CDP Institute

Many Latin American startups valued above US$100 million considered going public on Nasdaq in 2021, according to the Head of Nasdaq for Latin America and expectations are they may do so soon. This is the case for companies like Ebanx, PicPay, Rappi, and the fintech firm Creditas, one of the most valuable in Latin America.

Altum Lab, the Chilean AI startup, has closed a deal with the World Seed Bank to develop a model that predicts seed germination to facilitate intelligent storage and management, opening up new opportunities in the agricultural industry. Through Bruna, its platform specializing in advanced technological services to solve common industrial problems, the company will create a prediction that assesses the probability of seed germination while harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to drive sustainable agriculture and strengthen food security.

Kenyan fashion e-commerce startup ShopZetu is set to add beauty and home décor categories to its portfolio, in response to the growing needs of the young and style-conscious women in Africa. This is as it currently scales regionally over the next few months while working to attract international fashion brands, and more than triple the number of vendors on its platform to 1,000.

The Fashion Kingdom (TFK), the leading curated fashion marketplace in Egypt, has acquired direct-to-consumer (D2C) fashion brand Opio to create a powerhouse fashion group. A marketplace offering access to fashion, beauty and home accessories, with 360 value proposition for brands, TFK was launched in July 2020 and raised a US$2.6 million seed round in August 2022, to accelerate its growth.

Kubik, an upcycling startup with operations in Kenya and Ethiopia, has closed a US$3.34 million seed funding round, with plans to double down on the production of building materials in Ethiopia before scaling to other countries within Africa. The startup turns hard-to-recycle plastic waste (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) into affordable building materials, removing 45,000 kg of plastic waste from landfills every day.

Global enterprise software company Ramco Systems announced the inauguration of its wholly owned subsidiary in Qatar, to support and transform the region’s business houses and MNCs in the area of ERP, HR, and payroll.

HCLTech, a leading global technology company, and Google Cloud announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to help enterprises leverage generative artificial intelligence (AI) and develop joint solutions powered by Google Cloud’s generative AI technologies.

Indian brands will lead the next wave of global customer experience innovation as consumers become aware of new technologies, and more deeply explore virtual and immersive environments, according to new research from Adobe. To help fuel this experience transformation, marketers and consumers alike are eager to embrace artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has imposed a A$250 million (US$167 million) capital adequacy requirement on health insurer, Medibank, following a hack that affected almost 10 million of its customers last year. The move is designed to ensure accountability after it discovered weaknesses in Medibank’s security environment.

Google, Meta and OpenAI executives have been called in for a parliamentary inquiry led by Australia’s Legalise Cannabis Party to explain their practice of removing posts and handling censorship. While the call was initiated following frustration the group has over removal of cannabis ads, plans are to discuss other AI issues that can impact the country.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced it will take legal action against Meta, the parent company of Facebook as the company has failed to remove “undesirable contents” on the Facebook social media platform.

Singapore-based Grab Holdings, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing and food delivery app, is cutting 1,000 jobs or 11% of its workforce, its CEO said on 20 Jun 2023, citing the need to manage costs and ensure more affordable services long term.