such as equity derivatives, FX derivatives, interest rate derivatives and structured notes. DeriveXperts is headquartered in Paris and was founded in 2003.  

IHS Markit has more than 100 employees in Paris and this acquisition adds to that team. IHS Markit also gains a strong client base in France and French-speaking Europe, including banks, investment managers, insurance companies, private banks and other types of wealth management firms.

IHS Markit provides pricing and valuation services, including independent mark-to-market valuations and risk analytics, for vanilla and exotic OTC derivatives, fixed income cash products, private equity and illiquid debt investments. Valuations are accompanied by detailed inputs, liquidity metrics and reference data to provide maximum transparency and market context. Customers include insurance companies, asset managers, fund administrators, custodians and banks.

Ingenico Group (Euronext: FR0000125346 – ING), the global leader in seamless payment, today announced the launch of the Move/2500 B, a portable terminal combining the convenience of fingerprint authentication with the security of the latest PCI standards.

The Move/2500 B addresses traditional financial inclusion needs to reach the unbanked population as well as local governmental schemes. In India, for instance, all POS will soon have to provide fingerprint authentication. In Mexico, where banks have the obligation to verify the identity of all loan applicants, the Move/2500 B could serve as a means of authentication. The recent certification of fingerprint authentication by EMVco as a Customer Verification Method could bring about new global schemes, making the Move/2500 B also relevant in mature markets and a strong differentiator for banks with a customer acquisition strategy.

Ingenico Group has built on its proven track record in designing biometric solutions to launch a particularly optimized terminal, matching prints in a split second. PCI-v5 and STQC compliant, the Move/2500 B is a highly secure and cost efficient portable POS, which supports all payment methods and schemes relying on national ID programmes. It features the market leading fingerprint sensor, which fulfils FBI standards.

The Move/2500 B will first be rolled out in India in June and subsequently in the Middle East.

‘We are pleased to introduce the Move/2500 B, our third generation biometric POS, designed to support financial inclusion scenarios as well as innovative payment schemes in mature markets.’ said Frédéric Lepeintre, VP Marketing of the Banks and Acquires BU at Ingenico Group. ‘The launch of the Move/2500 B illustrates Ingenico Group’s commitment towards reaching the two billion people excluded from financial services. It also demonstrates our ability to adapt to new regulatory frameworks and consumer demand for fingerprint authentication.’

KeyBS, a dynamic solution provider and systems integrator company, and a fully owned subsidiary of Arabi Holding Group, introduced three advanced fintech solutions namely KeyKIOSK, KeyEVD, KeyMobile and KeyWeb at the Seamless Middle East 2018 exhibition. The new technologies are aimed at empowering provision of payment services in both public and private sectors.

The Seamless Middle East Exhibition 2018 is being held at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 15 and 16, 2018. KeyBS the UAE-based leader in the region’s payment solutions industry. 

Commenting on the company’s new solutions introduced at the exhibition, Mr. Ibrahim Darraz, Managing Director of KeyBS, said, “Seamless ME exhibition is a great platform to showcase the most advanced payment solutions in the region. This is KeyBS’ fifth participation in this prestigious exhibition, aimed at decision-makers from different sectors including banking, telecom, financial institutions, retail and the government sector providing them with the most advanced payment technologies.”

“This year, we introduced the most advanced solutions including a kiosk KeyKIOSK, Point of Sales unit KeyEVD, a mobile solution named ‘KeyMobile’ and a web solution named ‘KeyWeb’. For banks, we are presenting the new technology of digital branch, which consists of four zones namely ‘quick banking zone’, ‘printing zone’, ‘mobile banking zone’ and ‘interactive digital wall’. The digital branch is a smart branch, where the client can visit it and do all banks services by himself including the full ‘Know Your Customer’, printing statements, issuing cheque books or pay credit/ debit card bills without standing on a queue and the customer can also ask for instant video calls through the machine itself,” he added.

“On the other hand, we are providing a full telecom solution of self-service machine (SSM), KeyEVD (e-voucher distribution technology) and mobile application. Through these three solutions, the telecom operator can automate all the services provided to end-user either by the operator or by the distributer. Besides the banking digital branch and the telecom full solutions, we are presenting the government sector solutions, remittance solution and retail solutions through our product named KeyKIOSK. We are constantly striving to enhance our solutions in different industrial and service sectors. Our vision is to have in place an innovative platform that will facilitate multiple electronic payment services”, Mr. Darraz concluded.  

Bringing the evolution of the CIO role into perspective at #ITLA18

IT Leaders Africa Summit (#ITLA18), Africa’s largest CIO gathering, will be hosted on the 9^th and 10^th of May at the new CTICC 2 in South Africa’s Tech Innovation hub – Cape Town. The summit has evolved over the nine years of its existence, just as the role of the CIO has transformed, and offers an invaluable platform to engage with industry leaders and practitioners on the latest trends and technology developments forever altering the strategic function of the IT division.

The 2018 edition of the event will host a diverse audience of industry experts and business technology leaders, as well as top IT solution providers who will be presenting educational workshops which are reflective of contemporary trends that affect the evolving role of IT executives in Africa. 

The summit features over 40 speakers who will present thought-provoking and legacy-smashing keynotes, panel discussions which engage the audience on next-generation solutions to current risk and exposure; as well as numerous educational workshop sessions – hosted by leading IT solution providers from around the globe. #ITLA18 offers a unique business platform for career development, networking with industry change-agitators and technology disruptors who are driving IT and digital transformation in today’s increasingly competitive market.

This year’s agenda features insights from seasoned experts in the IT industry such as Brett St Clair, CEO at Siatik (Google’s leading Cloud partner in Africa). Brett's keynote will focus on how to build ‘Exponential Growth’ businesses and helping small and large companies through their digital transformation journey.

Next-generation businesses will be those that are able to recognise and understand change; whilst adapting their operating models to respond appropriately.  It is imperative that IT departments reconfigure to allow new ways of working that enables agility, flexibility of IT platforms and swift responses to an increasingly digital world.

Lee Naik,CEO of TransUnion Africa is recognised as one of South Africa's leading digital and technology transformation experts, having worked across all spheres of government and the private sector. He has a deep understanding and appreciation of the transformative role technology can play and his experience ranges from developing first-in-country strategies and solutions to leading complex delivery programmes. A frequent speaker and commentator, Naik was recognised as a global top 10 commentator in the 2015 LinkedIn Top Voices Awards and was a recipient of the 2015 Standard Bank Rising Stars Award. In 2016, he was one of the top 10 finalists for the IITPSA's IT Personality of the Year award. He will participate in the opening panel discussion at the event, in his role as an advisory panellist.

Most CIO’s can appreciate why IT has increasingly become a top priority for the Board; and this is touched upon in the new King IV report which acknowledges that rapid advances in technology have the potential to result in considerable disruption; which in itself, presents opportunity and risks – which need good oversight from the Board and the adoption of solid technology governance practices – that support the organisation achieving its strategic objectives.

Professor Mervyn King, Attorney, arbitrator, mediator and commission chair will discuss POPI and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) during a session on Governance and Leadership at the summit. Prof King is probably best known as the Chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, which produced King I, II, III and IV. 

Organisations are continuously adapting to these new market demands and constraints by developing and implementing technology solutions that are driving the rapid change of the IT department.

Katherine Schneider, CIO for Oceana Group will shed light on how we manage our people assets, and ensure we will have the right skills and competences to support our business objectives. This keynote will discuss career frameworks, job families, career development models and training catalogues, and how these can be designed and implemented..

With the role of the IT division advancing and taking on a broader and more strategic role within business which has resulted in considerable transformation of the CIO’s mandate, IT processes, architecture and governance. The forward thinking CIO needs to look at redefining their role to be aligned with the core organisational strategy and respond effectively to the demands of the market; in order to remain competitive and ensure that an alignment exists between IT and digital transformation.

Tony Christodoulou, CIO of Africa for American Tower Corporation (Fortune 500 global company and provider of wireless communications infrastructure) will share his passion and expertise in the fields of Digital Disruption, Effective Execution & Project Management, Strategic Project Leadership, Process Excellence, I.T as a strategic enabler, The Art of Innovation, Information and Knowledge Management.

The stage will be set for the delivery of power keynotes focused on highlighting current and future trends which are fundamentally changing the role of CIO and IT Division within the organisation. The agenda was conceptualised and shaped by the advisory panel to ensure that only the most pressing topics are addressed at the summit.

Topics that will be delved into extensively include, ‘IT leadership in the new world’, ‘How digital disruption affects the CIO’, ‘Leveraging new markets’, ‘Facing escalating cyber security threats’, ‘Engaging IT across the organisation’, ‘Understanding the organisation’s core business strategy’, ‘Monetising data’, ‘C-suite integration’ and how to effectively grow the IT team.

The advisory panel and leadership council includes Tony Parry, CEO of IITPSA, Brent Curry, Group CIO at TFG, Peter du Plooy, CIO at Engen, Jamie Whittaker, the Deputy CIO at Discovery, Unathi Mtya, CIO for the Parliament of South Africa & Simphiwe Mayisela, Head: Information Security, Risk & Governance at the Public Investment Corporation.

Sponsors include: Infobip, Logitech, Seacom, Fortinet, Paloalto Networks, Forrester and Snode.

A recent  PwC CEO survey recognised that “the rate of technological change and changing consumer behaviour are the two biggest concerns for the c-suite…increasingly, CIO’s will hold the key to unlocking competitive advantage, business benefits and relevant customer engagement, and with this shift comes growing pressure on, and higher expectations of the IT function”.The 9th Annual IT Leaders Africa Summit is hosted on the 9th & 10th of May 2018 at the new CTICC 2 in Cape Town, where like-minded experts and the top IT solution providers gather for an informative and educational summit with the common goal of improving IT leadership and innovation across Africa.

Follow @ITLeaders on Twitter and join the conversation using the #ITLA18 hashtag

For more information about IT Leaders Africa, visit: http://www.itleaders.co.za/

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)  has partnered with Aston University and the University of Liverpool to look at the future business landscape and procurement and supply management’s prospects in the decades to come.

The thought leadership paper has been developed with academics, CIPS members and the wider procurement community to look at the challenges the profession will face and the shifting influences on procurement decisions by global businesses, and organisations large and small.

Detailing the forces driving disruption and innovation and testing long-standing assumptions, the paper explores two scenarios – Titans and Networked – and their implications for the future of procurement and supply management (PSM) in fifteen years and beyond.

In Titans, market power and innovation will be increasingly concentrated in a few dominant firms in each sector. New PSM systems and data will drive down transaction costs and make supply markets much more dynamic and unstable. In Networked, new systems and data will increase transparency and the influence of external stakeholders and facilitate new business models, but also slow decision-making and innovation.

The paper has been developed through face to face interviews, focus groups and workshops with all levels of procurement and supply management professionals and with C-suite executives outside  procurement, along with consultancies, professional bodies and futurologists.

Helen Alder (FCIPS), Group Head of Knowledge and Product Development at CIPS said, “This insight has been generated following extensive consultation with the biggest range of experts we could find both inside the profession, and out, so is an incredibly valuable piece of work.

“These potential scenarios can be just a few short years away, so it’s important for everyone involved in sourcing decisions to look at our Titans and Networked scenarios and see how they resonate with the aims of your organisation and how you can move into this future with ease and taking advantage of the opportunities they bring.”

Dr Louise Knight (FCIPS) from Aston University said, “How might the supply landscape change in the coming years? These are questions that all leaders in our field should be actively considering. It is difficult to find the space and resource to consider these given the everyday pressures we face and when we do get the chance to contemplate the future, we find ourselves struggling with the volume of material on future trends.

“This report contributes to addressing this big gap in our collective knowledge.”

Dr Joanne Meehan from the University of Liverpool said, “It has been a privilege for us to lead this study. We are very grateful to all the contributors. CIPS has not just sponsored this project, but worked closely with a wide range of business leaders to consider the implications of these findings. These point to many opportunities but also to risks and responsibilities which it seems are not yet being widely and actively addressed with the supply management community.”

Today’s sourcing decisions shape tomorrow’s markets so this paper is important for all types of organisations and businesses to support future planning not only of their businesses but to understand how these trends will shape societies, socio-political changes and global sourcing decisions.

Insurtech start-ups competing to win a US$100,000 contract to develop and pilot solutions with MetLife EMEA can look forward to “building a long-term relationship” focused on helping innovation to succeed, previous winners of the insurance giant’s collab programmes say.

A large number of insurtechs and entrepreneurs have already applied for “collab 3.0 EMEA”, a global open innovation platform inviting participants to scale their business with MetLife while solving some of the insurer’s biggest challenges across its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Startups can still apply up until close on 20 April, 2018 at the collab website for the opportunity to  develop solutions in areas such as customer engagement, sales, and operations, and to pilot these solutions with MetLife EMEA.

Created by LumenLab, MetLife Asia’s innovation center, collab 3.0 EMEA builds on the success of two previous collab programmes for MetLife Asia (collab 1.0) and MetLife Japan (collab 2.0), which have awarded US$600,000 in equity-free contracts to startup finalists.

Previous collab winners have focused on areas including operations optimisation, product pricing, customer engagement, digital distribution, and claims analysis.

Klaas Stijnen, CEO of Montoux, one of the collab 2.0’s winners, which has already started to pilot its solutions in product pricing optimisation with MetLife Japan, advises entrants to be transparent about the advantages and disadvantages of their solution when applying and to be prepared for high calibre engagement if they are selected for the programme.

Following a rigorous selection process, MetLife will determine eight finalists and pair them with MetLife EMEA employee champions to help finalists hone their pitch and improve problem-solution fit.

“You are building a long-term relationship, so take your time to explain and ask questions and ensure communication is clear. Have patience and ask for advice from MetLife’s employee champions and LumenLab’s collab team on your pitch. That process is a great help to get your value proposition right.”

“Winning collab was a far easier way of entering a new market than the traditional route and a key advantage was the level of support from different layers and geographies within MetLife to make innovation succeed,” Klaas Stijnen, CEO of Montoux.

The eight finalists will be invited to attend the collab Summit EMEA and Demo Day in London on 11-12 July 2018 to present their solutions where the ultimate winner will be announced.

To learn more and apply for collab 3.0 EMEA, please visit: collab.lumenlab.sg.