|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Technology • Industry • Sep 2020
The Swedish legal tech company digip® launches a SaaS solution that simplifies and streamlines the management of trademark protection and domain management • The need for trademark protection is ever increasing as 85 percent of all brands have experience of infringement. By digitizing trademark protection processes into an intuitive SaaS solution, entrepreneurs and established businesses are provided the opportunity to register, protect and monitor their trademark rights worldwide
“With more than 25 years of experience in the trademark industry, digip® are committed to make the necessary investments required to challenge a traditional and conservative industry. We digitize and make our advice available to everyone and create cost-effective alternatives for companies that want to invest in their brand, with a simplified process for brand protection", says Viktor Johansson, CEO and one of digip's® founders.
digip® was founded in 2019 with the aim of simplifying and challenging an industry that has not kept up with the pace of digital innovation. In the first version companies will be given the opportunity to free of charge search if their trademark can be registered in Europe, and then for a small fee, get professional help to get the trademark registered. To proactively protect the trademark, trademark monitoring is included, and it is possible to register domain names and manage technical services to proactively protect the digital assets of the brand.
The three most common consequences of infringement of a trademark are customer confusion, lost revenue, and reputational damage. 45 percent of customers being confused by several similar brands, 38 percent of the affected companies have lost revenue and 37 percent have had their brands' reputation and trust damaged. Of the companies that are exposed to infringement, about three quarters lead to litigation. Nearly half of the companies that have been involved in trademark litigation have to re-brand because they have not secured trademark protection before launching their business. The time it takes to re-profile your company is estimated at about 4 months and at the same time drives costs and human resources, according to Clarivate CompuMark, a company that specializes in brand analysis.
Through the platform, digip® reduces the problems surrounding trademark disputes, as it becomes easier and more cost-effective to register and have a complete overview of their trademark and domains.
"By combining innovative technology and expert advice, we create a proactive, cost-effective and protective brand strategy that enables all types of companies to gain full control of their intellectual property portfolio." says Christian Vierling, COO and one of digip's® founders.
digip development and operations have so far been financed by the VC company Antler, the business angels Pop Invest, Niklas Alm and OVM Invest as technical co-founder. • 9/20
Banking • Somalia • Ago 2020
Sombank selects Temenos Islamic Banking to create innovative financial products to help with the country’s economic growth, leveraging the market-leading capabilities of Temenos Infinity and Temenos Transact • Temenos cloud platform will enable Sombank to reduce time and cost in deploying digital banking products designed to increase access to financial services to all Somali speaking populations
Temenos announced that Sombank, a privately owned Islamic bank in Somalia, has selected the Temenos Islamic Banking solution in the cloud to accelerate its digital transformation and create innovative products to increase access to financial services in Somalia.
Sombank will implement the full front-to-back Temenos Islamic Banking platform combining the market-leading capabilities of Temenos Infinity and Temenos Transact. The platform’s scalable innovative technology provides superior features for lslamic banks to offer their customers Shari’ah compliant products and the best digital experience. The cloud-native solution will enable Sombank to design and launch customized digital products more quickly while also reducing its operating costs.
Financial inclusion is core to Sombank’s mission. Temenos’ cloud-native technology will allow Sombank to create innovative digital products and offer lower cost services that are more accessible to all Somalians via a mobile device, including current and savings accounts for individuals and small businesses as well as the latest mobile money products.
A recent report produced for Temenos by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that Governments across the Middle East and Africa regions are increasingly embracing digital agendas to encourage financial inclusion and accelerate digital banking and a cashless economy. According to the report, smart phone use expected to hit 74% in the region by 2025 and the affordability of smartphones is a key driver in the development of mobile-only and mobile-first banks.
Currently, Sombank serves customers via branch and online network and representative offices throughout Somalia. Sombank will use the Temenos Infinity digital front office to create a unified customer experience for all financial and non-financial services across all channels, helping its staff serve customers faster in branch and online.
Mr. Garad Khalif. Nor, CEO, SomBank, stated: “We are excited to partner with Temenos to deliver next-generation digital experiences to Somalian customers. We selected Temenos because of its worldwide reputation, cutting-edge technology, and regional expertise in Africa. While we are a relatively new bank, Sombank has big ambitions to play a significant role in rebuilding the country’s financial infrastructure by improving access to financial services throughout Somalia and beyond. Implementing the Temenos banking platform in the cloud will allow us to achieve rapid time to value for new digital products and the cost savings to fulfil this vision.”
Jean-Paul Mergeai, Managing Director – Middle-East & Africa, Temenos, commented: “We are delighted that Sombank has selected Temenos Islamic Banking to advance its digital banking strategy. Temenos has a strong presence in Africa and a track record helping Islamic Banks with their digital transformation. For over 20 years, Temenos has been empowering the Islamic finance community with flexible and innovative Shari’ah compliant solutions that are specifically designed to improve customer experiences. Sombank has challenged itself to be the leading Islamic Bank in the region and this implementation is a big step forward as it embarks on this exciting new phase of its journey.” • 8/20
Prize competition • Africa • Ago 2020
Nicolas will be part of the panel of judges aiming to identify the ten finalists who will go forward to compete in a 'pitch finale' in front of Jack Ma himself
The Jack Ma Foundation's Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) has chosen APO Group Founder and Chairman Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard as a semi-final judge for this year's prestigious competition "Africa's Business Heroes".
The ANPI organises Africa's Business Heroes - now in its second year – a grassroot competition looking to spotlight and give a platform to entrepreneurs all over Africa, to showcase their business ideas and inspire others to do so.
The Jack Ma Foundation is committed to fostering African entrepreneurship, and has brought in some of the continent's most esteemed businesspeople and investors to help the search for Africa's Business Heroes. Nicolas will be part of a select seven-judge panel who will interview candidates from a semi-final shortlist of 20 entrepreneurs based all over Africa.
In earlier qualification rounds, more than 150 prominent African business leaders acted as initial judges to whittle down more than 20,000 applicants to the final 50.
In the online semi-final, held on August 28th and 29th 2020, Nicolas will help to identify the ten finalists who will go forward to compete in a 'pitch finale' in front of Jack Ma himself, among others.
Nicolas has spent more than a decade at the forefront of African business. In 2007, he founded APO Group from his own living room using his own savings, and he has seen it grow into the leading pan-African communications and business consultancy, providing strategic advice to multinational organizations in diverse industries.
Now, in his role as Chairman of APO Group, Nicolas has committed to supporting the next generation of African entrepreneurs. In 2019, he embarked upon a series of conferences in some of Africa's most prominent universities. He spoke about entrepreneurship, business and journalism to students in Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
Nicolas is also a member of several Advisory Boards, including: the African Energy Chamber , an organization that drives collaboration between African governments and the private sector in all areas of the energy industry; the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) , the premier hotel investment conference in Africa; and the EurAfrican Forum , an action-oriented platform that aims to foster stronger collaboration between Europe and Africa.
The ANPI prize launched last year, and the competition in 2020 is even bigger and better. The prize fund has increased from $1million to $1.5million, with each of the ten finalists receiving a share of it. The value of the Prize goes far beyond mere financial gain, and represents an extraordinary platform where all participants, and not just the winners, have benefited from expertise and insights garnered within the ANPI community of business leaders.
More than 22,000 applicants representing all 54 African countries applied for the chance to be the next African Business Hero - more than double the number of entries in 2019.
In another change from last year, applicants were also able to submit their applications and hold selection interviews in French, a further proof of the inclusive and pan-African spirit of the initiative. As a self-made Franco-Gabonese entrepreneur, Nicolas is well placed to help identify the very best of Francophone African start-ups and innovators.
"Jack Ma is at the very pinnacle of global entrepreneurship, so it is an honour to have been asked to judge this year's semi-final of the ANPI competition," said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and Chairman of APO Group. "It is fantastic to see the Jack Ma Foundation investing so much energy into African entrepreneurship, and I am delighted to see such a high level of talent from this year's applicants as we get ready to crown the next African Business Heroes."
Find out more about the ANPI competition and view the full list of semi-finalists here. • 8/20
