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Effectiv, A Next-Gen Fraud Prevention Startup, Achieves SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance

Effectiv

In accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Effectiv has achieved SOC 2 Type 2 compliance. This attestation report serves as validation of Effectiv’s dedication and commitment to customers and the security of their data. Security is the foundation upon which Effectiv products are built and upon which trust is earned and maintained with their customers. With Drata's automated platform, Effectiv’s internal security controls are being continuously monitored against the highest standards for security. Conducted by Prescient Assurance, a leader in security and compliance attestation for B2B, SaaS companies around the world, this attestation report affirms Effectiv’s information security practices, policies, procedures, and operations meet the rigorous SOC 2 Trust Service Criteria for security, confidentiality, and availability. Effectiv’s SOC 2 Type 2 compliance demonstrates to current and future customers that their data is being handled securely and in a manner that protects the organization as well as the privacy of its customers. About Effectiv Effectiv provides a fraud and compliance automation platform for fintechs, mid-sized banks and credit unions. Its mission is to automate compliance needs while helping customers manage fraud with a best-in-class solution combining human and artificial intelligence interaction. Founded in the United States in 2021, Effectiv has a presence in San Francisco, London and Hyderabad. The founding team - Anupam Tarsauliya, Jonathan Doering, Ravi Sandepudi and Ritesh Arora - have over four decades of combined experience in fighting fraud and building machine learning-driven fraud solutions at companies like Google, PayPal, Samsung, WalmartLabs, and Hitachi. Effectiv is backed by Accel, REV, and several industry leaders. Contact Details Effectiv Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://effectiv.ai/

June 07, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Nearly All Americans Now View Video Game Play as Beneficial Following COVID-19 Lockdowns

The Entertainment Software Association

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today released the findings of its 2022 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry report. The report shows that players are of all ages and backgrounds and illustrates how the industry continues to impact people, culture and the economy – with 97% of all Americans now seeing the benefits of video games. “Last year, we saw the pandemic accelerate the growth of gameplay across the country, as people of all ages turned to video games – whether to relax, maintain community, exercise or learn something new,” President and CEO of the ESA Stanley Pierre-Louis said. “This year’s report demonstrates the impact video games continue to have – supporting wellness and mental health, strengthening relationships, providing community, facilitating skills development and introducing people to new places, cultures and ideas.” Following a record-breaking number of people playing video games in 2021, the new Essential Facts report shows that as the country emerges from the pandemic, people remain highly engaged with and inspired by video games. According to the 2022 report, more than 65% of Americans play video games – which translates to more than 215.5 million players from all walks of life – and gameplay time continues to rise among players, with average weekly time at 13 hours, up 7% from 2021. There was also an uptick in the proportion of players who view games as beneficial to skills development, mental health and community building: 89% of players say video games provide stress relief, while 88% say video games help improve cognitive skills. 88% percent of players agree that video games bring different types of people together, while 83% say games introduce people to new friends and relationships, a 5 percentage point increase from 2021. 61% of players say 89% of all Americans view video games as useful for building skills, with problem-solving as the leading skill (82%). Other skills saw increases, including conflict resolution at 63% (up 8 percentage points from 2021) and leadership skills at 61% (up 7 percentage points from 2021). Other notable results include: 69% of households have at least one video game player. Nearly one third of adult video game players are parents. Smartphones are the most common device for playing games – 70% of players use their phones for play, while 18% solely use their phones. Casual genres, such as matching, brain puzzles, party, music and dance, and exercise games, continue to be the most played. The ESA’s 2022 consumer survey was conducted using online methodology. A 15-minute questionnaire was completed by a representative sample of 4,011 US consumers ages 18 and older in February 2022 (margin of error +/- 2%). Video game players who play at least one hour a week are a subset of this total, representing 2,548 of respondents. The survey defines video games as games that may be played on a console, personal computer, mobile device, VR device, etc. These games could include computer and console video games, social games, mobile augmented reality games, virtual reality games and “edutainment” games. You can access the complete 2022 Essential Facts Report at https://www.theesa.com/resource/2022-essential-facts-about-the-video-game-industry/. About the ESA The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) serves as the voice and advocate for the U.S. video game industry. Its members are the innovators, creators, publishers and business leaders that are reimagining entertainment and transforming how we interact, learn, connect and play. The ESA works to expand and protect the dynamic marketplace for video games through innovative and engaging initiatives that showcase the positive impact of video games on people, culture and the economy. For more information, visit the ESA’s website or follow the ESA on Twitter @theESA. Contact Details Karen Elliott +1 202-223-2400 kelliott@theESA.com Company Website https://www.theesa.com/

June 07, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

ThreatModeler Announces New Patent for IaC-Assist

ThreatModeler Software, Inc

ThreatModeler, a leader in securing cloud infrastructure from design to deployment, today announced the issuance of their newest patent, which makes the IaC-Assist a proprietary technology. The patent, US Patent No. 20220004645A1, has been issued and granted as of April 26, 2022. With IaC-Assist, any user can truly shift left as it relates to implementing security within the code. Users can identify, review, and mitigate security flaws while writing the code in real-time - with simply the click of a button and without leaving their coding environment. IaC-Assist creates a more time and cost-efficient solution to the build process, saving developers the hours it would have taken to build designs and review its security. “Our patented solution, IaC-Assist, reduces threat drift from code to cloud and gives users a simple and efficient solution in truly shifting left,” said Archie Agarwal, Founder and CEO, ThreatModeler. “This patented technology is the only solution in the industry that helps you build threat models from your IDE itself and updates the threat model as you update the code. We’re excited to have these streamlined capabilities patented and available to users.” This patented technology solution is the first of its kind that helps to reduce threats from code to cloud. Users can implement the technology as a processor-executed method of generating a threat model from a code file. The system can analyze the code file, identify properties associated with the resources included in the code file, and generate a threat model based on the resources determined as a security threat. This technology addresses industry pain points by giving tools for security teams to work more collaboratively with the development organizations. Additionally, instead of adding more steps to the build and deploy process, this technology fits within the existing process and enables developers to build security within the code with the least amount of time lost. To learn more about this new patent and ThreatModeler technology, please visit here. About ThreatModeler Software, Inc. ThreatModeler Software, Inc. 's suite of products empowers DevOps to measure their threat drift from code to cloud. With a fraction of the time and cost tied to other tools, users can design, build and validate threat drift from development to deployment. Teams can instantly visualize their attack surface, understand security requirements and prioritize steps to mitigate threats. CISOs can make critical security-driven business decisions to scale their infrastructure for growth. Contact Details Clayton Murtle ThreatModeler@luminapr.com

June 07, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Fresho secures $10m to accelerates US and UK expansion plans to make food supply chains more sustainable

Fresho

Fresho, a company that aims to make food supply chains more sustainable between restaurants and their suppliers, has whet the appetite of investors with a $10m series A funding round. Fresho is used by tens of thousands of chefs who simply reach for their device to choose exact quantities for their needs, much like an online shopping experience but specifically tailored to the fast paced B2B food industry. Buyers see live prices and specials, allowing for informed product choices and assistance in food cost management. Suppliers receive the order immediately in an easy-to-use dashboard, which reduces data entry, errors and helps them fulfil orders without delay. The real time sales data enables suppliers to manage purchasing more efficiently and eliminates wastage before it becomes an issue. See how it works here. More than 38,000 foodservice venues across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have now used the innovative software solution, with more than $1b processed through the platform annually. Fresho’s user base consists of restaurants, hotels, hospitals, cafes, schools, farm shops, QSRs and independent retailers. Fresho co-founder and Managing Director James Andronis, a former wholesale seafood senior executive from Australia, said increased investment in Fresho’s team and its leading-edge technology was driving the business. “We’ve managed to attract some of the best talent in the UK, Australia and New Zealand and they’re steering our continued investment in state-of-the-art technology,” Mr Andronis said. Fresho now employs over 60 people after launching in the UK in 2021. “This capital raise will enable us to accelerate our growth in the United Kingdom and a strong launch into the United States. Like our other markets, restaurants and suppliers in the US are itching to be more progressive but still working with antiquated processes such as email, phone calls, whatsapp and even the old fax machine. B2B food supply chains are changing at a rapid rate around the world with an increased focus on efficiency and lowering waste. We understand the industry and our tech solves key pain points for these businesses. The adoption of tech is speeding up and it’s fascinating to watch the industry progress at such a fast pace.” The food service market in those four key markets is worth a whopping $415b and is one of the last remaining antiquated industries with a lot of offline interactions. This funding round adds a number of new investors to a strong existing base that includes London based Primorus Investments (LON:PRIM). New investors include venture-capital firm Capital Zed, Andrew Sypkes (who was an early-stage investor in Canva, Aconex and Redbubble), and Second Quarter Ventures (Australia’s leading secondaries fund). In London, a number of iconic venues place orders with Fresho. These include Michelin star rated restaurant Wild Honey within Sofitel St James, Polpo, 1 Lombard Street, and the Bingham Riverhouse. Fresho’s other co-founder and Managing Director Huw Birrell, a former investment banker, reflected on the impact his business’ rapid recent growth is having in making food supply chains more sustainable. “A combination of the depth and breadth we hold in the food supply chain across various geographies, along with our leading-edge technology means we have an incredible bank of insights into food trends and market movements.” “We intend to use this intelligence to help drive improved sustainability in the sector and ensure increased prosperity for all participants in it. As an example, we recently worked with Apple & Pear Australia Ltd that represents Australia’s apple and pear growers to provide data on which varieties have had increasing or declining consumption which they previously had no access to. The power of this data is extraordinary and has the ability to change growing decisions in the future.” Mr Birrell added that he and his team harbour ambition to be the world’s leading ordering platform for food supply chains, and a major source of intelligence for the food industry About Fresho Fresho is used by tens of thousands of chefs who simply reach for their device to choose exact quantities for their needs, much like an online shopping experience but specifically tailored to the fast paced B2B food industry. Buyers see live prices and specials, allowing for informed product choices and assistance in food cost management. Suppliers receive the order immediately in an easy-to-use dashboard, which reduces data entry, errors and helps them fulfil orders without delay. The real time sales data enables suppliers to manage purchasing more efficiently and eliminates wastage before it becomes an issue. See how it works here. Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.fresho.com/

June 07, 2022 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Elsevier Closes Interfolio Acquisition

Elsevier

Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, and part of RELX, has closed the acquisition of Interfolio, a provider of advanced faculty information solutions for higher education, headquartered in Washington DC, US. For over 20 years, Interfolio has supported academics, researchers, higher education institutions and funders. Interfolio’s portfolio includes Faculty Information System (FIS), Dossier, and Researchfish. Faculty Information System enables academics to collect and manage critical data for academic hiring, review, promotion and tenure, through a streamlined and transparent digital process, using faculty activity data which benefits the scholar and the institution. Researchfish technology helps funders and research organisations to collect, track, assess, and gain deep insights into research outputs, outcomes and impacts. Dossier helps individual scholars and researchers to aggregate and efficiently apply for faculty positions and graduate programs. Andrew Rosen, Chief Executive Officer at Interfolio, said: “I am incredibly proud of everyone at Interfolio. We have a singular focus: helping our customers to understand and effectively manage the huge amount of activity that scholars accomplish. As part of Elsevier, we will retain this focus and strengthen our core products for our customers. We will aim to support more institutions internationally, increase data automation to help our customers improve efficiency, and provide sophisticated analytics tools to expand insights and facilitate scholarly work. This is an exciting next step for our business, and I look forward to working with the Elsevier team.” Interfolio will be part of Elsevier’s Research Intelligence portfolio, which includes Scopus, SciVal, Pure and Digital Commons. The combined portfolio will deliver analysis and insights that help academic researchers, research leaders, institutions and funders achieve their strategic goals. Theo Pillay, General Manager of Research Institutional Products at Elsevier, said: “Interfolio has an unparalleled understanding of scholarly faculty activity and managing research assessment data. Its solutions will strengthen our Research Intelligence portfolio and there are strong synergies that will help us deliver increased and accelerated value to both Elsevier and Interfolio customers and users. I am very pleased to welcome the Interfolio team to Elsevier.” Macquarie Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Interfolio. About Interfolio Conceived by academics for academics, Interfolio is an education technology company headquartered in Washington, DC, US. Founded in 1999, Interfolio serves colleges and universities, funders and research organizations, and individual scholars. More than 400 clients based in 25 countries choose Interfolio’s solutions for hiring and recruitment, academic appointments and timelines, activity data reporting, faculty reviews and promotions, and research impact analysis. Interfolio provides scholar-first products for the full academic lifecycle—from job seeking to professional accomplishments, committee service, funding award compliance, career growth and advancement, administrative leadership, and beyond. For more information about Interfolio, please visit www.interfolio.com. About Elsevier As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems. In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions and funders. Elsevier employs 8,700 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our over 2,700 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell; our over 43,000 eBook titles; and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research and healthcare in developing countries and around the world. Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com About RELX RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 33,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately £43.2bn/ €50.7bn/ $54.4bn. Contact Details Elsevier David Tucker, Global Communications +44 7920 536160 d.tucker@elsevier.com Company Website https://www.elsevier.com/

June 07, 2022 04:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Tara Spalding at the 2022 Leading Entrepreneurs of the World Conference

1BusinessWorld

Coming up today, Monday, June 6, Day 1 at the 2022 Leading Entrepreneurs of the World Conference, we are very excited that Tara Spalding, the Managing Director of BoomStartup Accelerator, joins LEW to talk about simplifying investor relationships! BoomStartUp is an action-oriented, change-making accelerator ecosystem guiding businesses to success through partnerships, mentoring, and funding programs. Tara and her team help startups find the flaws in their business, make a plan, be accountable, and meet their goals. Join the 2022 Leading Entrepreneurs of the World Conference to watch Tara's live session and to connect with her at the event: https://events.zoom.us/e/view/_LwgIoXQQL2gA_LMBaozZA All news and content distribution in partnership with News Direct. About BoomStartUp BoomStartUp is an action-oriented, change-making accelerator ecosystem guiding businesses to success through partnerships, mentoring, and funding programs. BoomStartup’s community of experts sets us apart from other business accelerators. Our network of successful entrepreneurs, executives, and educators bring their passion and experience to the table because they enjoy working with founders who are willing to listen and roll up their sleeves to make meaningful change. BoomStartUp About Leading Entrepreneurs of the World As part of 1BusinessWorld, Leading Entrepreneurs of the World is one of the largest and most comprehensive entrepreneurial platforms and events in the world and features entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders presenting on cutting-edge topics and the latest industry developments. Leading Entrepreneurs of the World About 1BusinessWorld 1BusinessWorld is a global business ecosystem, network and marketplace that provides entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals with the information, tools, resources and connectivity needed to succeed throughout their company’s growth journey, toward a better business world. Our vision is based on the reality that we live, work and do business in one global interconnected business environment, and hence our motto: “One World, One Business World”. Our mission is to encourage and support global communication and collaboration among entrepreneurs, professionals, and businesses. 1BusinessWorld Contact Details Media Enquiries +1 212-220-6677 info@1businessworld.com Company Website https://1businessworld.com

June 06, 2022 04:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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CargoX Blockchain Technology Takes Flight in Egypt

CargoX

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA - (June 06, 2022) - CargoX, the leading company specializing in the digital transfer of trade documents, extends its business engagement with the Egyptian government by providing advanced Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT) services as a core component of the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system implementation for airborne cargo. The Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system aims at providing business intelligence and governance mechanisms to the government before cargo loading from ports of export, facilitating cargo clearance procedures, creating transparency and audit trail for cargo movements within a paperless ecosystem by digitizing shipment documents transfer using CargoX BDT services. The ACI system is a core component of Egypt’s national single-window platform for international trade (NAFEZA) that is operated by the Public-Private-Partnership company Misr Technology Services (MTS). “The NAFEZA single window platform for digitalization of ocean-freight trade document transfers between Egypt and companies worldwide is an unprecedented success. It is used by more than 90,000 companies and entities worldwide, and we continue building this momentum by adding air cargo documentation processing. This will bring the number of points of entries to 30 – including airports, seaports, dry ports, border posts, free zones, and bonded warehouses,” said Captain Ossama Al Sharif, MTS Chairman & CEO. Background information: Misr Technology Services (MTS) authorized CargoX to be the gateway between the international trade community and the Egyptian national single window for international trade (NAFEZA) by providing blockchain-document-transfer services since January 2021. CargoX platform includes built-in automated workflows for Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT) where the ultimate level of immutability, transparency, reliability, and accountability is achieved. CargoX launched its BDT services on a “TRIAL” basis as early as March 2021 to serve seaborne cargo. The services became “LIVE” as of October 2021. Within this context, cargo shippers pre-lodge shipment documents and data electronically in a secure and prompt manner to ensure that import security screening and customs procedures on the Egyptian side can be accomplished prior to shipment arrival to Egyptian seaports. Since its implementation in seaports, the project has surpassed all expectations. CargoX blockchain solution was used seamlessly and safely to transfer more than 1,500,000 actual trade and finance documents to serve more than 100,000 customers. By providing reliable document transfer services, the CargoX Platform has become the fastest-growing blockchain platform in the logistics industry. It represents one of the most compelling cases for the adoption of the blockchain as a critical tool for streamlining global trade and commerce, as well as business-to-government communication. “NAFEZA has become a unified channel for customers exporting to Egypt by sea, and now also by air. The ACI system will expedite shipment clearance, reduce cost, and eliminate the risk of delays or loss of documents. We are proud that Egypt is yet again a global innovator and a key reference for modernization,” said Gamal Kotb, MTS General Manager. In the sea freight use case, the benefits resulting for users from the adoption of the blockchain technology include a reduction in the average cargo release time from 29 days to 9 days with a notable reduction in container demurrage and storage fees. Compliance costs for shippers in the maritime sector have also been slashed from more than USD$600 to USD$165, or less as a consequence of the move onto the blockchain. In air freight, the real-time delivery of documents will play an even more essential role, as cargo travel times are much shorter, and processes run with higher task frequency. “Mr. Stefan Kukman, CEO of CargoX said, “CargoX is proud to be developing the most cutting-edge digital solution for global trade - arguably the most important industry in the world,” “It is incredibly satisfying to already be working with some of the most selective companies in the logistics industry and forward-thinking governments that have made the CargoX Platform the fastest-growing blockchain platform in the logistics industry,” —Kukman added. About CargoX CargoX Ltd is a global company specializing in document transfer solutions, based on blockchain transactions and an ownership validation platform. The core team of founders brings together more than 100 years of experience in the logistics, banking, programming, IT and blockchain industries. Users of CargoX’s BDT platform can upload or create electronic trade documents and then transact ownership of them like money through a global bank, at any time, with the following benefits: ● Irrevocable transfer of ownership of the documents ● Unbreakable, neutral, public Ethereum blockchain ● The audit trail of events is only available to the participants involved ● Confidentiality and full protection of data, identity and business connections ● More than 65 document types are supported (eBL, eLC, Certificates, Contracts, Invoices) Contact Details CHARLIE PESTI —The world’s best publicist for supply chain technologies. Charlie Pesti +1 267-439-4355 charlie@pesti.io Company Website https://cargox.io/

June 06, 2022 10:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time

News Release

Cube Chain launches high performance modular mainnet to meet market demand for Web 3.0

Cube

World’s leading public Web3 blockchain, Cube Chain, on Monday announced the launch of its Cube mainnet -- the end product of Cube Chain’s blockchain project that is accessible by the public. Cube Chain is a new, modular and permissionless blockchain designed based on multi-chain architecture. Similar to various public chains such as Ethereum and Polkadot, Cube Chain is committed to resolving the blockchain’s trilemma -- a widely-held belief that decentralized networks can only provide two out of three benefits at any given time with respect to decentralization, security and scalability. The popularity of large-scale applications of blockchain technologies such as GameFi, DeFi and NFT, have fueled market need for public chains that encompass high performance and advanced security while maintaining scalability. Cube Chain fully intends to fulfill all three criteria while catering to market demand, and early reception from the public contains strong success indicators. Since its testnet (blockchain used for testing and experimentation) was launched on May 25, transaction volumes have exceeded 1.7 million, while the total number of addresses has exceeded 134,000. A slew of next-generation features the places Cube Chain in an ideal position to solve the blockchain trilemma while meeting the needs of the blockchain market. The key architecture behind Cube Chain splits the functions of the blockchain more systematically to optimize performance, security and scalability. Cube Chain is designed with the execution layer for transaction execution by using the ZK Rollup-based Validium solution and a self-developed Collaborative Rollup solution as the system's execution engine. Consensus-wise, Cube Chain uses a settlement layer that is fully compatible with EVM and Ethereum protocols and introduces a high-performance consensus protocol that supports large-scale node participation. With respect to raw data storage for transactions, Cube Chain has a data availability layer that implements block data sharding and sampling validation schemes to provide efficient and reliable storage services. For Rollup and NFT applications, there is no longer a need to rely on external storage solutions as the processing logic and data are fully managed. In addition, Cube Chain has developed a decentralized cross-chain communication protocol named “Time Crossing”, which supports cross-chain DeFi contract calls and is compatible with the Cosmos IBC protocol. Huobi Global, the world's leading crypto exchange, has listed the CUBE token on Primelist at 13:00 (UTC) on June 6 2022. Primelist is a new token listing platform on Huobi Global that showcases high-quality tokens. With Primelist, participants stand a chance to buy CUBE tokens at low prices and trade them when the event ends. "The mainnet launch signals an important milestone in Cube Chain construction. Moving forward, Cube Chain will continue to develop and maintain its chain with a more modest attitude and a more dedicated spirit," said Jake Stolarski, CEO of Cube. "Active ecology is also the focus of Cube's future construction, and we hope more users, assets and projects can be better developed on Cube Chain." For more information about the Primelist of Cube Network, please visit here. For more information about Cube, please visit: https://www.cube.network/ About Cube Chain Cube is a high-performance, scalable and modular layer1 public chain, capable of supporting multi-chain and cross-chain architecture. Compatible with EVM and Cosmos ecosystems, Cube is actively committed to participating in the development of decentralized cross-chain protocols and Web3.0 infrastructure to provide users with the next-generation multi-chain experience. Contact Cube Chain Twitter：https://twitter.com/Cube0x Telegram：https://t.me/Cube_Network Contact Details Ker Zheng media@global-hgroup.com

June 06, 2022 08:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time

GSBA AND COMCAST RENEW RELIEF EFFORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES WITH THIRD ROUND OF “READY FOR BUSINESS FUND”

Comcast Washington

Following the success of the Ready for Business Fund in 2020 and 2021, GSBA – Washington’s LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce – and Comcast are renewing the Ready for Business Fund relief effort this year to provide more than $200,000 in grants to eligible small businesses throughout the state. Starting Monday, June 13, small business owners may find more information and apply for Ready for Business Fund grants at theGSBA.org/ready-for-business. According to a 2022 survey, almost all small businesses (97%) are concerned about inflation, and rising costs are the most significant threats small businesses currently face. Boosting revenue from online sales has now become the No.1 priority for small businesses. To offer some relief and help small businesses continue to grow and adapt, the Ready for Business Fund will provide $2,500 cash grants to more than 80 small businesses throughout Washington. Emphasis will be placed on small business owners at greater risk, including people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Small businesses located in rural areas of Washington will also be considered. “Runaway inflation and increased expenses are hitting our small businesses hard in Washington,” said Ilona Lohrey, GSBA Deputy Director. “Providing a cash grant with wrap-around services to promote visibility and support is critical as more small businesses use more digital technology to drive online revenue. $2,500 may not seem like much, but for these small business owners, a microgrant may be what is needed to invest in a website, help build online sales tools, launch a social media effort, or purchase new technology.” “Small businesses play a critical role in our local economies. They provide jobs and serve our communities throughout Washington. They need our continued support to meet new economic challenges, and we want to help them,” said Diem Ly, Community Impact Director, Comcast Washington. “That is why we believe the Ready for Business Fund is so important. Small businesses across the state need the relief.” The Ready for Business Fund was founded in the summer of 2020 with a $100,000 investment from Comcast and GSBA as the fund manager. Over the past two years, the fund has distributed $2,500 cash grants to more than 120 small businesses in Washington. The Ready for Business Fund was renewed this year with $75,000 in funding from Comcast and GSBA, reprising its role as the program and fund manager. Grants from the Ready for Business Fund will be made possible by more than $150,000 in additional donations from Pepsi, T-Mobile, US Bank, Meta, and Verity Credit Union and a $100,00 grant from King County. About GSBA Established in 1981, GSBA is Washington State's LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce and is the largest of its kind in North America. The chamber represents over 1,400 small business, corporate, and nonprofit members who share the values of promoting diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace. GSBA proudly serves as a connector across the region, bringing communities together through business while advocating for civil rights and small business. GSBA also promotes LGBTQ+ tourism through Travel Out Seattle, advocates for small businesses in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood through the Capitol Hill Business Alliance (CHBA) and invests in the next generation of LGBTQ+ and allied leaders through the GSBA Scholarship & Education Fund. 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 57 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 Andy Colley Andy_Colley@Comcast.com GSBA – Washington State’s LGBTQ+ & Allied Chamber of Commerce Cade Schmidt Cades@thegsba.org Company Website https://www.thegsba.org/business-resources/ready-for-business

June 06, 2022 04:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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