Azelio has started the production of its energy storage TES.POD

 

Production in volume design of Azelio's long-duration energy storage TES.POD has started according to plan. To ensure high quality in both the product and the supply chain, consisting of around seventy European suppliers, production will begin at a low pace before scaling up to high volumes in 2022.Azelio continues its commercialisation as planned and has now reached another important milestone by commencing production of its long-duration energy storage TES.POD in volume design. The production chain consists of the assembly of cylinder kits in the company's facilities in Åmål (Sweden), followed by the final assembly of a complete Stirling engine in its factory in Uddevalla (Sweden). The thermal storage unit is assembled by AQ Systems in Vaggeryd (Sweden), and the complete product is then married at each project site.

To secure high quality in the product and supply chain, the initial production pace is low to ensure maintained quality also in high volumes, which are planned for in 2022.

Azelio has so far secured orders for two TES.POD units in Sweden and one unit in Dubai, as well as a conditional order from Egypt for twenty TES.POD units, corresponding to 260 kW of electrical output and 3.3 MWh of storage capacity. The company's goal for 2021 is to sign and begin delivery of one or two projects in the size of 100 kW or larger.

“Starting production of our TES.POD in volume design has been one of our goals for 2021. It is a big and challenging task to secure a supply chain for a complex system product that is completely new to the market. I am very proud and impressed with the entire organisation's work", says Jonas Eklind, CEO of Azelio.

AVANA Companies Expands Global Reach with New Services in Saudi Arabia

 

Lending and investment company recently named to Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing American Companies

BAHRAIN, GCC, Sept. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/Knowledge Bylanes -- AVANA Companies (AVANA), a comprehensive ESG lending and investment platform, which opened its headquarters in Bahrain in 2008, is pleased to announce its regional expansion into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). AVANA will provide financial services to businesses and individuals through its subsidiary Ezdaher to grow its $1.3B AUM globally.

Under the Ezdaher brand, AVANA will provide its new small business lending platform, LendThrive™, as well as an alternative investment marketplace for individual investors called EqualSeat™. AVANA Companies has had its GCC regional headquarters in Bahrain for the last 13 years with additional offices in India and the Philippines. The company recently added five new staff members and has leased additional office space in Bahrain with plans to hire at least 12 new people between Bahrain and KSA in the next 6-12 months.

"AVANA Companies is pleased to continue our global expansion with a mission to provide ESG lending and investment opportunities to those in the Middle East, as well as new market products and services," said Sundip Patel, CEO of AVANA Companies.

Patel spends half of his time in Bahrain and will oversee the expansion in the area along with Chief Commercial Officer, Andris Rozenbahs. Rozenbahs is based in Bahrain and brings a wealth of knowledge and more than 10 years of experience in the FinTech start-up environment, having previously founded several companies in the space.

"I am very excited to be a leader in the growth of AVANA Companies in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and look forward to helping launch Ezdaher's LendThrive™ and EqualSeat™ as a standout FinTech product with an underlying mission and commitment to build stronger communities in this region," says Rozenbahs.

Rozenbahs will oversee the two Ezdaher units, LendThrive™ and EqualSeat™, to ensure they follow AVANA's mission to be ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) focused FinTech platforms that make positive contributions towards social and environmental impact.

LendThrive™, a new online lending platform designed to help small businesses, that meet ESG standards, supports business owners through its Rate Reduction Rewards Program and helps them thrive while stimulating local economies. LendThrive™ focuses on underserved companies in industries such as hospitality, construction, and renewable energy.

EqualSeat™, which began beta testing in 2021, is an investment marketplace with ESG investing opportunities that provides individual investors fractional access to institutional-quality commercial debt investments.

While other global financial companies may have struggled during the pandemic, AVANA was able to remain strong for its employees with no demotions, or salary reductions. They were able to hire additional manpower and continued to add more services, while other companies were forced to close. AVANA Companies recently completed two acquisitions - credit union focused Extensia Financial and a FDIC bank in Texas, USA.

About AVANA Companies

With $1.3B AUM globally, AVANA Family of Companies (AVANA) is dedicated to stimulating local economies and contributing to clean energy development on a global scale. Founded in 2002 by brothers Sundip and Sanat Patel, it is a family of ESG lending and investment platforms that serve entrepreneurs and investors. AVANA's ESG lending is done through AVANA Capital, LendThrive™,and Extensia Financial and ESG investments through AVANA Fund and EqualSeatTM. The company's goal is to empower small businesses by providing ESG focused loans and investment opportunities that are impactful, socially driven and preserve wealth. AVANA is headquartered in both Arizona and Kingdom of Bahrain and serves small business owners and investors across the United States and globally. AVANA invests in the communities it serves, creating jobs, stimulating economic growth, and contributing to sustainable projects. AVANA has recently been named to the 2021 Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies. AVANA Capital, LLC is licensed in California, USA under DBO license number 603K752 and in Arizona, USA under CBK license number 0921662. To learn more, visit www.avanacompanies.com or follow on AVANA Companies on LinkedIn.

New Salesforce and Slack Innovations Empower Companies to Create Their Digital HQ

 

Salesforce Achieves Net Zero Across Its Value Chain and 100% Renewable Energy, Launches Sustainability Cloud 2.0 and Slack-First Sustainability;



Salesforce Launches Health Cloud 2.0, a Connected Platform to Help Deliver Health and Safety from Anywhere

 

 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — 22 September 2021 — Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, has announced at Dreamforce new capabilities that integrate Slack across Salesforce’s products and industry solutions, plus new Slack innovations that improve collaboration across organizational boundaries and empower teams to embrace asynchronous working.



“Our mindset about work has shifted from a place you go, to something you do,” said Bret Taylor, President and Chief Operating Officer of Salesforce. “Every company needs a digital HQ to connect its employees, customers, and partners, and thrive in a work-from-anywhere world. Organizations around the world build their digital HQs on Salesforce and Slack so they can work better and grow faster.”



Following the August launch of new Slack integrations across Sales, Service, Marketing, and Analytics (Tableau), today Salesforce is launching integrations across the majority of its products, including Commerce, Experience, Platform, Trailhead, MuleSoft, and Quip, and its industry clouds and products including Sustainability, Corporate and Investment Banking, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Philanthropy, Nonprofit, and Education.



Salesforce Achieves Net Zero Across Its Value Chain and 100% Renewable Energy



Salesforce has also announced that it is a Net Zero company across its full value chain and has achieved 100% renewable energy for its operations. Salesforce developed emissions reductions strategies across Scope 1, 2 and 3 in four key categories—work from anywhere, infrastructure, business travel, and supply chain.



Salesforce is also unveiling Sustainability Cloud 2.0 to accelerate customers’ path to Net Zero, empowering organizations to track and reduce their carbon emissions and become a sustainable business. New innovations include Slack-First Sustainability for better collaboration with suppliers, a carbon-offset ecosystem, and industry specific climate action plans.



“Climate change is one of the most pressing crises we face as a planet, and each one of us has a responsibility to help,” said Marc Benioff, CEO and Chair, Salesforce. “I’m proud that Salesforce is one of the few companies to have achieved Net Zero and 100% renewable energy, but we can’t stop until we embrace every solution and get every business on board. Together, we can sequester 100 gigatons of carbon by restoring, conserving or growing 1 trillion trees; energize an ecopreneur revolution to develop innovative climate solutions; and accelerate the Fortune 1000 to reach Net Zero.”



Salesforce Launches Health Cloud 2.0, a Connected Platform to Help Deliver Health and Safety from Anywhere



Salesforce also announced Health Cloud 2.0, technology designed to empower businesses and governments to deliver better health and safety for their employees, customers, and communities.



As we navigate a future that’s a hybrid of digital, in-person, and on-site, focus has shifted to ensuring health, safety, and effective business operations in the new normal — which is key to building trust and business continuity. Now, COVID-19 testing, vaccination, contact tracing, wellness assessments, and delivering healthcare from multiple settings are critical as organizations in every industry are looking for ways to be together safely with their customers and employees.



This week the company is deploying Dreampass, a new part of the Health Cloud 2.0 portfolio, at its three-day, hybrid digital and in-person Dreamforce conference.



“Every company is eager to be together safely with their customers, prospects, employees, and partners as they look to get back to growth and combat digital fatigue”, said Sarah Franklin, President and Chief Marketing Officer, Salesforce. “We built Dreampass, powered by Health Cloud 2.0, to bring our community together safely in San Francisco for a special in-person experience unlike anything else in the world.”

Sinch extends leadership in conversational messaging through acquisition of MessengerPeople

 

Stockholm, Sweden – September 22, 2021 – Sinch AB (publ), a global leader in cloud communications for mobile customer engagement, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MessengerPeople, a leading German software-as-as-service platform for conversational messaging. Sinch will pay a total enterprise value of EUR 48 million, with a total cash consideration of EUR 33.6 million and EUR 14.4 million paid in the form of new shares in Sinch. Using yesterday’s EUR/SEK exchange rate of 10.18, this corresponds to an enterprise value of SEK 489 million.

Founded in Munich in 2015, MessengerPeople offers a cloud-based software suite that makes it easy for businesses to engage with their customers via messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and Apple Business Chat (iMessage). A pioneer in its field, MessengerPeople was amongst the very first innovators to recognize the potential of next generation messaging channels and build software tools for businesses to leverage these capabilities. More than 700 businesses use MessengerPeople applications to engage with their customers, and around 80% of these businesses are based in the DACH region.

“I’m very impressed with the MessengerPeople team and their success in bringing innovative products to market. Most businesses have yet to discover the benefits of conversational messaging, and together we are superbly placed to win in this market as uptake now begins to accelerate”, comments Oscar Werner, CEO of Sinch.

With easy-to-use applications that are designed for business users, MessengerPeople complements Sinch’s API-based offering for larger enterprises and channel partners. The MessengerPeople platform is particularly well-suited for pre-sales and customer care, which accounts for around 85 percent of current volumes. Monetization is based primarily on subscriptions and monthly active users, through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, rather than on transaction volumes.

MessengerPeople serves businesses across a broad range of verticals such as eCommerce, Automotive, Public Authorities, and Media. Current customers include travel & tourism leader TUI, e-commerce specialist Women’s Best, and the state government of Telangana, India. In the year ending December 2021, MessengerPeople is expected to generate revenues of EUR 5.1 million, Gross Profit of EUR 4.5 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of EUR 0.6 million. Underlying revenue growth compared to the previous year is expected to reach 35 percent. The company has around 40 employees and is based in Munich, Germany.

The acquisition builds on Sinch’s ongoing organic investments and previous acquisitions in next-generation, conversational messaging. Integration cost is estimated to SEK 16 million over 12 months, with targets centered on cross-sales, accelerated geographic expansion, and product integration with Sinch’s communication APIs and related Sinch applications.

“Mobile messaging is simple, quick and interactive – and used by people all over the world. Empowering businesses to use messaging is a tremendous market opportunity, and teaming up with Sinch gives us the size to pursue it on a global scale”, comments Franz Buchenberger, founder & CEO of MessengerPeople.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2021 and will be financed with a combination of new Sinch shares and Sinch’s available cash at hand. Sinch has a financial target to maintain net debt/adjusted EBITDA below 3.5x over time. As of Q2 2021, the company had a net cash position, with net debt/adjusted EBITDA of -9.6x, in anticipation of upcoming transactions. Taking into consideration the expected, upcoming payment for Inteliquent and MessageMedia, pro forma Net debt/Adj EBITDA is 2.6x. All else equal, the acquisition of MessengerPeople increases Sinch’s pro forma net debt/EBITDA by 0.1x to 2.7x.

SODIC to Open First Sports Measurements Medical Centre in Middle East in Partnership with the Olympic Council at Kazan Russia

 

Cairo, Egypt: 19th September 2021


SODIC, the leading real estate developer announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Olympic Council at Kazan Russia. The MOU entails bringing to Egypt the first Sports Measurements Medical Centre in the Middle East, utilizing the most advanced science and technology and world-class trainers to better equip Egyptian athletes and allow for the making of a new generation of athletes able to compete at international standards. The sports measurements center will use the cutting-edge technology used in Russia’s sports capital Kazan, where DNA testing determines the unique sports profile of each individual and the exact sports they are built to excel in, allowing for the development of a personalized nutrition and training plan carried out by world-class specialists. This holistic scientific program gives young athletes the very best advantage to compete and excel along their sports career. All DNA testing is carried out by the Olympic Council in Kazan, the Russian sports capital. The MOU also entailed the Olympic Council providing world-class trainers for different sports at SODIC’s Club S, organizing and hosting international competitions and running training camps and exchange programs for athletes and teams of different sports. The MOU was signed by SODIC’s Managing Director Magued Sherif and Olympic Counsel Chairman Marat Mansourovitch Pareef at the ninth international forum Russia - country of sports, for a ten year tenure with an exclusivity to SODIC in Egypt.

سوديك تفتتح أول مركز طبي للقياسات الرياضية في الشرق الأوسط بالتعاون مع المجلس الأوليمبي بمدينة قازان الروسية

القاهرة في 19 سبتمبر 2021

أعلنت شركة السادس من أكتوبر للتنمية والاستثمار "سوديك"، الشركة الرائدة في مجال التطوير العقاري، اليوم عن التوقيع على مذكرة تفاهم مع المجلس الأوليمبي بمدينة قازان الروسية. تتضمن الإتفاقية إقامة أول مركز طبي فريد من نوعه للقياسات الرياضية في منطقة الشرق الأوسط، والذي يعتمد على أحدث التطبيقات العلمية والتكنولوجية ويستعين بمدربين على أعلى المستويات العالمية، بهدف تأهيل وتطوير الرياضيين المصريين وإعداد جيل جديد قادر على المنافسة على المستوى العالمي. يقدم المركز الطبي للقياسات الرياضية أحدث الحلول والتطبيقات التكنولوجية المستخدمة في مدينة قازان، عاصمة الرياضة الروسية، حيث تحدد اختبارات الحمض النووي DNA الرياضة الأنسب لكل شخص على حدة ومدى قدرته على التفوق بها، وبناءً عليه يقوم أفضل المتخصصين على مستوى العالم بإعداد برنامج خاص للتغذية وخطط تدريبية مصممة خصيصا لكل رياضي. ويمنح هذا المنهج العلمي المتكامل للرياضيين الناشئين القدرة على التميز في المنافسات الرياضية المختلفة وتحقيق البطولات خلال مسيرتهم الرياضية.

يُشار أنّ المجلس الأوليمبي بمدينة قازان، عاصمة الرياضة الروسية، سيتولى إجراء اختبارات الحمض النووي للرياضيين المصريين. تنص مذكرة التفاهم أيضًا على قيام المجلس الأوليمبي بتوفير مجموعة من المدربين العالميين في عدد من الرياضات المختلفة لناديClub S في سوديك، مع تنظيم وإستضافة عدد من البطولات الرياضية الدولية، وإقامة معسكرات تدريبية وبرامج للتبادل الرياضي للرياضيين والفرق في رياضات متنوعة. قام بالتوقيع على مذكرة التفاهم ماجد شريف، العضو المنتدب لشركة السادس من أكتوبر للتنمية والاستثمار "سوديك"، ومارات منصور وفيتش بارييف، رئيس مجلس إدارة المجلس الأوليمبي بمدينة قازان خلال المنتدى الدولي التاسع "روسيا دولة الرياضة"، حيث تصل مدة الإتفاقية إلى 10 سنوات بصورة حصرية بين المجلس وشركة سوديك داخل جمهورية مصر العربية.