Latest News – Page 731

Great News for Online Casino Lovers: Kalamba Games Is Coming to Sweden

November 17, 2021 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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The iGaming slot provider, Kalamba Games, which is based in Krakow and Malta, will enter Sweden’s online casino market after getting permission and accreditation for numerous online slot products they have.

Many of their top-performing titles from the Joker series like Burning Diamonds, Atlantis Thunder, and Griffin’s Quest and others are ready to be distributed to various casino operators in Sweden since now Kalamba Games has a certification. Each of the nine online games has already been seen as highly popular by players all across Europe.

Since Kalamba has achieved success in countries such as Croatia, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and others from Latin America, they are planning an expansion also in the USA and the UK. In Latin America and Spain, they made expansion through Emara Play, in Italy, Croatia, and Portugal through BLOX, and last but not least, through SKS365 Group in the Netherlands.

Kalamba, as one of the world’s leading B2B online casino game providers, achieved great success this month by receiving the wanted MGA license. The newest video slot game is titled Lady Lava, which offers many extra spins and impressive bonuses, and also has a progressive jackpot. And that is not all; it has a wild multiplier feature that has an increasing value when a gambling player gathers more K-Cash Spins or K-Cash.

What is even more impressive is that as part of the K-Cash series, this online slot can return prizes of up to 3,793 times the bet, and with the HyperBonus function, there is an incredible 96.86% RTP.

Believe it or not, there are more than 400 online casino operators that use Kalamba’s Bullseye RGS platform. And since the Joker series is top-rated, in December, there will be another sequel named X-Mas edition, so the players that love this series will be more than happy to play another edition.

Source

Hand Protection Equipment Market Size Worth $30.6 Billion By 2028: Grand View Research, Inc.

November 17, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

The global hand protection equipment market size is expected to reach USD 30.6 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2019 to 2028. The rising awareness among industry participants pertaining to the importance of worker security and safety at workplaces on account of the stringent regulations is expected to drive the market.

Key Insights and Findings:

The durable gloves segment dominated the market and accounted for 56.5% of the global revenue share in 2020 owing to the increasing demand for high utility and durable protective gloves in various industries such as oil and gas, mechanical, machinery, and refining
The demand for nitrile gloves is estimated to witness a CAGR of 7.2% over the forecast period owing to their ability to provide high puncture resistance, excellent barrier protection, and high durability
The penetration of hand protection equipment in the healthcare industry is estimated to witness a CAGR of 8.8% over the forecast period, on account of the increasing product adoption to limit the spread of COVID-19 infection caused through surface contact
Europe accounted for 31.0% of global revenue share in 2020 owing to the presence of stringent norms concerning occupational health and safety established by regulatory bodies European Commission and the European Committee for Standardization
India is expected to witness a CAGR of 9.4% over the forecast period, on account of the growing concerns regarding high-risk activities in the construction and manufacturing sectors
Manufactures of the market are focusing on introducing new technologies for manufacturing gloves and integrating them across various stages of the value chain in order to gain a competitive edge in the market

Read 170 page market research report, “Hand Protection Equipment Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Disposable, Durable), By Raw Material (Nitrile Gloves, Vinyl Gloves), By End Use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 – 2028“, by Grand View Research

Companies have established safety guidelines and prioritized worker safety to reduce workplace hazards, thereby limiting the adverse impact on the overall operational costs in the form of arbitrated settlements or compensation. The demand for hand protection equipment in the healthcare sector is witnessing growth with the rising prevalence of infectious diseases.

Increasing awareness about the safety and health measures related to emergency response occurrences coupled with the treatment of patients is anticipated to augment the demand for hand protection equipment in the healthcare sector. Moreover, risks associated with on-the-job transmission of blood-borne pathogens have the increased adoption of hand protection.

Manufacturers of hand protection equipment are focusing on the expansion of production facilities to increase the production capacity. For instance, In March 2020, Hartalega purchased land to expand its glove production facilities in Sepang, Malaysia, as the demand for hand protection has surged owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grand View Research has segmented the global hand protection equipment market on the basis of product, raw material, end use, and region:

Hand Protection Equipment Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 – 2028)
- Disposable
- Durable
Hand Protection Equipment Raw Material Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 – 2028)
- Natural rubber/latex
- Nitrile gloves
- Neoprene
- Vinyl gloves
- Others
Hand Protection Equipment End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 – 2028)
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Oil & Gas
- Chemicals
- Food
- Pharmaceuticals
- Healthcare
- Transportation
- Mining
- Others
Hand Protection Equipment Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 – 2028)
- North America
  - U.S.
  - Canada
  - Mexico
- Europe
  - France
  - Germany
  - Italy
  - Russia
  - Spain
  - U.K.
- Asia Pacific
  - Australia
  - China
  - India
  - Japan
  - South Korea
- Central & South America
  - Argentina
  - Brazil
- Middle East & Africa
  - Saudi Arabia
  - South Africa
  - UAE

List of Key players of Hand Protection Equipment Market

Top Glove Corporation Bhd
Hartalega Holdings Berhad
Superior Gloves
Adenna LLC
MCR Safety
Atlantic Safety Products, Inc.
Ammex Corporation
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Sempermed USA, Inc.
Halyard Health, Inc.
Medline Industries, Inc.
Cardinal Health
Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd
Globus (Shetland) Ltd..

Find more research reports on Smart Textiles Industry, by Grand View Research:

Cleanroom Technology Market– The global cleanroom technology market size is expected to reach USD 5.0 billion by 2028 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.4% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc.
Infection Control Market– The global infection control market size is expected to reach USD 258.3 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc.
Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market– The global hospital acquired infection control market size is anticipated to reach USD 8.1 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc.

cibc,-itau-unibanco,-national-australia-bank-and-natwest-group-announce-winners-of-global-open-finance-challenge

CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, National Australia Bank and NatWest Group announce winners of Global Open Finance Challenge

November 17, 2021 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

– Today CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, National Australia Bank and NatWest Group announced the winners of the Global Open Finance Challenge, which invited teams of innovators from around the world to prototype and present ground-breaking ideas to help customers and the public at large access banking services in new and exciting ways. The Challenge was hosted by the four banks in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In total, 91 teams from 19 countries competed in the Challenge, with four teams ultimately selected as winners by the four banks’ CEOs and three industry leaders.

Each of the winning teams will now have the opportunity to explore working with one or more of the banks to turn their innovative idea into a proof of concept.

The winning teams
The overall winner of the Global Open Finance Challenge is:

ValAi, Australia
- ValAi developed Greenhouse, an automated sustainability rating tool and marketplace that provides customers tailored insights for their home, and fills the knowledge gap for homeowners and financial institutions on the impact of a sustainability rating on the value of the asset.

The winners of each Challenge theme are:

9th Gear Technologies, USA– ‘Most innovative customer experience for businesses and corporates’
- 9th Gear Technologies developed a blockchain-powered business-to-business foreign exchange (FX) platform that allows for real-time FX settlement using tokens which represent pre-funded currency values, expediting the current process for clients.
NoFrontiers, Brazil – ‘Most innovative and convenient channel for accessing banking services’
- NoFrontiers developed FinPass, a newcomer/immigrant onboarding and credit solution, connected to a global network of banks, making it easier for newcomers/immigrants to access credit and establish themselves in new countries.
Banyan, USA – ‘Most innovative solution in support of climate and sustainability’
- Banyan developed a loan and risk management platform which digitizes the loan lifecycle for renewable energy projects, to enable financial institutions to fund an increased number of green infrastructure projects.

“Founded in late 2019, ValAi is a female founder-led startup with backgrounds in sustainability, property valuation and tech. Our novel product, Greenhouse, puts people at the heart of the global transition to net zero and challenges the finance sector to influence and guide the next phase of our community’s transformational change,” said Allys Todd, Founder, ValAi. “Our company vision is creating a zero-carbon, nature-positive global economy, in which finance fuels the energy transition, a healthy planet and green jobs.”

The four winners were amongst the top teams selected to present their ideas to a judging panel featuring the CEOs of the four banks, plus executives from private equity, venture capital, and technology organizations:

Victor Dodig, President and CEO, CIBC
Milton Maluhy Filho, CEO, Itaú Unibanco
Ross McEwan, Group CEO, National Australia Bank
Alison Rose, CEO, NatWest Group
Werner Vogels, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Amazon.com, Inc.
Rob Heyvaert, Managing Partner, Motive Partners
Rick Yang, General Partner and Head of Consumer, New Enterprise Associates

“We’re thrilled that so many innovators from around the world took part in the Global Open Finance Challenge, presenting new ideas and solutions to advance and reshape our financial ecosystem,” said Victor G. Dodig, CIBC President and Chief Executive Officer. “Global collaboration offers immense opportunity to generate and harness ideas that can create more value for clients, which benefits all stakeholders as we shape the future of banking.”

“AWS has been a champion of startups from day one and we continue to work hard to support a global community of builders who can transform ideas. It was an exciting journey working with the teams in the Global Open Finance Challenge as they built and tested technology solutions to better serve banking customers in the rapidly evolving digital economy,” said Werner Vogels, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Amazon.com, Inc. “Times of change offer opportunities to experiment and innovate, and the impressive fintechs that took part in the Challenge embraced the resources and expert advice it provided to hone their ideas and jumpstart new technology solutions.”

Capital Trust Announces Q2 & H1 FY22 Financial Results

November 17, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

Capital Trust Limited (Capital Trust), a digitally enabled non-banking finance company (NBFC), specialising in providing income generating micro business loans in tier 3-5 regions, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 30^th Sep 2021.

Particulars (In INR Millions)	Sep-21	Sep-20	YoY%	June-21	QoQ%
Assets Under Management (AUM)	3108.1	4294.7	-28%	3,374.4	-8%
Total Disbursement	455.1	215.3	111%	110.8	311%
Net Interest Income	127.9	107.2	19%	101.1	27%
Profit After Tax	8.7	8.7	0%	-138	–
Gross Stage 3 Assets (% of AUM)	3.8%	7.1%	-47%	3.8%	-1%
Net Stage 3 Assets (% of AUM)	0.0%	0.0%	–	0.0%	–
90+ Assets (% of AUM)	12.6%	7.7%	64%	15.3%	-18%
Net 90% Assets (% of AUM)	0.0%	2.5%	–	0.0%	–
Capital Adequacy*	42.6%	49.8%	-14%	45.2%	-6%
Debt-to-Equity	2.0	1.6	25%	1.9	3%

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Yogen Khosla, Managing Director, Capital Trust Limited, said, “Disbursements for the quarter grew by 311% QoQ on account of improved consumer sentiments and picking up demand across sectors. Our technology-based POS has significantly helped us in penetrating Tier III/IV cities seamlessly. The Collections picked up significantly from 81% in June to 88% in September and 89% in October, it is further expected to improve during H2FY22. The Company being inherently cautious, decided to slow down the disbursements during last year on account of Covid related lockdowns, which has helped us in keeping our asset quality intact. At the same time company has also created adequate provisions to mitigate any further impact on our loan book. We believe worst is behind us on asset quality front and new trajectory of growth is being undertaken by the company. This is further demonstrated by our continuous focus on customer penetration through branch network.

Despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19, Capital Trust has significantly expanded its branch network by opening 71 new branches during the quarter. With this, the total branch network reaches 315 branches spread across 94 Districts covering 10 states. This will help the company in further expanding our customer base, deeper penetration, and access to new markets.

The company’s robust liquidity position, healthy balance sheet, strong leadership combined with the focus on strengthening its rural-doorstep fintech model will certainly fuel its growth going forward.”

*Including investment in wholly owned subsidiaries

Consolidated Financial Highlights

Average collection efficiency for Q2 FY22 was 88% for the company and 96% for digital loans sourced post-first lockdown
Net worth as on 30^th Sept 21 was at INR 1178.0 million
Finance cost during Q2 FY22 was INR 155.5 million which were increased by INR 74.9 million as compared to Q1 FY22.
Total Provisions outstanding for the year was INR 570.9 million; ECL provision was 161.1 INR million and COVID related provision was INR 409.8 million
Strong liquidity position with INR 1152.2 million in cash/bank balance, liquid investments, and fixed deposit
Total operational branches as on Sept 30, 2021 stood at 315 covering 94 districts across 10 states
Business Correspondent Partnership ties ups with IDFC First Bank, MAS Financials, Dhanvarsha Finvest and OML P2P.

Portfolio Distribution


Particulars (In INR Millions)	Q2 FY22	Q2 FY21	YoY%	Q1 FY22	QoQ%
Digitally Enabled Collection Products
– Capital Magic Loan	808.9	532.6	52%	674.9	20%
– Micro-Business Loan	653.5	909.9	-28%	759.1	-14%
Total Capital Digital Initiative	1,462.4	1,442.5	1%	1,434	2%
Cash Collections Products
– Micro-Enterprise Loan	1,599.3	2,450.5	-35%	1,849.3	-14%
– Secured-Enterprise Loan	18.5	203.2	-91%	43.8	-59%
– Microfinance Loan	28.0	198.5	-86%	47.3	-40%
Total Legacy Portfolio	1,645.8	2,852.2	-42%	1,940.4	-15%
Total Assets Under Management (AUM)	3,108.1	4,294.7	-28%	3,374.4	-8%

On-Book Portfolio	2,549.4	3,173.0	-20%	2,543.9	0%
Off-Book Portfolio	558.7	1,121.7	-50%	830.5	-33%
Total Assets Under Management (AUM)	3,108.1	4,294.7	-28%	3,374.4	-8%

GambleAware recommissions the Scottish Gambling Education Hub delivered by Fast Forward

November 17, 2021 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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GambleAware has recommissioned the Scottish Gambling Education Hub for a further three years from 1^st November 2021. The Hub has been delivered by the Scottish charity Fast Forward since 2018.

The Scottish Gambling Education Hub, funded by GambleAware, works with young people, and the adults in their lives, to raise awareness of gambling harms, and ensure that those working with young people and families are confident in their ability to offer harm reduction advice and signpost those who need it to advice and support.

The Hub’s mission will remain to ensure all children, young people and families in Scotland have access to gambling education and prevention opportunities and resources. Improvements to the current structure of the programme will be made, to ensure partners, practitioners, and policymakers remain engaged with the issue.

To date, the Hub has trained staff from more than 550 different organisations across all 32 local authorities in Scotland, including schools, colleges, universities, youth work and family services.

Since its creation, the Hub and the external evaluation provider, identified potential areas for improvement in the existing gambling training delivery model. Based on these insights the updated structure for the programme will offer a more tailored approach to gambling prevention and education training for professionals and practitioners. With an increased use of the existing training and resources, the availability of gambling harm awareness and support activities for children, young people, and families across Scotland will be improved.

In addition, in 2019, the Scottish Gambling Education Hub established the Scottish Gambling Education Network (SGEN) to bring together individuals from a variety of settings with the aim to share best practices, provide support and help establish, sustain, and improve gambling education and prevention provision across Scotland. The Hub will continue to facilitate and broaden the scope of SGEN activities, introducing hosting a national conference in 2022.

The Scottish Education Hub will play a key part in supporting the creation of the English Education Hub and Welsh Education Hub, projects that will soon be commissioned by GambleAware to help the prevention of gambling harm among young people in both nations.

Dr Jane Rigbye, Prevention Director at GambleAware said: “Fast Forward has demonstrated its value as a key partner to prevent gambling harm among young people in Scotland. Given the success of the work already carried out, continuity is vital.

“The Scottish Education Hub has engaged with young people, parents, the community and youth workers in an impactful and creative way to deliver unique projects over the years.

“We are delighted to support them further in their prevention and education work and look forward to publishing the independent evaluation of the project for their work in 2022.”

Allie Cherry-Byrnes, Fast Forward’s CEO said: “Fast Forward’s work supports young people to make informed choices regarding risk-taking behaviours, towards positive life-long health outcomes.

“Gambling has become normalised in our communities, with many young people affected by their own gambling, or by the gambling of a parent, carer, or family member.

“The renewed funding from GambleAware means that the Scottish Gambling Education Hub will continue to work with young people, parents and educators to raise awareness of gambling harms and ensure support is accessible if they need it.”

ViewMind Named Among Business Worldwide Magazine’s Top 20 Most Innovative Companies to Watch, 2021

November 17, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

ViewMind is a neurotech company specializing in developing non-invasive evaluations for the early detection and management of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, using revolutionary eye-tracking technology. This groundbreaking approach has led to the company being named by Business Worldwide Magazine in its list of “Top 20 Most Innovative Companies to Watch, 2021.”

The list is a celebration of the trailblazing organizations that are changing the game in their respective industries and altering the corporate landscape. Encompassing healthcare, banking, industry, construction, energy, and more, these companies are at the cutting edge of breakthrough technologies, innovation and modernized business structures. Those included have a shared goal of developing revolutionary products and technologies that drive scalable business models and disrupt established industries and markets.

As leaders in the biotech field, ViewMind have developed a solution that could improve (and even save) millions of lives. Using cutting edge technology in an immersive diagnosis, it allows for precise, neurocognitive health assessments, the likes of which have never been seen before.

Led by CEO Mark Edwards, the company set out to solve a problem posed by Bill Gates – how to find a relatable, affordable and easy-to-use diagnostic for stopping Alzheimer’s. it’s a crippling, devastating condition with over 50 million sufferers, and is the sixth leading cause of mortality in Americans aged 65 or over. The World Health Organization has ranked Alzheimer’s as the 7^th leading cause of death globally, and it affects twice as many women as men.

ViewMind’s pioneering work is not only revolutionary from a technological point of view, but the solutions the company has developed have been clinically validated and their devices have been approved in several regions including Europe. ViewMind are partnering with tier one pharmaceutical companies around the world, and their solutions can enable physicians to detect conditions including Alzheimer’s as much as 20 years before symptoms appear.

The solution combines a non-invasive virtual reality eye tracking headset with ViewMind’s artificial intelligence (AI) application to identify minor alterations in how a patient’s eyes behave under certain visual stimuli processing. These oculomotor patterns are analysed by the software and allow the detection of pathologies with high precision. Historically, the most common form of testing has involved either cognitive pen and paper testing solutions, which were developed 30 to 50 years ago and required skilled assessors and time consuming to perform and lack objectivity. The physical condition of the brain is historically assessed with biomarkers using diagnostic solutions such as a lumbar puncture, a brain scan or a PET scan – all of which are both invasive and expensive. Furthermore, these tests typically only take place once the patient has obvious symptoms – meaning the disease may be too far advanced and treatment is unlikely to have a significant impact. The Alzheimer’s pathology begins some 20 years before clinical symptoms, and ViewMind’s approach is revolutionary because it allows for early detection among patients with only mild cognitive impairment.

Operations are expanding globally, and this is clearly a company that’s poised for huge commercial success. For further details on ViewMind and its innovative plans, please visit the company website – https://www.viewmind.com/

An article on the company can be found on the Business Worldwide Magazine’s website https://bwmonline.com/2021/11/14/viewmind-getting-ahead-of-alzheimers-with-ai/

More information on the winners and the Awards themselves can be found here: https://www.bwmonline.com/awards/20-most-innovative-companies-to-watch-awards-2021/

Son Heung-min Signs Exclusive License Agreement with The9 Limited for NFT Collections Development and Sales Through NFTSTAR

November 17, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) (“The9”), an established internet company, today announces that its NFT community and trading platform, NFTSTAR (www.nftstar.com), has signed an exclusive license agreement with South Korean football icon and Premier League star, Son Heung-min. NFTSTAR will develop, sell, and trade NFT collectibles authorized by Son.

Before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2015, which made him the most expensive Asian player in history, Son Heung-min had previously played for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen. He has gone on to become the first Asian player to score more than 50 goals in the Premier League and is the highest Asian goal-scorer in both Premier League and Champions League history. Son was a key member of the South Korea national team for the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, included in the teams for the 2011, 2015 and 2019 AFC Asian Cup and 2018 Asian Games. Son was voted the Best Footballer in Asia in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and was nominated for the Ballon d’Or in 2019, achieving the highest rank ever for an Asian player. Son was also awarded Premier League Goal of the Season in the 2019-20 campaign for his strike against Burnley.

Son Heung-min will work with NFTSTAR’s world class creative team and artists to develop digital collections, including video, animation and other digital artwork, which will record the highlights of Son’s illustrious career and personal growth.

NFTSTAR is a NFT community and trading platform where users can purchase, trade and interact. The major transactions of content on the platform are NFT collections developed with global superstar licensed IPs. Each NFT collectible has a unique record on the blockchain, and the users will obtain the ownership of the unique NFT collectible through purchase on the platform, or through trading on NFTSTAR’s marketplace. NFTSTAR will accept general payment methods such as credit cards to make it easy for global users to participate.

NFTSTAR Community will feature celebrities from various fields, including but not limited to, sports, entertainment, art and culture. The NFTSTAR platform aims to create a significant portal to the future metaverse through superstars’ NFT collections, trading, and community interaction.

Just the Beginning: Kwalee Expands Bangalore Office With Opening Ceremony

November 17, 2021 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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50+ vacancies at Bangalore studio as enlarged premises secured, following doubled UK office space

Multiplatform games publisher Kwalee has expanded its Bangalore office space to accommodate a fast-growing team in the ‘Silicon Valley of India’.

Kwalee first expanded into India back in May 2020, although COVID-19 restrictions meant that all recruitment and working had to be done remotely for several months. Since then, a fantastic office has been secured in one of the city’s vibrant technology parks and the team in Bangalore has soared to well over 60 members.

With enough current vacancies in Bangalore to see that headcount double, and a projected investment of $30 million in the India studio over the next five years, Kwalee has cleared the way for further growth by revealing a significantly expanded office space in an official opening ceremony.

This office expansion in Bangalore follows the acquisition of expanded premises at the Leamington Spa headquarters too, with both offices effectively doubling in size in a commitment to future team growth.

With CEO David Darling, co-founder and former CEO of Codemasters, and a host of other senior UK-based team members able to safely visit the Bangalore studio for the first time, it was the perfect moment for a ribbon-cutting to mark how much progress has already been made.

As well as this, it was also the first opportunity for Bangalore and Leamington Spa-based colleagues to meet one another in person for the first time ever, despite having collaborated extensively on successful projects like the recent Traffic Cop 3D (6 million+ downloads in three weeks and a #1 app in the USA). A hybrid working model is now in place at Kwalee across all office locations, combining the best of in-studio collaboration and remote working.

“We’re delighted to be expanding our office space in India as part of our continuing commitment to global growth,” said Kwalee CEO David Darling. “It’s been great fun meeting the team in Bangalore for the first time in person and getting to know them even better. The team here has been pivotal in our successes since we set up the studio and it’s amazing to see the Bangalore team growing in size and influence.”

Kwalee’s team now includes more than 180 people across offices in Leamington Spa, Bangalore and Beijing. Combining these locations and permanent remote workers all around the world, Kwalee has employees across 14 countries

Singapore FinTech Festival 2021 sees 33% year-on-year growth in attendees

November 17, 2021 Published by TheFintechBuzz.com

The sixth edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) with the theme “Web 3.0 and its impact on financial services” concluded on 12 November 2021. The week-long event attracted 60,000 attendees, representing a 33% year-on-year growth.

SFF 2021 drew over 2 million views. Viewership was extended with live broadcasts on local and international television networks and social media. Of the more than 160 countries represented, 52% of the registrations came from outside of Singapore – reflecting the global appeal of the Web 3.0 theme, and the quality of the content.

SFF 2021, which comprised keynote speeches, panel discussions, meetings, online learning, live events and innovation showcases saw participation from over 7,500 organisations and featured more than 700 speakers who shared insights across 240 hours of content. More than 260 exhibitors set up virtual booths, including 14 International Pavilions and 11 World FinTech Festival partners who hosted international satellite events. In keeping with the SFF’s mission to promote dialogue, over 4,000 virtual meetings conducted through the business matching platform.

22 innovation labs hosted physical and virtual tours and meetings for 3,800 participants^[1], while side events including OXYGEN by APIX, SME Day, 11 World FinTech Festival events, SFF Mini Symposium^[2], Elevandi Forum^[3] and Deal Fridays^[4], took place during the week.

Key highlights

The following are the key highlights of SFF 2021.

A platform for continued learning

In line with the theme of Web 3.0, SFF 2021 introduced a Web 3.0 certification programme to support learning, development and upskilling in Web 3.0 focus areas. Over 5,000 knowledge certificates were awarded digitally via blockchain technology to participants from over 80 countries. The certificates were issued by The Asian Institute of Digital Finance in partnership with the National University of Singapore. More knowledge certificates are expected to be awarded as the programme continues until 30 September 2022.

Also new this year was a dedicated SME Day where SME leaders and academics shared practical learnings on building strong and resilient businesses for the future. SME Day participants received a Digital Certificate of Knowledge. As of 14 November 2021, 84% of SME Day learners successfully earned a knowledge certificate. In collaboration with Digital Pilipinas in the Philippines, SFF supported the local community through the development of the I-ITERATE Digital Knowledge Certification. This programme focused on digital infrastructure to support Open Finance, RegTech, Risk & Cybersecurity, and InsurTech & HealthTech.

A new initiative launched at SFF this year is ATOMS, a not-for-profit initiative which provides a community where entrepreneurs connect and share meaningful insights. During SFF, ATOMS featured more than 45 short form videos across Asia-Pacific, USA and Northern Europe, that entrepreneurs can listen to and learn from in 120 second, bite-sized videos via a free mobile app.

Launch of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’ tech and innovation initiatives

MAS and its partner agencies made the following announcements to bring about new digital efficiencies and benefits to the financial sector:

National Artificial Intelligence Programme in Finance – MAS and the National AI Office (NAIO) launched the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Programme in Finance to build deep AI capabilities within Singapore’s financial sector to strengthen customer service, risk management, and business competitiveness;
Phase two of SGFinDex – MAS and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group launched the second phase of the Singapore Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex), allowing individuals to now view information on their investment holdings at The Central Depository as part of their consolidated financial position;
Sandbox Plus – MAS announced Sandbox Plus, an enhancement to the MAS FinTech Regulatory Sandbox framework, to further catalyse financial innovation and FinTech adoption; and
Retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) paper – MAS released a paper outlining MAS’ preliminary assessment of the economic case for a retail CBDC in Singapore, and its potential implications for financial stability and monetary policy.

Industry collaboration and innovation initiatives

Several industry collaboration and initiatives were launched to drive innovation in the future of finance:

Digital platforms under Project Greenprint – MAS announced its partnership with the industry to pilot four digital platforms under Project Greenprint, to address the financial sector’s needs for good data on sustainability;
ChekFin on APIX – ChekFin, a decentralised credentials platform to enable financial institutions to obtain verified credentials of FinTech firms, such as business references, awards obtained, and investor funding records. ChekFin is a partnership among the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network, BCG FinTech Control Tower, and Affinidi, with MAS as a founding partner;
Cross-border digital payments – NETS announced integration of Alipay+ to enhance local merchants’ cross-border digital payments capabilities, and Western Union announced that it is supporting cross-border digital money movement with Singtel’s Dash; and
Small business financing – Mastercard launched the world’s first “Buy Now, Pay Later” commercial card solution for small business financing in APAC.

Innovation Awards

SFF 2021 also saw the launch of two new innovation challenges to solve industry problems – the Global CBDC Challenge which seeks to identify and develop retail CBDC solutions that increase payment efficiencies and improve financial inclusion and the Global Veritas Challenge which aims to address key challenges in validating the fairness of AI solutions for specific banking use cases. SFF 2021 also celebrated the winning solutions of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator, the SFF Global FinTech Awards and the Most Innovative FinTech e-Gifting Award.

International co-operation

A number of important international cooperation initiatives were also announced at SFF 2021, such as:

MAS and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas signed an enhanced FinTech Cooperation Agreement to facilitate interoperable payments between Singapore and the Philippines;
Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer, in cooperation with finance.swiss, SFF and Elevandi announced the Europe-Asia FinTech Forum in Switzerland. This Forum will build a bridge between Asia and Europe and seek to bring together the very best technologists, with investors and leaders to develop innovative ideas and inclusive solutions; and
SFF 2021 added new partners such as the World Economic Forum and a continued partnership with the Milken Institute.

SFF is organised by MAS and Elevandi, in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and in collaboration with Constellar Holdings. The SFF organising team thanks all our sponsors, partners and participants for being a part of this year’s event. We look forward to continued collaboration with the industry to bring together an exciting and impactful SFF 2022, from 7 to 11 November 2022.

Molecular Stethoscope, Inc. Announces Presentation of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Study at the AASLD Liver Meeting 2021

November 17, 2021 Published by Roboticulized.com

Molecular Stethoscope, Inc., a Precision Medicine biotechnology company, announces presentation of its human proof-of-concept study applying its proprietary cf-mRNA Liquid Biopsy Technology Platform for the study of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Annual Meeting – The Liver Meeting 2021. This study demonstrates the utility of the Company’s Technology Platform to identify dysregulated gene clusters in PSC patients and develop classifiers using liver-enriched cf-mRNA transcripts for PSC diagnosis.

Naga Chalasani, M.D., who is the lead author of this study and Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Interim Chair in the Department of Medicine at Indiana University in the USA, commented that, “The identified, usually inaccessible, pathological gene clusters may inform response to candidate medicines in present clinical trials, as well as suggest future therapeutic targets; and the liver-enriched classifier may have utility for non-invasive molecular stratification of PSC patients for pharmacotherapy safety and response studies.” And Dr. Chalasani added, “New molecular tools to timely diagnose PSC in patients with ulcerative colitis is a critical unmet need.”

The study is titled “Noninvasive molecular characterization of primary sclerosing cholangitis using cell-free messenger RNA sequencing,” and it will be presented during The Liver Meeting 2021 session “PBC/PSC and Other Cholestatic Diseases.”

Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) is a rare chronic disease of the bile ducts with an unknown cause and unpredictable course that results in scars and inflammation of the biliary system. Patients with PSC may develop severe liver problems including cirrhosis, cancer and the need for a liver transplant. Specifically, PSC patients are at increased risk for cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer. With limited therapeutic options and a lack of proven monitoring strategies, there is a significant clinical unmet need for PSC patients.

Guillermo Elias, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Molecular Stethoscope stated, “We are excited to share the positive results of this PSC study with the medical and scientific communities. Together with our previously completed and published human proof-of-concept studies in NAFLD/NASH, Alzheimer’s Disease and Cancer (Transplant Oncology), this PSC study further de-risks our Technology Platform. We are now focused on building our clinical-grade pipeline to accelerate the development of products and solutions for clinical practice and BioPharma R&D.”

More information about the results of this study is available in the AASLD Liver Meeting 2021 website:

Publication Number: 1283. “Noninvasive molecular characterization of primary sclerosing cholangitis using cell-free messenger RNA sequencing.”

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Molecular Stethoscope, Inc. Announces Presentation of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Study at the AASLD Liver Meeting 2021

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