News Hub | News Direct

Technology

Artificial Intelligence Big Data Cloud Computing Cyber Security Data Management Electronics Enterprise & Network Technology Financial Technology Hardware Mobile & Wireless Nanotechnology Semiconductor Software Telecommunications
Article thumbnail News Release

JustiFi Raises New Capital to Break the Fintech Status Quo and Accelerate the Revenue Potential of Vertical SaaS Platforms

Rally Ventures

JustiFi, the intelligent fintech orchestration brain for vertical SaaS platforms, today announced it raised $4 million in additional financing, bringing its total seed funding raised since inception to $10.6 million. JustiFi provides vertical SaaS platforms with a full suite of embedded fintech tools that can be deployed to their current customer base. Platforms that embrace fintech early can capture new revenue, create a better customer experience and dominate their vertical. Unfortunately, most platforms don’t have the financial resources, in-house expertise or years to spend engineering advanced payment tools. When a vertical SaaS platform partners with JustiFi, they instantly have a fully integrated and white labeled suite of payment, banking and other fintech tools that are optimized for lowest possible cost, resulting in highest possible revenue and profit. JustiFi also provides a virtual fintech team on demand to closely guide each customer’s individual fintech journey. Today’s emerging SaaS platform leaders will only be as successful as their ability to meet the expanding needs of their customer base by providing integrated payment and fintech tools optimized for customer success and maximum revenue. “SaaS companies that embrace fintech early gain an unfair advantage in their vertical. And now you no longer need to take the time and money to do everything yourself. With JustiFi, you get industry-leading payment tech and expertise for a fraction of the cost of building your own,” said Joe Keeley, Co-Founder and CEO at JustiFi. JustiFi is meeting the need for SaaS platforms who aspire to be the system of record in their vertical. Since its initial round of seed funding in December 2021, JustiFi has onboarded new enterprise customers in sports tech, events and other verticals. These new customers bring with them billions of dollars in annual payment processing. Recent hires include VP of Engineering Nick Halm, who was previously the Director of Engineering, Payments at Sezzle, and Director of Customer Success Rose Gumz, who was previously a leader in customer success at SportsEngine. We’re thrilled Crosslink Capital recognized the unique value JustiFi offers and decided to join the team by leading an opportunistic $4 million Seed+ round, with participation from existing investors Rally Ventures and Emergence Capital. The new financing will be used to even further accelerate hiring, GTM and product development. “The fintech status quo is strangling vertical SaaS companies. Existing payment facilitators have a ‘one size fits all’ approach that limits flexibility. JustiFi does the opposite,“ said David Silverman, Partner at Crosslink Capital. “JustiFi builds end-to-end fintech solutions around each vertical SaaS platform’s unique vision. We are really excited about JustiFi’s momentum and glad to join them in their next phase of growth.” About JustiFi JustiFi is the embedded fintech platform built for vertical SaaS platforms. The company’s ​AI and machine-learning engine manages and optimizes payment transactions to help platforms reduce fees and maximize profits. JustiFi leverages 50+ years of industry experience and expertise to add value for customers by generating payments revenue, saving money, ensuring compliance and turning payment processing into a strategic advantage. For more information, visit justifi.ai About Crosslink Capital Crosslink, founded in 1989, is a Bay Area-based early-stage venture capital firm with over $5B in assets under management. Crosslink partners with founders that are market disruptors and category creators, typically at the Seed-Series A stage, across highly dynamic enterprise and consumer technology sectors. Crosslink has a track record of early investments in disruptive financial technology companies including AutoFi, Brace, Chime, Clyde, Novo, Personal Capital (acquired by Empower Retirement), and Step. Contact Details Rally Ventures Rachel Stone rachel@rallyventures.com Company Website https://www.justifi.ai

April 26, 2022 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

VFS Named the #1 Game Design School in Canada by The Princeton Review

Vancouver Film School

Announcement Highlights: VFS is ranked #14 on PRJ’s Top 50 Game Design Schools in North America and the #1 Canadian school for 2022. Other schools include University of Southern California, New York University, Clark University and Rochester Institute of Technology. VFS was previously named the #1 Canadian Game Design School in 2020. Vancouver Film School’s 12-month Game Design program prepares students for a variety of careers in coding, game art, and level design. April 26, 2022 – Vancouver Film School is pleased to announce that it has been ranked among the top game design schools in North America by The Princeton Review. In PRJ’s official 2022 list of Top 50 Game Design Schools, VFS was ranked #1 of all Canadian institutions and took the #14 spot overall. Other schools included in the 2022 list include University of Southern California, New York University, Clark University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and DigiPen Institute of Technology. The full list can be viewed here. The Princeton Review chose the colleges and grad schools for their 2022 list based on a survey conducted in 2021. 150 institutions were surveyed, all of which offer game design coursework and/or degrees. The final selection was based on criteria including academic offerings in game design, faculty credentials, career outcomes, and more. The Princeton Review first developed this survey in 2009. "VFS is proud to have once again received this prestigious honour from The Princeton Review. Our curriculum is truly on the cutting edge of the game industry, as demonstrated by our multiple student Unity Award wins, and to be named #1 in Canada is indicative of just how definitively our 12-month program prepares our students for successful careers in the video game industry.” -Christopher Mitchell – Head of Game Design, VFS Vancouver Film School’s accelerated Game Design program allows its students to specialize as a Game Artist, Coder, or Level Designer in just 12 months for the world’s largest entertainment industry, catering to 2.5 billion gamers worldwide and set to be worth $257 billion by 2025. The program is continually updated to remain in lockstep with the industry. For more information, visit https://vfs.edu/. About Vancouver Film School In 1987, Vancouver Film School introduced the world’s first true immersion film program. Today, VFS is Canada’s premier post-secondary entertainment arts institution, offering an immersive curriculum in film, animation, design, and beyond. VFS is known for providing high-quality education in accelerated time frames and offers 15 industry-integrated programs in which students graduate in twelve months as an in-demand, industry-ready creative professional. VFS alumni are consistently credited on the highest grossing films, television shows, and games worldwide, in a global industry set to generate US$2.1 trillion in revenue in 2022. Follow VFS on Social Media: vfs.edu YouTube: www.youtube.com/VancouverFilmSchool Facebook: www.facebook.com/vancouverfilmschool Twitter: www.twitter.com/VFS Instagram: www.instagram.com/vancouverfilmschool Contact Details Vancouver Film School Evan Biswanger ebiswanger@vfs.com Company Website https://vfs.edu/

April 26, 2022 07:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

Xeneta Appoints Bridget Shea As Board Member

Xeneta

Xeneta, the leading ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform, has appointed its newest board member, Bridget Shea. Shea’s experience includes decades of leading sales and customer success teams for large technology brands such as Salesforce. She is also known for her advisory roles at data analytics firms Dataiku and Heap. “Bridget is a highly accomplished tech leader with an extensive track record of success that makes her the perfect fit for our board of directors,” said Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund. “We are thrilled to welcome a seasoned professional who has spent a significant amount of time delivering results for high-growth companies. Her expertise will be invaluable to our board.” Bridget Shea has been a key contributor in leading multiple technology startups to acquisition, including TellApart (acquired by Twitter) and Datorama (acquired by Salesforce). She has held several global executive positions at multinational firms, and her peers commend her for her ability to elevate cross-functional teams and sustainably scale organizations. Shea currently serves as Chief Customer Officer at San Francisco-based firm MURAL. “It is my pleasure to join Xeneta during such an exciting time for their business,” said Shea. “Embracing the digital transformation of the logistics industry is vital to shippers, freight forwarders, and carriers. The broken state of the global supply chain has led to significant disruptions, unreliable transport capacities, and incalculable replenishment times. It is a privilege to join the board of a disruptive corporation like Xeneta, a company that is leading the market to provide reliable and real-time data to logistics professionals.” Xeneta remains one of the fastest-growing ocean and air freight rate benchmarking, market analytics platforms, and container shipping indexes. Recently, Xeneta bolstered its leadership team with the appointment with Vice President of Freight Forwarding Scott Irvine and Director of Sales Enablement Laura Finbow. Earlier this year, Xeneta acquired Amsterdam-based air freight data analysts CLIVE Data Services to provide businesses with the most timely and accurate insights into the global ocean and air freight markets. Xeneta also welcomed several new customers, including General Mills, Volvo, John Deere, Amer Sports, Rockwell Automation, and CEVA Logistics. Existing clients that currently rely on Xeneta’s crowd-sourced ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform include Puma, Nestle, Michelin, Volvo, General Mills, L’Oréal, and more. For more information on Xeneta, visit Xeneta.com. About Xeneta Xeneta is the leading ocean freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform transforming the shipping and logistics industry. Xeneta’s powerful reporting and analytics platform provides liner-shipping stakeholders the data they need to understand current and historical market behavior – reporting live on market average and low/high movements for both short and long-term contracts. Xeneta’s data is comprised of over 280 million contracted container and air freight rates and covers over 160,000 global trade routes. Xeneta is a privately held company with headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and regional offices in New York and Hamburg. To learn more, please visit www.xeneta.com. Contact Details Katherine Barrios +47 951 46 414 press@xeneta.com Trust Relations Noe Sacoco +1 408-340-8130 xeneta@trustrelations.agency

April 26, 2022 04:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

Retention Cloud Leader CleverTap Recognized as the “Breakout SaaS Startup of the Year” at SaaSBOOMi Awards 2021

CleverTap

CleverTap, the world’s leading retention cloud today announced it has been awarded the "Breakout SaaS Startup of the Year'' at the SaaSBOOMi Awards 2021. The awards, presented by SaaSBOOMi, an informal group of SaaS founders looking to network and learn from each other, recognizes excellence in Indian SaaS companies, their founders, and their many achievements and successes. India’s SaaS industry now boasts over $1.5 billion in annual revenues, with around 1,500+ SaaS companies as an active part of the SaaS community. Acknowledging the importance of this industry, the SaaSBOOMi Awards were launched in 2020 with a mission to celebrate the extraordinary aspirations and efforts of Indian SaaS founders. “The SaaSBOOMi Awards were introduced to recognise exemplary SaaS startups in the country that have set global standards in deep tech and cutting-edge innovation,” said Vinod Muthukrishnan, Member, SaaSBOOMi Awards team. “For the recently concluded 2021 edition, we are very happy to recognise CleverTap as the ‘ Breakout SaaS Startup of the Year.’ This accolade truly reflects the brand’s phenomenal work over the last year and its commitment to building exceptional user experiences for its customers.” “This is our first award from SaaSBOOMi and will be our most precious. Our customers make us successful and this award, which is shaped and judged by the community, underlines the importance of that bond and trust for us as a company and the partners who support us,” said Anand Jain, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, CleverTap. “We will continue to focus on solving the problem of user retention for consumer apps of all sizes. Our goal is to be the retention category market leader, not just in India and Southeast Asia but also North America and Europe and amplify the Indian SaaS success story to a growing and global audience.” The award is just one in a string of recent accolades recognising CleverTap’s technology prowess and capabilities. More than 10,000 apps across industries and geographies use CleverTap for customer engagement and retention over 3 billion devices. Built for speed, security, and scale, CleverTap has helped customers send over one trillion messages and create about 9 million campaigns in 2021. About CleverTap CleverTap is the modern, integrated retention cloud that empowers digital consumer brands to increase customer retention and lifetime value. For brands that understand and value user retention, CleverTap drives context and individualization with the help of a unified and deep data layer, AI/ML powered insights and automation. Customers around the world representing over 10,000 apps, including Vodafone Idea, SonyLIV, Daimler, Gojek, Carousell, and Premier League, trust CleverTap to achieve their retention and engagement goals, growing their long term revenue. Backed by leading venture capital firms including Sequoia India, Tiger Global Management, and Accel, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in Mumbai, Singapore, and Dubai. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Contact Details CleverTap Sony Shetty sony@clevertap.com Company Website https://clevertap.com/

April 26, 2022 02:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Volatus Aerospace Signs Global Marketing and Distribution Contract for UAVTEK Drone Technologies

Volatus Aerospace Corp.

Volatus Aerospace Corp. (TSXV:VOL) (OTCQB:VLTTF) ("Volatus" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a global marketing and distribution agreement with UAVTEK. UAVTEK is a respected UAV designer and manufacturer who supplies defence and public safety with innovative drone solutions. This week, the UAVTEK Ares and Bug will be presented at Booth 1307 at the AUVSI Xponential in Orlando. "UAVTEK has delivered remarkable UAV technologies to defence over the last few years, with hundreds deployed in the field. These technologies provide us with an opportunity to fulfill the demand for drone technologies designed and manufactured in NATO countries. The information captured by these drones is 100% protected - no data is recorded in the drone and because it uses military-grade radio it is less susceptible to electronic warfare," said Glen Lynch, CEO of Volatus. "We are thrilled to partner with the team at UAVTEK, and Steve Emerson, Volatus VP for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, will take the lead on expanding the products' footprint globally." Howard Humphries, CEO and Founder of UAVTEK, stated, "The strategic partnership with Volatus will allow us to focus on designing and building new technologies, and customizing solutions for new use cases. We have only scratched the surface of what is possible for drones working in the air, on land, and at sea. Volatus has the global marketing capabilities we need to increase our footprint globally. We look forward to strengthening our relationship and optimizing our efforts." The drones produced by UAVTEK are highly modular with many payloads available. All technologies share the same controller and the same battery type. The platforms are highly innovative and the drones have been field-tested in Lapland in -40C. Today they are deployed in both the Arctic and Africa. There is a full range of drones available from fixed-wing to nano. If you are attending AVUSI in Orlando, please visit Booth 1307 to learn more. About Volatus Aerospace: Volatus Aerospace Corp. is a leading provider of integrated drone solutions throughout Canada, the United States, and Latin America. Operating a vast pilot network, Volatus serves commercial and defense markets with imaging and inspection, security and surveillance, equipment sales and support, training, and design, manufacturing, and R&D. Through its subsidiary Volatus Aviation, Volatus carries on the business of aircraft management, charter sales, and cargo services using piloted, remotely piloted, and autonomous aircraft. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statement This news release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Corporation with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” (or other variations of the foregoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking information includes information regarding (i) the business plans and expectations of the Corporation; and (ii) expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and operating plans, strategies or beliefs as of the date of this news release, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to the Corporation, including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Forward-looking information reflects the Corporation’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to it and on assumptions it believes to be not unreasonable in light of all of the circumstances. In some instances, material factors or assumptions are discussed in this news release in connection with statements containing forward-looking information. Such material factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Corporation; meeting the continued listing requirements of the TSXV; and anticipated and unanticipated costs and other factors referenced in this news release and the Circular, including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Circular under the caption “Risk Factors”. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and, other than as required by law, the Corporation disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Source: Volatus Aerospace Corp. TSXV: VOL Contact Details Rob Walker +1 514-447-7986 rob.walker@volatusaerospace.com Company Website https://volatusaerospace.com

April 25, 2022 05:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

An Easier Way to Invest and Learn Along the Way from Plynk

YourUpdateTV

Would it surprise you to know that 80 million Americans are interested in investing, but don’t know where to begin? Many people might be feeling left behind or not comfortable entering the world of investing. That does not have to be the case. Financial literacy could be the key, as it empowers us to make smart financial decisions. It’s important for individuals to know it’s never too late or too early to increase their knowledge and begin their financial journey. Enter Plynk: A new investment app for beginners that helps them get started with investing, build confidence, and gain knowledge along the way. Too often, the industry has overcomplicated investing with unnecessary jargon and complex charts. By including educational content and tips throughout the app, beginner investors aren’t alone– now is your opportunity to learn how Plynk is here to help. Plynk Think allows you to learn and gain confidence by encouraging a learn-by-doing approach. In honor of financial literacy month, Plynk is offering an earn-while-you-learn offer. All you have to do is read a lesson in Plynk Think, make an investment, and you can qualify for the match. For complete terms and conditions everyone can visit PlynkInvest.com Learn more at www.plynkinvest.com A bout Plynk: Plynk is a new, no-experience-required investing app to help make investing easier for beginners. Created by people who have a passion for making investing simple, Plynk makes it easy to get started, get comfortable and get the hang of investing. Plynk offers straightforward language, clear explanations and just a $1 minimum to make it easy to begin investing. Plynk also includes tips, how-tosand easy to understand educational articles that help beginners learn as they go.Learn more at www.plynkinvest.com. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

April 25, 2022 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

SOOS Expands Suite of Cybersecurity Tools with New Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) Capabilities

SOOS

Today SOOS, the software security company on a mission to make risk remediation affordable and accessible to all, announced the launch of its new Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) tool. With flat-rate, affordable pricing and easy workflow integration, SOOS is making cybersecurity accessible to more businesses. SOOS was founded on the belief that all software developers should have access to the tools they need to identify and remediate source code vulnerabilities. In a field dominated by expensive, cumbersome options, SOOS is committed to providing simple, straightforward, and effective tools. For just $298/month, SOOS offers the DAST tool plus their core software composition analysis (SCA) tool, with unlimited seats and scans. SOOS’s new DAST tool makes it easy to expand the power of OWASP ZAP to continuously test your web app and monitor for potential exploit paths. SOOS DAST integrates into your build pipeline and consolidates DAST test results with SOOS SCA scan results in a single powerful web dashboard. “Far too many developers look the other way when it comes to security,” said Eric Allard, SOOS CTO. “They think it is too expensive, or too much of a hassle, to identify and remediate risk.” “We are breaking down all the barriers, making it easy to afford and integrate security into your daily routine,” Allard added. “Now more than ever, cybersecurity needs to be front and center. We make it easy to shift left your software security and do the right thing.” For $298/month, SOOS offers access to the DAST and SCA tools, with unlimited seats. SOOS DAST Scan web apps for vulnerabilities Scan APIs–OpenAPI, GraphQL, and SOAP No limits on the number of domains No limits on concurrent scans Push issues to GitHub’s Security dashboard Scan history view Unified dashboard with SOOS Core SCA PLUS SOOS Core SCA (Software Composition Analysis) Node, Ruby, Python, Java,.Net, PHP, and many more Repo agnostic CI/CD integration Integrates with GitHub Connect to Jira or GitHub Issues Robust license policies Rich vulnerability dashboard Full scan history Customize governance rules SBOM generation in multiple formats SOOS is the easy-to-integrate software security solution for your whole team. It’s never been more important to protect against cybersecurity risks. SOOS makes it easy and affordable. Try SOOS free for 30 days or connect with us online at soos.io ### About SOOS SOOS is on a mission to revolutionize software security. Founded in 2019, SOOS makes it easy to identify and remediate open source vulnerabilities, with a straightforward pricing model and easy workflow integration. Peace of mind, without the hassle, means safer software for everyone. Contact Details SOOS Alison Kosakowski Conant +1 802-825-1312 akconant@soos.io

April 25, 2022 10:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Agora Data Adds Brett Beebe as SVP – Head of Corporate Business Development

Agora

Agora Data, inventor of the first -ever crowdsourced securitization, reducing interest rate line of credit and technology platform supplying book value of loans for the subprime auto industry, today announced auto finance veteran Brett Beebe as Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Business Development. Beebe will leverage his vast industry experience to expand Agora’s reach through joint ventures and other strategic partnerships. Beebe spent more than 10 years at AmeriCredit (now GM Financial) in sales and business development leadership roles. He later held multiple senior leadership positions – including President and Chief Operating Officer – at DriverUp, an online auto finance marketplace. He’s built strategic relationships with national brands throughout his career and developed new lending channels and programs. Agora welcomes Beebe’s deep industry knowledge and indisputable track record at a fin-tech start-up. “As Agora grows, we seek to identify, partner with, and, in some cases, acquire companies that complement our mission of enabling independent dealers to maximize their growth potential,” said Steve Burke, CEO of Agora Data. “Brett is the ideal person to lead this charge. He knows how to create win-win relationships between dealers, consumers, and the industry.” Beebe noted, “Agora has already surpassed many significant milestones while providing attractive funding solutions and in-depth portfolio analytics to independent dealers and finance companies. The next logical step is to expand the company’s strategic partnerships and joint venture opportunities. It’s time to level the playing field for even more dealers and positively transform the auto industry.” About Agora Data, Inc: Agora Data’s platform delivers a suite of tools to empower independent dealers and finance companies to finance their non-prime customers. Agora’s family of auto finance products provides a wide range of critical funding paths so originators can obtain the cash they need to fuel growth, compete, and build wealth. Powered by patent pending technology, originators now have access to robust data analytics and planning resources to help optimize the performance of their portfolios. Agora Data made history by closing the first-ever Crowdsourced Subprime Auto Securitization in 2020 and followed that up with its second transaction in early 2021. For more information, visit agoradata.com or contact us at 877-592-4672. Contact Details Shelly Vandeven +1 682-282-4130 media@agoradata.com Company Website https://agoradata.com/

April 25, 2022 09:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

First MENA fintech Pay-Now, Pay-Later school fees app zenda raises $9.4m

zenda

zenda, MENA’s first fintech app for families has announced it has secured a $9.4m oversubscribed seed round. Leading regional and global investors (STV, COTU, Global Founders Capital, and VentureSouq) participate in the oversubscribed round. zenda currently addresses pain points around the payment of school fees - in particular, the lack of convenience and flexibility in payment options for parents and the poor collection of payments for schools. zenda was founded in June 2021 by Raman Thiagarajan and Haseeb Ahmed, alumni of McKinsey & Company, where Raman led the Firm’s Financial Services Practice in the MENA region. zenda is the founders’ second start-up, and leverages deep insights and knowledge from their successful previous ed-tech venture. With approximately US$37B processed annually in fee payments to private educational institutions in the GCC, US$34B in the rest of Middle East and Africa, and US$70B annually in India, the market is sizable yet largely untapped. Fee payments in schools (nurseries - K12 - tertiary) are mostly non-digital, and even where digital, are cumbersome, manual and expensive. Also the majority of families earn monthly but fee payments are usually termly or bi-annual, resulting in cash flow stress for parents and collection delays for schools. Using zenda, families can track dues and make payments through a multitude of pay-now and pay-later options, and unlock rewards for paying on time. zenda integrates with schools through its proprietary data model and APIs (much like zapier) and eliminates last mile reconciliation challenges and delays. CEO and founder of zenda, Raman Thiagarajan said: “In today’s digital world, we seek low friction and immediacy - why should that not be the case for fee payments? Part of the ecosystem still runs on cash or cheque with no convenient option to pay later. Since our launch, feedback from the market and especially from our users has been terrific – we are grateful & pumped with the response from parents and seeing how they have embraced our service. zenda schools are witnessing a systematic increase in their collections. We have a truly outstanding team and I feel privileged that such a passionate group is with us on this journey. We are excited and hopeful for the possibilities ahead – in providing customer-centric digital financial services to solve some of the simple yet important problems for families in our regions” zenda has witnessed strong market traction with schools and with families. Its user base grew 20X since June 2021 and crossed $100M+ in annual contracted TPV volume by Q4 2021, across UAE and India. zenda’s success is also attributable to the team’s expertise and deep insights into how educational institutions operate, from their earlier venture. zenda’s mission is to help families thrive. In the future, it aims to make it easier for families to manage money and to enable their financial wellness through tailored banking and financial experiences. Commenting on the announcement, Ihsan Jawad, General Partner at STV said: “Raman, Haseeb and the team have identified a compelling gap in the market and in supporting families on a topic that is very important to them. Seeing their strong traction over the past several months, we couldn't be more excited about zenda. The UAE itself is a USD 8+ billion market for private education fees and they are already well poised to capture leadership. They have built an outstanding team and we look forward to working with them in helping zenda achieve its mission.” About zenda zenda is a fintech app for families. It enables families to pay school fees with pay-now and pay-later options, unlocking rewards for paying on time. Finance runs deeply through the family - from paying school fees to saving for short term expenses such as family trips, to investing for education. But family finance has remained stuck in a single-player paradigm. We want to change that. zenda’s mission is to help families thrive. It aims to make it easier for families to manage money and enables their financial wellness - banking and financial experiences built from the ground up, designed specifically for families. For more information please visit www.zenda.com or follow the company on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Contact Details zenda Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.zenda.com/

April 25, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
1 ... 446447448449450 ... 599