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GET Group North America Teaming with Scytáles to Demonstrate Global Mobile Driver’s License Interoperability at AAMVA’s AIC 2021

GET Group North America

GET Group North America, an innovative developer of mobile ID technology with over 20 years of experience in secure government credentials, will be demonstrating GET Mobile ID and GET Mobile Verify alongside its international technology partner, Scytáles, at AAMVA’s 2021 International Conference. Together, the companies will be demonstrating how a mobile driver’s license (mDL) solution that is fully compliant with the ISO 18013-5 standard allows people to use their Mobile ID worldwide through secure, contactless interactions that also safeguard their privacy. Select attendees will be able to get their personalized mDL and travel between GET’s booth, representing America, and Scytáles’ booth, representing Sweden. These mDL holders will complete mock TSA, banking and age-based purchase transactions and collect giveaway items. “The successful adoption of large-scale mobile driver’s license adoption hinges not only on the ability for an mDL issued in one’s home state to be accepted across the USA, but also to be recognized internationally as a legal form of ID,” said David Kelts, director of product development, mobile ID, GET Group North America. “Creating a truly global mDL ecosystem requires technology that fully complies with the ISO standard for mobile ID, and that’s the full solution GET and Scytáles offer now and will be demonstrating.” “Many jurisdictions around the world are moving towards a mobile driver’s license offering and should make sure they’re choosing technology that adheres to internationally-recognized security and interoperability standards,” said Geoff Slagle, president & chief business development officer at Scytáles. “North Americans travel extensively. Investing time and resources in the transition to mDL could slow if jurisdictions don’t ensure their digital credentials comply with the larger ecosystem – and we’re very excited to demonstrate how that’s possible at AIC 2021.” The Utah Driver License Division (DLD) is currently conducting an mDL pilot using GET Group North America’s technology, making it the first in the country where both ID Issuer and businesses are fully ISO 18013-5-compliant. Utah Community Credit Union and Harmons Grocery have been among the first to pioneer implementation of verification technology that allows state-issued mDLs to be accepted without the subjectivity of visual inspection. mDL also facilitates totally contactless ID checks that put the citizen in control of the data they share based on the nature of the transaction. GET Group North America will be in booths 512 & 513 at the AAMVA Annual International Conference taking place August 31-September 2, 2021, in Denver, CO. Scytáles will be in neighboring booths 510 and 511. Representatives from the Utah Driver License Division will be able to share their experience piloting mDL technology. Scytáles will have a delegation from Europe to discuss the significance of global interoperability. Schedule a demo at the show here; or for media inquiries contact rita.murphy@svmpr.com. About GET Group North America GET Group North America and its partners develop, manufacture, and implement end-to-end solutions for secure physical and mobile credentials that enable government agencies, motor vehicle departments, municipalities law enforcement organizations, and other entities to leverage the latest in secure identity management technologies. From photo ID cards, driver’s licenses and passports, to mDLs and mIDs, GET Group NA delivers advanced issuance, verification and personalization capabilities that prevent identification fraud, accommodate diversified customer needs, and support the future of ID use cases. Contact Details SVM Public Relations Rita Murphy +1 401-490-9700 Rita.murphy@svmpr.com Company Website https://getgroupna.com/

August 18, 2021 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Velocity Global Wins Company of the Year in Best in Biz Awards 2021 International

Velocity Global

Company wins top award in Business to Business category Independent global business awards judged by prominent media including Bloomberg News, Huffington Post, TechRadar, and others Velocity Global is the gold winner in the Company of the Year business-to-business category in Best in Biz Awards 2021 International, the only independent global business awards program judged each year by prominent editors and reporters from top-tier publications from around the world. “This award recognizes the hard work of our team in a year that forever changed the work landscape,” said Ben Wright, Velocity Global founder and CEO. “Living our ‘People-First’ brand, we prioritized the jobs and safety of our teammates and supported employees for our clients. We achieved significant growth in a difficult year for many. That momentum paved the way for us to make two acquisitions this year as we build upon our leading global work platform.” The company’s global work platform simplifies the employer and employee experience through proprietary cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched global scale. Users access a streamlined technology interface as well as partner with a dedicated experienced team for individualized solutions and expertise. Winners in the 9th annual program were determined based on scoring from an independent panel of judges from a wide spectrum of top-tier publications and media outlets from 10 countries. Each year, only editors, writers, and contributors to business, consumer, financial, trade, and technology publications, as well as broadcast outlets and analyst firms, serve as judges in Best in Biz Awards. The program’s uniqueness stems, in part, from this distinct composition of its judging panels, enabling it to best leverage the judges’ unparalleled expertise, experience, and objectivity to determine award winners. This year’s judging panel included writers and contributors to such publications as Bloomberg News, Data Breach Today, HTMAG (Israel), Huffington Post, NDR (Germany), Panorama Magazine (United Arab Emirates), Small Business IT (Canada), TechRadar (UK), as well as other outlets from Brazil, Canada, India, United Kingdom and more. For a full list of gold, silver, and bronze winners in Best in Biz Awards 2021 International, visit http://intl.bestinbizawards.com/intl-2021-winners. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work beyond borders. Its global work platform simplifies the employer and employee experience through proprietary cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched scale. As the largest global Employer of Record (also known as International PEO) in 185 countries and all 50 United States, more than 1,000 brands rely on Velocity Global to build global teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. The company offers additional services including Independent Contractor Compliance to assess a workforce, and Agent of Record (AoR) to streamline payments to contractors. Velocity Global was named a “Leader” in Global Employer of Record services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across five continents. For more information visit velocityglobal.com. About Best in Biz Awards Since 2011, Best in Biz Awards has made its mark as the only independent business awards program judged each year by a who’s who of prominent reporters and editors from top-tier publications from North America and around the world. Best in Biz Awards honors are conferred in two separate programs: North America and International, and in more than 90 categories, including company, team, executive, product, and CSR, media, PR, and other categories. For more information about the International program, see: http://intl.bestinbizawards.com. Contact Details Velocity Global John Hall +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

August 18, 2021 07:02 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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BEE Hits 10K Subscribers for BEE Pro, Company Poised to Accelerate Growth in H2

BEE

BEE, a business unit of Growens and premier digital content design platform, has announced it recently reached a milestone of 10K paid subscribers for its BEE Pro product. BEE Pro is the fastest, no-code email and landing page design suite on the market, appealing to freelancers, teams and agencies that need to design digital content faster and more independently. BEE is poised to grow substantially over the next three years, focusing on expansion within its user base and acquisitions. According to Adobe, there will be 4.7 billion people designing digital content by 2023. As the volume of digital content increases, marketers and content creators look for new ways to produce it quickly and efficiently. BEE Pro exists precisely to satisfy that growing demand, giving everyone the tools they need to design beautiful, mobile-ready, high-converting campaigns without compromising brand identity or team bandwidth. “This growth is a direct result of our product-led model. Since day one, people have been able to click on ‘Start designing’ on beefree.io and create emails and landing pages in two clicks. As they experience the value of the free product, many opt to stay, and that’s how we passed 10,000 paying customers last month.” said Massimo Arrigoni, CEO of BEE and a big believer in product-led growth for many years. “We’re certainly not stopping here: we continue to invest into the product, with smart features like Mobile Design Mode - which allows people to design directly in mobile view - better collaboration features like commenting and real-time co-editing, and higher productivity features, like being able to go from email to landing page (and vice versa) in just a few clicks. People love BEE Pro (NPS is a very high 56 so far this year), and the addressable market of those that need no-code, fast, easy design tools is huge: so we truly believe that we’re just getting started.” BEE as a tool can help facilitate collaboration on newsletters, transactional emails, product launch pages, custom home pages for newsletters, and more. Individuals in all types of work environments can design everything in one place helping to keep projects easily organized and ready to be used anywhere. To learn more about BEE Pro please visit our website at beefree.io. About BEE: BEE provides no-code design tools that empower everyone to quickly create content that resonates. BEE’s visual builders are used to design emails, landing pages, one-page sites and more. They deliver fantastic design flexibility and a great user experience, combining granular control on design elements with handy features like editing content directly in mobile view. BEE is building on its vision to help democratize content design, with millions of monthly users in over 20 languages and from over 150 countries. BEE’s design tools are available online at beefree.io and embedded in 600+ SaaS applications. Contact Details Angelina Kaliszak angelina@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://beefree.io/

August 18, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sage Communications Recognized as a PRNEWS Elite Top 100 Agency

Sage Communications

Sage Communications, a leading technology and public sector marketing and public relations agency in the Washington, D.C. metro region, announced today it was named to PRNEWS ’ 2022 Agency Elite Top 100 List. The national catalogue celebrates the top communications firms that represent their clients through innovation, strategy and creativity, while driving the best results, reputation, media coverage and thought leadership. “This recognition is a true testament to the hours of hard work our team members put in on a daily basis and the awe-inspiring stories our clients have to tell,” said Julie Murphy, senior vice president of public relations. “We take great pride in the work we do for our incredible clients in technology, government, education and beyond, and are grateful to be recognized among the industry’s best.” The top 100 list ranges from small boutique agencies to some of the largest global firms in the world. Honorees were chosen based on successful case studies, client testimonials and noteworthy capabilities that stand out in the PR and communications arena. Founded in 2003, Sage is known for its tactical support to clients across cybersecurity, technology, government and more. The company’s work in public relations and social media, combined with marketing, lead generation and events, has served the D.C. area for almost 20 years, and continues to grow. View the 2022 PRNEWS Agency Elite Top 100 list by visiting https://bit.ly/3m8dsne. To learn more about how Sage can help tell your organization’s story, visit www.aboutsage.com. About Sage Communications Located in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, Sage Communications is a full-service marketing communications and public relations agency providing strategic marketing services to technology, government, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, non-profits and consumer-oriented organizations. The company provides a unique fusion of traditional and digital services that include public relations, advertising, marketing, branding, social media, interactive services, and event management to Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, non-profits, government agencies, associations and coalitions to deliver custom, high-impact communications programs. Sage supports several organizations and activities including the Leadership of Greater Washington, DC Jazz Festival, Access Youth, and The Children’s Inn at NIH. For more information, please visit our website at www.aboutsage.com or visit us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Contact Details Sage Communications Mike Atkinson +1 703-891-5686 matkinson@aboutsage.com Company Website https://www.AboutSage.com

August 18, 2021 08:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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COMCAST NAMES JOHN KELLER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE MOUNTAIN WEST REGION

Comcast Colorado

Comcast today announced John “J.D.” Keller as the new senior vice president for the company’s Mountain West Region, succeeding Amy Lynch who was named Comcast West Division’s senior vice president of Customer Experience and Customer Operations. In this role, Keller is the top executive responsible for customer experience, sales, operations, and financial performance for the region. Keller will report to Rich Jennings, president of Comcast’s West Division, and will oversee Comcast’s operations serving Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Tucson, AZ and parts of Idaho with more than 2.5 million residential and business customers and managing more than 2,500 employees. Keller previously held the role of senior vice president for the Comcast Twin Cities Region, a position he held for four years. Under his leadership, the region experienced strong growth, operational excellence, and continued commitment to advancing digital equity in our communities and enhancing customer experience. Keller came to Comcast from the security services industry, where he served in several senior leadership roles, and lead that company’s largest region with more than 4,000 employees. “My family and I are excited to be moving to the Denver area, and I’m looking forward to leading the Comcast Mountain West team,” said J.D. Keller, senior vice president, Comcast Mountain West Region. “I’m eager to collaborate with local business, community, education and nonprofit leaders to create meaningful change in our communities and connect people to more of what they love.” “J.D. is a strong, innovative leader at Comcast dedicated to our employees and operational excellence,” said Rich Jennings, Comcast West Division president. “His track record for bringing teams together as well as his focus in and on the community will serve us well guiding this important, multi-state region.” A native of Utah, Keller earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix. About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on broadband, aggregation, and streaming with over 56 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Comcast Leslie Oliver +1 303-810-6326 leslie_oliver@comcast.com Company Website https://colorado.comcast.com/

August 17, 2021 11:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Cyvatar’s Stephanie Simpson Named a Finalist for the Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity at the 2021 Black Unicorn Awards

Cyvatar

Cyvatar today announced the selection of another member of its senior executive team as a finalist for outstanding achievement at this year’s Cyber Defense Magazine Black Unicorn awards, announced during the 2021 Black Hat USA conference. Stephanie Simpson, vice president of platform management, was chosen as a finalist for the Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity; she competed against the industry’s leading cybersecurity experts for this prestigious award. “We’re pleased to name Stephanie Simpson as a finalist for the Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity among an elite group of female information security professionals at the third annual Black Unicorn awards,” said judges Robert R. Ackerman Jr., David DeWalt, Dr. Peter Stephenson, and Gary Miliefsky. “This year’s competition was fierce, and she should be proud of her achievement.” Stephanie was selected from women around the world who vied for top honors. She has two decades of software product leadership, from ideation to launch, to fill gaps in the industry and meet customer needs. She has brought many award-winning innovations to market including Cyvatar’s cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) platform, developed with fellow Black Unicorn winner Craig Goodwin. As an engineer, Stephanie is no stranger to disruptive technologies, and customers and colleagues alike benefit from her passionate, transformative leadership style. “Female technical talent in cybersecurity is hard to find, and we’re fortunate to have such an accomplished practitioner as Stephanie on the executive team at Cyvatar,” said Corey White, Cyvatar co-founder and chief executive. “Diversity and inclusion are foundational to our success, which makes Stephanie’s vision, energy, and leadership vital as we recruit top talent across the organization.” Only Cyvatar offers subscription-based CSaaS designed to provide outcomes, continuous remediation, ongoing solution maintenance, and the ability for all of its customers to execute their security strategies at speed and scale. Find out how CSaaS can work for your business at cyvatar.ai. About Cyber Defense Awards This is Cyber Defense Magazine’s 9th year of honoring cybersecurity innovators, in this case the Black Unicorn Awards for 2021 on our Cyber Defense Awards platform. In this competition, judges for these prestigious awards includes cybersecurity industry veterans, trailblazers and market makers Gary Miliefsky of CDMG, Dr. Peter Stephenson of CDMG, Robert R. Ackerman Jr. of Allegis Cyber and David DeWalt of NightDragon with much appreciation to emeritus judge Robert Herjavec of Herjavec Group. To see the complete list of finalists for the Black Unicorn Awards for 2021 please visit https://cyberdefenseawards.com/black-unicorn-awards-finalists-2021/ About Cyvatar Cyvatar is committed to making cybersecurity effortless for everyone. As the industry’s first subscription-based, cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) company, it’s our mission to transform the way the security industry builds, sells, and supports cyber solutions. We empower our members to achieve successful outcomes by providing expert advisors, proven technologies, and a strategic process roadmap to guarantee results that map to their business drivers. Our approach is rooted in proprietary ICARM (installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, maintenance) methodology that delivers smarter, measurable security solutions for superior compliance and cyber-attack protection faster and more efficiently, all at a fixed monthly price. And because we’re a subscription, members can cancel anytime. Cyvatar is headquartered in Irvine, California with locations around the world. Begin your journey to security confidence at https://cyvatar.ai/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact Details Cyvatar KC Higgins +1 303-434-8163 kc@cyvatar.ai Company Website https://cyvatar.ai/

August 16, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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UNFCC Climate Report delivers a message of hope stating 1.5 is within reach if immediate action is taken

North American Marine Environment Protection Association

The Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association (ZESTAs) sees the UNFCC Climate report as a message of hope and believes the authors have made it abundantly clear that it is possible to avert climate catastrophe by pursuing the “very low emissions scenario” within the next two decades. As reported, there are no other options; it is global society’s obligation to act now with “drastic, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gases to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees”, because it can. ZESTAs is nailing their colours to the mast by starting at true zero with their unprecedented “SHIP ZERO – Charging to True Zero” workshop 1-3 November coinciding with COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland. ZESTAs’ SHIP ZERO workshop will be the first ever shipping event to align with the IPCC “very low emissions scenario”, by not contemplating the use of fossil fuels or any GHG emitting fuel or technology. “The simple truth is the time for discussion is past – nothing remains but for us to act. Whatever your beliefs, whatever your passions, whatever your politics, insuring that we, as a society are no longer contributing to the end of life as we know it is imperative. This century is about reckoning – the morals, purpose and goals of society must align with the common good in every aspect of life. Sustainability is not just a goal but a social imperative that transcends our societies and presents us with both opportunities and obligations – future societies will either praise us or damn us for our actions today” observed Brent Perry, CEO, Sterling PlanB, Chair of ZESTAs Board of Directors. Only truly zero GHG emissions systems, solutions and technologies will be considered at this workshop. ZESTAs states that the technology to achieve true zero in all sectors of shipping exists today but that weak or misaligned policies and lack of finance are preventing these technologies from upscaling, achieving economies of scale and penetrating the wider market. “We need to stop throwing the ball out to 2050 and investing in half measures that won’t get us where we need to be. We need to invest in true zero now, upscale and shoot for 2030. If we don’t, we have no chance of stopping warming anywhere near 1.5. The IPCC report clearly states we’ve got a shot. We need to take that shot and act now to change policy and finance, allowing zero emissions ship technologies to get to market before 2030” said Madadh MacLaine, ZESTAs Secretary General The SHIP ZERO workshop will feature highly technical presentations, followed by discussions and brainstorming sessions, bringing together shipping stakeholders from; innovation, policy, finance, infrastructure, energy, and the wider shipping sector to combine solutions into an actionable road map. “Our intention is that the outcome of SHIP ZERO is an action plan, a navigational chart to true zero with waypoints based on realizable actions, available technologies, and implementable policies that will keep warming below 1.5 degrees” MacLaine continued. The SHIP ZERO workshop will demonstrate that marinized battery and hydrogen systems are market ready at multi megawatt scales, and that wind propulsion is being installed across the world fleet to delivers significant emissions reductions today. “Wind propulsion uses the power of the wind as a direct renewable energy source and is available everywhere at sea. Any energy taken from wind directly on ships by modern sail technology does not burden the infrastructure that ultimately will be powered by wave, sun and wind, reducing the renewable energy required to produce clean fuels. Wind assisted technology therefore makes all other technologies more feasible. ‘The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind’!” stated Frank Nieuwenhuis, eConowind, ZESTAs Board of Directors, Advisor More good news is that renewable energy and green hydrogen production infrastructure are being rolled out across the globe. From Scotland to Chile, from the United Arab Emirates to Monaco, governments are creating strategies that will achieve a price for green hydrogen that can compete with fossil fuels by the end of the decade. “If shipping is looking for that silver bullet, ZESTAs has a fully loaded chamber and we’re ready to fire” said MacLaine. In light of the "code red for humanity", declared by United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres in his response to the IPCC report, ZESTAs calls on governments and regulators to acknowledge that fully developed market ready zero emissions ship technologies exist by creating the policy frameworks necessary for these technologies to have a fighting chance of competing against incumbent fossil fuel technologies and achieve market availability before 2030. “I urge the governments of the world and each person living today to go “all in” – shift away from polluting activities and scale up climate solutions that deliver as close to zero emissions as possible. We still have the opportunity to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Governments can change policies to support this goal. As individuals we can make changes in our lives directly and speak with our votes to ensure our governments are not watered down by misrepresentative interests that are not focussed on climate management.” Brent Perry, CEO, Sterling PlanB For additional information on SHIP ZERO 26, go to https://zestas.org/ship-zero/. Contact Details NAMEPA Carleen Lyden Walker +1 203-255-4686 executivedirector@namepa.net Company Website https://zestas.org/ship-zero/

August 15, 2021 10:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Purify Fuel’s nanO2 ESG Combustion Catalyst Provides Immediate Reduction of GHG Emissions Addressing “Code Red for Humanity” Declared by IPCC Report

Purify Fuel

In a report issued this week, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) issued a “Code Red for Humanity” citing that impacts from human activity are exceeding the limits set in 2015 for temperature increases. “Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades” cited the report. In a world looking for solutions, the report recognized that “from a physical science perspective, limiting human-induced global warming to a specific level requires limiting cumulative CO2 emissions, reaching at least net zero CO2 emissions, along with strong reductions in other greenhouse gas emissions.” It further stated “Our report shows that we need to be prepared for going into that level of warming in the coming decades. But we can avoid further levels of warming by acting on greenhouse gas emissions,” said report co-chair Valerie Masson-Delmotte, a climate scientist at France’s Laboratory of Climate and Environment Sciences at the University of Paris-Saclay. Calling for immediate action, the report stated, “It is unequivocal that the increase of CO2, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human 10 activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the 11 atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere.” Propelled by this sense of urgency, major industrial companies are turning to Purify Fuel’s nanO2 tm family of Combustion Catalysts to provide an immediate reduction in greenhouse gases. “With the world’s focus on developing immediate fossil fuel alternatives, we cannot lose sight of the reality that the majority of industries are still dependent on heavy duty diesel fuel applications and searching for ways to reduce emissions” stated John Carroll, Chief Executive Officer of Purify Fuel. “We are pleased that the immediate benefits of our nanO2 ESG Catalyst to help diesel and biodiesel fuel burn cleaner is being embraced by these industries to reduce GHG levels immediately”. Purify Fuel has been identified as one of the world’s most innovative sustainable technology companies. Its nanO2 Combustion Catalysts provide a transitional solution that will help fight climate change until alternatives are invented. It successfully reduces CO2, methane and nitrous oxide, which together represent 98% of all greenhouse gases. The product has been extensively tested since the middle of last year and has been aggressively launched across multiple industries (rail, marine, oil and gas, and mining). Since 2018 it has treated 75MM gallons of diesel removing the equivalent emissions produced by more than 200,000 automobiles. Purify Fuel uses patented nanotechnology-based rare earth oxides to help large diesel operators save money and reduce emissions. Purify Fuel’s nanO2 ESG Catalyst® are custom blended to optimize diesel fuel, biodiesel and dual-fuel blends for marine, fracking, military, mining, power generation, and rail markets. The combustion catalysts increase energy harvested from each gram of fuel while reducing particulate matter emissions and soot created by incomplete combustion. Purify Fuel works directly with large consumers of diesel and biodiesel fuel to help them save money, increase power, and reduce emissions. Contact Details Purify Fuel Carleen Lyden Walker +1 203-260-0480 c.walker@purifyfuel.com

August 11, 2021 08:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Enter Africa: Versus Africa seals fundraise as it paves the way for companies to access markets with ease

Versus Africa

Africa presents a $2.1 trillion consumer spending market for businesses seeking to explore new opportunities for their products and services. Enabling businesses to enter the continent is Versus Africa, a consumer insights platform, that has today announced a $850k pre-seed capital fundraise as it scales operations to support companies in Africa and around the world as they launch their products and services across Africa. A Techstars 2019 cohort start-up, Versus Africa helps brands get closer to their consumers by obtaining key insights and helping them make better business decisions. Versus combines online and offline consumer data to give brands actionable and competitive insights for the African market. Versus counts brands such as Pizza Hut, Vodacom among others and has partnered with several global agencies including R/GA to support their campaigns. The Versus Africa platform improves the go-to market strategy and approach of businesses selling in the continent. Through their unique African language sentiment analysis, the technology captures consumer insights using online (social listening and online brand tracking) and offline data trends (conducting in-person surveys through several thousand local scouts) to help brands inform, engage and adapt their product and service strategies. They ‘listen’ (for sentiment, trends and feedback) and then ‘ask’ (for opinions, about behaviours and motivations) to offer a complete insights package for businesses. Kemdi Ebi, CEO and Co-Founder of Versus commented: “We’ve purposely built our tool to help businesses “'listen” and ''ask” the African consumer to get true engagement and actionable insights. We’re helping them make sense of the thoughts and opinions of African consumers from varying backgrounds. For those who speak in different African languages and slang, we're able to accurately identify sentiment, trends and opportunities when we “listen” online. With real-time market research and unique patented tools that translate the complexity of local languages and cultures, Versus offers actionable insights to businesses that want to make their African market entry or continuing existence a success.” The complex nature of the continent with multiple languages, varying socio-political communities and cultural nuances means it has long been difficult for companies to be successful across multiple countries. Versus Africa offers a fresh lens into the market opportunity with their unique and dynamic research approach. “We have blended technology with boots on the ground to offer the purest insights to companies using Versus Africa. For the first time, businesses near and far are able to make better decisions on their product strategy in the continent. We are particularly excited because as we scale further, we are in pole position to be the go-to homegrown solution for easy, flexible and accurate research for the plethora of new local businesses cropping up across the continent” added Kemdi Ebi. Commenting on investing in Versus Africa, the MD of Techstars London Eamonn Carey said: "For the longest time, it’s been apparent that there is huge potential in markets throughout Africa - but one of the big challenges has always been getting real, detailed, granular data about users, habits, opinions and more. The Versus Africa platform helps local, regional and global brands get real, meaningful answers to their questions - helping them launch, grow and scale more effectively across the continent. I was incredibly impressed by the team, the tech and the vision they had to use a combo of tech and people to gather an incredible dataset for their customers." Various global research businesses have reported on Africa’s macro trends and geo-political events. Before Versus, there have been few that have achieved true regional and local market insights for businesses to make informed decisions. “How many Africans own and operate research in Africa? Not many. Africa deserves a local intelligence research edge born from within. There have been international research agencies and insights tools that have tried to explore Africa but only from a distant and macro lens, now, for the first time businesses will get true local insights to help them enter key markets across the continent. I hope our launch and growth propels more like-minded tech-focussed Africans to help grow this research industry” concluded Kemdi Ebi. About Versus Africa Versus Africa helps brands get closer to their consumers by obtaining insights and helping them make better business decisions. Versus combines online and offline consumer data to give brands actionable and competitive insights for the African market. Versus has served brands such as Pizza Hut, Vodacom among others and have partnered with several global agencies including R/GA.Versus Africa, a 2019 Techstars cohort startup, was recognised by Cannes Lion Festival for Innovation and it was the first African company to showcase at Slush Tokyo 2019. Contact Details Versus Africa Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com

August 11, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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