Luxury Portfolio International Divulga Relatório Sobre Imóveis de Luxo para 2022

Número de vendedores de imóveis de luxo aumenta globalmente; alguns compradores expressam FOMO (Strong Fear of Missing Out – Forte Medo de Perder Oportunidades); Sustentabilidade “criticamente importante” entre compradores ricos em todo o mundo

Relatório abrange dados dos afluentes na faixa de renda do topo 1-5% pesquisados em 20 países, representando uma população afluente de quase 32 milhões de famílias

NOVA YORK, Dec. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Luxury Portfolio International® (LPI), a principal rede mundial de imobiliárias de imóveis de luxo, tem o prazer de compartilhar os resultados do seu Relatório Sobre Imóveis de Luxo de 2022 (SOLRE). O estudo inclui dados de indivíduos na faixa de renda do topo 1% a 5% em 20 países e aborda uma ampla gama de tópicos essenciais para o mercado de imóveis de luxo em todo o mundo.

Mais notavelmente, o relatório da LPI demonstra a continuidade das tendências dominantes relacionadas à compra de imóveis que tiveram início durante o terceiro trimestre de 2020 e continuaram durante todo o ano de 2021, mostrando que a demanda por imóveis de luxo permanece alta; os aumentos de preços devem continuar; a oferta permanece menor do que a demanda; o tempo no mercado de casas unifamiliares de luxo muitas vezes continua a “ser de apenas algumas horas”; e a sustentabilidade é “Extremamente Importante” (66%) na consideração de futuras compras de imóveis.

O estudo também mostra um aumento no número de vendas de imóveis residenciais de afluentes em todo o mundo; que entre os compradores de casas de luxo, a maioria (74%) com forte sensação de estabilidade econômica pessoal e ainda 75% estão significativamente preocupados que seu poder de compra discricionário possa mudar em breve.

E embora se espere que 2022 continue em um ritmo acelerado, há sinais de que o mercado de imóveis residenciais de luxo irá se estabilizar cada vez mais, fator essencial para que não haja complicações de um mercado superaquecido de longo prazo.

Com 75% dos compradores de casas de luxo escolhendo a próxima casa com sustentabilidade ambiental responsáveis pela ampla gama de resultados de um estudo de famílias ricas do mundo da Luxury Portfolio International® (LPI), 2021 entra para a história como um dos mais robustos mercados de imóveis residenciais de luxo.

“Depois de um ano recorde na área de imóveis de luxo, estamos prevendo que haverá um certo equilíbrio no mercado”, disse Mickey Alam Khan, Presidente da LPI. “É importante analisar o mercado de luxo ao longo de uma trajetória de vários anos, e levar em consideração que durante metade de 2020 o mercado esteve paralisado com a pandemia. O aquecimento do mercado teve início no final de 2020, continuou em 2021 e continuará com uma trajetória positiva em 2022. A diferença é que haverá mais imóveis de luxo no mercado em 2022 do que em 2021 e, embora o número de compradores de imóveis de luxo venha a ser menor, o mercado continuará a ser favorável ao vendedor. A loucura pandêmica que nos levou a um mercado superaquecido está sendo normalizada. A demanda permanecerá forte e um novo e saudável normal no setor imobiliário de luxo começará a surgir em 2022.”

A sustentabilidade, de acordo com o estudo, agora é um grande diferencial nas casas de luxo, e os compradores estão dispostos a pagar extra pelos recursos e comodidades que os preparem melhor para o futuro. 75% dos entrevistados observaram que escolheram a próxima casa com a sustentabilidade em mente e, pela primeira vez, 90% marcando “sim” na sustentabilidade como fator na escolha da casa no Próximo Capítulo da Vida. De acordo com o estudo, a compra de uma casa no “Próximo Capítulo na Vida” significa pessoas que se mudam para ficar mais perto da família, pela educação dos filhos, mudança de carreira e outros fatores atenuantes.

Dentre as pessoas interessadas em sustentabilidade como um fator importante para a compra da casa, 71% são da opinião que a casa comprada ficará para seus herdeiros. Além disso, com o aumento do interesse pela sustentabilidade, a qualidade do comprador aumenta, beneficiando o vendedor, pois o comprador deseja fazer transações mais cedo e com um orçamento relativamente maior.

FOMO, ou Fear of Missing Out (Forte Medo de Perder Oportunidades), é sensação de ansiedade que um evento emocionante ou interessante possa estar acontecendo em outro lugar, muitas vezes despertado por postagens nas redes sociais. Com um ano na casa e as manchetes exaltando o aquecimento do mercado, o FOMO passou a ser uma preocupação significativa para 26 por cento dos compradores de imóveis de luxo. O FOMO se manifesta de maneiras diferentes, primeiro como um verdadeiro momento de “perda do barco”, onde os preços ficam fora do alcance. Uma segunda preocupação – igualmente impactante – é organizar as finanças para grandes compras.

Embora a COVID-19 continue sendo uma preocupação significativa, o estudo revelou que o mercado já passou por grande parte dos seus efeitos. Isso em comparação com o ano passado, quando a principal tendência em imóveis de luxo era encontrar uma casa que acomodasse a família que trabalha em casa.

Dito isto, de acordo com o estudo, trabalhar em casa está desgastando uma grande parte dos compradores de casas de luxo. O estudo revelou que 27% dos compradores de imóveis de luxo citaram trabalhar em casa como uma “preocupação significativa”. O trabalho remoto, e a frustração e o estresse associados com o ficar em casa, continuam a ter um papel significativo no processo da decisão de compra.

Os compradores preocupados em remover a ênfase no ambiente de trabalho em casa passaram a incluir a diversão, como entretenimento em casa, vida noturna nas proximidades e comodidades que induzem ao relaxamento, como spa/hidromassagem, escala de coquetéis especiais, e salas especiais para mídia e jogos.

Os principais resultados da pesquisa incluem:

  • Em todo o mundo, a classe afluente continua altamente interessada em comprar imóveis residenciais a qualquer preço, com um aumento de 33% em relação ao ano anterior. Não há dúvida de que 2021 terminará com mais compradores, configurando 2022 como mais um ano forte para imóveis de luxo.
  • Mais de 14 milhões de famílias afluentes continuam interessadas em comprar uma casa, com 6,4 milhões na categoria de luxo. Outros 1,2 milhões de proprietários de imóveis de luxo estão interessados em vender seus imóveis nos próximos 3 anos, um aumento de 32% em relação ao ano passado. Sem dúvida, a apreciação do valor dos imóveis tem um papel fundamental nesta decisão.
  • Em conjunto, esses fatores indicam que a estabilização dos preços e a normalização do mercado em todo o mundo devem ocorrer a partir de 2022. O que antes parecia ser um grande abismo entre o número de potenciais compradores e vendedores (10,3 milhões de compradores e 4 milhões de vendedores) está gradativamente rumo ao equilíbrio (6,4 milhões de compradores e 5,2 milhões de vendedores).
  • A tendência global da demanda imobiliária residencial continuará a crescer em 2022. A porcentagem de indivíduos no mercado desejando comprar imóveis residenciais até o final de 2022 aumenta de 19% em 2021 para 39% em 2022 na Europa e de 30% em 2021 para 37% em 2022 na Ásia/Pacífico. 46% dos entrevistados do Oriente Médio, especificamente consumidores da Arábia Saudita e dos Emirados Árabes Unidos, têm maior interesse em adquirir imóveis residenciais, pois esses indivíduos continuam a diversificar suas participações. No geral, o rendimento global cai ligeiramente de 62% em 2021 para 60% em 2022.
  • Proprietários de imóveis de luxo estão começando a vender. Com as novas construções sofrendo atrasos devido aos desafios com bens e serviços, há um interesse consistente nas casas existentes. No entanto, os proprietários não estavam necessariamente interessados em vender no ano passado e, consequentemente, a falta de estoque tem sido um importante impulsionador dos preços na maioria dos mercados de imóveis de luxo. Parece que agora os proprietários de imóveis de luxo estão convencidos no aquecimento do mercado e, por isso, o interesse em vender aumentou mais do que o dobro (de 11% para 28%). Na verdade, 71% dos proprietários acreditam que o valor do seu imóvel residencial aumentará este ano, criando um forte incentivo para as vendas. O proprietário médio de imóveis de luxo espera um aumento de aproximadamente 4–5 por cento em comparação com 3–4 por cento no ano passado.
  • Psicologicamente, o mercado continua sendo favorável ao vendedor. Na prática, podemos esperar uma relação mais equilibrada entre compradores e vendedores nos próximos anos. Como os consumidores afluentes participam do mercado residencial, o número de compradores de imóveis residenciais de luxo caiu 58% em 2021 (de 34% para 20% do total de afluentes), enquanto, inversamente, neste equilíbrio delicado, o número de vendedores de imóveis de luxo aumentou 26% (de 13% para 16% do total de afluentes).
  • Embora a fuga para as áreas fora dos grandes centros tenha sido uma das principais manchetes da COVID, a pesquisa revela que os imóveis residenciais de luxo dos grandes centros estão indo muito bem. Mais da metade dos compradores de imóveis de luxo em todo o mundo (55%) esperam comprar sua próxima residência em uma cidade e 77% estarão dentro da faixa de deslocamento. E, em particular, os compradores de imóveis de luxo da Ásia-Pacífico são significativamente mais propensos a comprar em centros de cidades do que os de outras partes do mundo.
  • A popularidade das casas não geminadas aumenta além da América do Norte. A pesquisa revelou que a popularidade das casas não geminadas está crescendo em todo o mundo, com 40% dos compradores da Europa/Oriente Médio e 29% dos compradores da Ásia-Pacífico buscando o luxo dos espaços e privacidade adicionais. Ano após ano, a demanda por esse tipo de moradia está aumentando, pois, coletivamente, os espaços de convivência compartilhados estão se tornando menos atraentes para o comprador de imóveis de luxo. A América do Norte continua sendo o principal condutor da demanda por esse tipo de residência.
  • Uma nova classe de comprador de imóvel de luxo de nível básico entra no mercado. Em todo o espectro de consumidores afluentes, há maior interesse na compra de imóveis com preço abaixo de US$ 1 milhão. Isso indica um ressurgimento de compradores de classe média alta que se atrasaram na compra devido à pandemia ou que agora estão prontos e têm o poder de compra. E isso está criando um aumento no número de compradores de imóveis de luxo de nível básico, de 39% para 44%, na faixa de US$ 1-1,9 milhões. Esse efeito democrático do luxo para muitos é mais pronunciado na América do Norte e menos na Ásia-Pacífico e Europa/Oriente Médio, onde a classe rica tende a ser de grupos relativamente pequenos de pessoas com concentrações muito altas de riqueza.

Para mais informações e acesso ao relatório, clique aqui: Relatório Sobre Imóveis de Luxo de 2022.

SOBRE A LUXURY PORTFOLIO INTERNATIONAL® (LPI)
A Luxury Portfolio International (luxuryportfolio.com) é a principal rede de corretoras e agentes de imóveis de luxo que oferece serviços incomparáveis de marketing e inteligência em todo o mundo. É a unidade de luxo da Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, rede global das principais empresas imobiliárias independentes, com 550 empresas e 150.000 associados de vendas em 70 países. No ano passado, os membros da rede participaram de mais de 1,3 milhão de transações em todo o mundo. A LPI atrai um público global de visitantes de mais de 200 países/territórios todos os meses e comercializa mais de 50.000 casas de luxo por ano. Well Connected.™

Fonte: Luxury Portfolio International®

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Contato: pr@luxuryportfolio.com

Sophi.io Premiado no WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2021

Sophi Dynamic Paywall ganha prêmio global de Melhor Estratégia de Mídia Paga

TORONTO, Dec. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Sophi.io, mecanismo de automação, otimização e previsão com base em inteligência artificial da The Globe and Mail, conquistou o prêmio Global de Mídia Digital de 2021 da WAN-IFRA na categoria Melhor Estratégia de Mídia Paga com o Sophi Dynamic Paywall, seu mecanismo de paywall personalizado em tempo real que analisa as características do conteúdo e do comportamento do usuário para determinar quando solicitar dinheiro ou um endereço de e-mail a um leitor e quando deixá-lo em paz.

Os jurados selecionaram por unanimidade o Sophi Dynamic Paywall como o vencedor, e um deles comentou: “A Globe and Mail concorreu com tecnologia de ponta e o que eu mais importante é que o novo sistema foi comparado profundamente com o paywall antigo, por isso o resultado é realmente sustentável.”

O Digital Media Awards Worldwide da World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) é o concurso global de mídia digital da indústria de mídia de notícias. Os vencedores de todo o mundo são selecionados entre os vencedores dos Prêmios Regionais de Mídia Digital da África, Ásia, Europa, América Latina, Oriente Médio, América do Norte e Sul da Ásia, que fornecem aos editores de notícias uma mostra de inovação das melhores práticas em publicação digital de todo o mundo. Os prêmios reconhecem e homenageiam o melhor da mídia digital.

“O Sophi Dynamic Paywall tem sido crucial para gerar receita de leitores na The Globe and Mail”, disse Phillip Crawley, Editor e CEO da The Globe and Mail. “Estou pronto para compartilhar mais histórias sobre como os outros clientes da Sophi estão tendo ótimos resultados com a nossa tecnologia com base em IA.”

Sophi é um sistema de inteligência artificial que ajuda os editores a identificar seu conteúdo mais valioso e aproveitá-lo para alcançar os principais objetivos de negócios. O conjunto de ferramentas da Sophi consiste na Sophi Site Automation, que faz curadoria autônoma de conteúdo em todas as propriedades digitais de um editor, e o Sophi Content Paywall, que usa modelos complexos de processamento de linguagem natural para analisar cada conteúdo e selecionar artigos para colocar na frente ou atrás de um paywall rígido, maximizando o valor da oportunidade de receita com assinatura e receita com publicidade para os editores.

Editores de três continentes agora usam a tecnologia AI/ML da Sophi para impulsionar decisões de paywall, automação de sites e automação de impressão.

Sobre a Sophi.io 

Sophi.io (https://www.sophi.io) foi desenvolvida pela The Globe and Mail para ajudar os editores de conteúdo a tomar decisões estratégicas e táticas importantes. É um conjunto de ferramentas alimentadas por IA que inclui Sophi Site Automation e Sophi for Paywalls. Sophi foi projetada para aprimorar as métricas que mais importam para sua empresa, como retenção e aquisição de assinantes, engajamento, recentidade, frequência e volume. Sophi também alimenta o laydown automatizado da publicação de impressos e ePapers.

Contato  

Jamie Rubenovitch 
Dirigente de Marketing, Sophi 
The Globe and Mail 
416-585-3355  
jrubenovitch@globeandmail.com

Sophi.io remporte le Digital Media Awards Worldwide de la WAN-IFRA en 2021

Sophi Dynamic Paywall remporte le prix mondial de la meilleure stratégie média payante

TORONTO, 02 déc. 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sophi.io, Le moteur d’automatisation, d’optimisation et de prédiction basé sur l’intelligence artificielle du Globe and Mail, a remporté le prix Digital Media Award Worldwide 2021 de la WAN-IFRA dans la catégorie Meilleure stratégie média payant pour Sophi Dynamic Paywall, son moteur de péage de lecture numérique entièrement dynamique, personnalisé et en temps réel qui analyse à la fois les caractéristiques du contenu et le comportement de l’utilisateur pour déterminer quand demander de l’argent ou un e-mail à un lecteur, et à quel moment ne pas le solliciter.

Les juges ont choisi à l’unanimité Sophi Dynamic Paywall comme lauréat, un juge commentant : « Ce que Globe and Mail a fait est à la pointe de la technologie et ce que j’apprécie le plus, c’est qu’ils ont testé en permanence l’ancien péage de lecture numérique afin que ces résultats soient vraiment durables. »

Les Digital Media Awards Worldwide de la World Association of News Publishers (« Association mondiale des éditeurs d’actualités »(WAN-IFRA)) sont le concours mondial des médias numériques du secteur des médias d’actualité. Les lauréats mondiaux sont sélectionnés parmi les lauréats des Digital Media Awards régionaux en Afrique, en Asie, en Europe, en Amérique latine, au Moyen-Orient, en Amérique du Nord et en Asie du Sud, qui, ensemble, offrent aux éditeurs d’actualités des présentations régulières pour l’innovation des meilleures pratiques dans l’édition numérique à l’échelle mondiale. Les prix récompensent et célèbrent le meilleur des médias numériques.

« Sophi Dynamic Paywall a joué un rôle crucial pour générer des revenus pour les lecteurs de The Globe and Mail », a déclaré Phillip Crawley, éditeur et PDG de The Globe and Mail. « Je suis impatient de partager davantage d’histoires sur la manière dont les autres clients de Sophi obtiennent d’excellents résultats avec notre technologie basée sur l’IA. »

Sophi est un système d’intelligence artificielle qui aide les éditeurs à identifier leur contenu le plus précieux et à en tirer parti pour atteindre leurs principaux objectifs commerciaux. La suite d’outils Sophi comprend également Sophi Site Automation qui gère de manière autonome le contenu de toutes les propriétés numériques d’un éditeur et Sophi Content Paywall, qui utilise des modèles complexes de traitement du langage naturel pour analyser chaque élément de contenu et sélectionner des articles à mettre devant ou derrière un péage de lecture dur, maximisant ainsi la valeur de l’opportunité de revenus d’abonnement et des revenus publicitaires pour les éditeurs.

Les éditeurs de cinq continents utilisent désormais la technologie IA et AA de Sophi pour alimenter les décisions de péage de lecture numérique, l’automatisation des sites Web et l’automatisation de l’impression.

À propos de Sophi.io 

Sophi.io (https://www.sophi.io) a été développée par The Globe and Mail pour aider les éditeurs de contenu à prendre des décisions stratégiques et tactiques importantes. Il s’agit d’une suite d’outils basés sur l’IA qui comprend Sophi Site Automation et Sophi for Paywalls. Sophi vise à améliorer les mesures qui comptent le plus pour votre entreprise, telles que la rétention et l’acquisition d’abonnés, l’engagement,, la récence, la fréquence et le volume. Sophi apporte également la mise en page automatisée de l’impression et la publication des journaux électroniques.

Contact  

Jamie Rubenovitch 
Directrice du marketing, Sophi 
The Globe and Mail 
416-585-3355  
jrubenovitch@globeandmail.com

Didi Global Plans to Delist from New York, Seek Listing in Hong Kong

Ride-hailing giant Didi Global said Friday it will delist from the New York Stock Exchange and pursue a listing in Hong Kong, succumbing to pressure from Chinese regulators concerned about data security.

It ran afoul of Chinese authorities by pushing ahead with its $4.4 billion U.S. IPO in July despite being asked to put it on hold while a review of its data practices was conducted.

The powerful Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) then quickly ordered app stores to remove 25 mobile apps operated by Didi and also told the company to stop registering new users, citing national security and the public interest. Didi remains under investigation.

"Following careful research, the company will immediately start delisting on the New York stock exchange and start preparations for listing in Hong Kong," Didi said on its Twitter-like Weibo account.

It later said in a separate English language statement that its board had approved the move.

"The company will organize a shareholders meeting to vote on the above matter at an appropriate time in the future, following necessary procedures," it said.

Sources have told Reuters that Chinese regulators pressed Didi's top executives to devise a plan to delist from the New York Stock Exchange due to concerns about data security.

"Didi’s plan to delist in the United States and the listing of Hong Kong stocks I believe will have an obvious impact on location decisions for large technology stocks' future listings," said Kenny Ng, securities strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai in Hong Kong.

"At the same time, this event makes the market believe that the current industry supervision of technology stocks in the mainland will continue, and the decline in the stock prices of technology stocks listed in Hong Kong today also reflects this factor."

Sources have told Reuters that Didi is preparing to relaunch its apps in the country by the end of the year in anticipation that Beijing's cybersecurity investigation into the company would be wrapped up by then.

The CAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Didi's plans to delist from New York.

Didi made its New York debut on June 30 at $14 per American Depositary Share, which gave the company a valuation of $67.5 billion on a non-diluted basis. Those shares have since slid 44% until Thursday's close, valuing it at $37.6 billion.

Shares in Didi investor SoftBank Group Corp fell more than 2% after the Didi announcement, also hurt by Southeast Asia ride hailing giant Grab's slump in its Nasdaq debut.

SoftBank's Vision Fund owns 21.5% of Didi, followed by Uber Technologies Inc with 12.8%, according to a filing in June by Didi.

Source: Voice of America

New Zealand Introduces New COVID-19 Management System

New Zealand will adopt what is being called a “traffic light” system to curb the spread of COVID-19 and limit the use of lockdowns.

New Zealand’s planned traffic light system has red, amber and green categories, and gives more freedoms to the fully vaccinated. The biggest city, Auckland, is a red zone, mainly because of its high number of COVID-19 cases. Residents there are allowed into cafes, gyms and hairdressers, but there are limits on capacity and proof of vaccination is mandatory.

Much of the country is under the less stringent amber traffic light. The settings will be reviewed in two weeks.

Michael Baker, a public health and epidemiology professor at the University of Otago in Wellington, said the new system is designed to boost vaccination rates.

“There is a band across the central North Island of districts with relatively low vaccine coverage,” he said. “They are automatically going into the red-light classification. This system has two main purposes. One is really to limit transmission of the virus, so it means that if you are indoors, you are indoors with other vaccinated people. But the other thing it does it is sending a very strong message to the unvaccinated, a very strong nudge -- you need to get vaccinated. So, I think it will be effective at doing that.”

New Zealand’s Health Ministry estimates that about 86% of the eligible population has received two vaccine doses.

New Zealand has had some of the world’s toughest pandemic controls.

The country’s international borders are expected to remain closed to most foreign nationals until well into next year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the omicron variant is a reminder of why New Zealand needs to maintain its “careful approach” to the virus.

With 5 million people, the South Pacific country has recorded 12,000 coronavirus cases and 44 deaths since the pandemic began.

The traffic light system replaces previous coronavirus alert levels. A recent delta variant outbreak forced New Zealand government to abandon its COVID-zero strategy in favor of a strategy that prioritizes containment. The previous approach was designed to eliminate the virus in New Zealand through border closures and strict lockdowns.

Source: Voice of America

Untapped Global and Asaak Partner to Finance 2,000+ Motorbikes in Uganda

Partnership expands financing options for African entrepreneurs through Smart Asset Financing™

KAMPALA, Uganda, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Untapped Global, an innovative investment company focused on emerging markets, announced today a scale up of its partnership with Asaak, a financial services provider to unbanked Ugandan entrepreneurs, to provide financing for over 2,000 motorcycles over the next 12 months.

Asaak Boda Boda Driver

The partnership will revolutionise motorcycle leasing in Uganda, by leveraging the rapid digitization happening across the continent. In the past, access to money-making assets such as motorbikes was limited to those who could afford to purchase them in full, and markets were dominated by informal lenders. Now, companies like Asaak are digitizing the lending process, making it safer and easier for entrepreneurs to lease and finance their own assets – a key to economic development on the continent.

Asaak offers financial services via a digital platform to entrepreneurs who otherwise would not have access. Asaak’s boda boda (motorbike) financing program approves drivers for loans based on financial and behavioral data, such as the number of trips completed on mobility apps, including Bolt (Taxify), Safeboda, Uber and Jumia. Most boda drivers rent motorcycles because they cannot afford to buy one in cash, nor do they have the formal credit or income history to qualify for a bank loan. This is where Smart Asset Financing™ comes in.

Untapped Global’s Smart Asset Financing investment model finances revenue-generating assets for entrepreneurs and SMEs in the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets, such as Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, and Mexico. Untapped and Asaak had a successful initial pilot in November 2020 to finance 40 motorbikes, and this month, Untapped signed on to provide scale-up financing for over 2000 vehicles in the next 12 months.

The pilot and scale up prove Untapped Global’s innovative Smart Asset Financing model offers great potential for follow-on funding for growing partners. The company uses real-time IoT data for the assets it finances to track key metrics such as usage and revenue, allowing for faster due diligence. While Asaak’s fast growth and expansion have enabled an equally fast scale-up of investment from its financing partner.

“Mobility is an important driver of economic development in Africa, and digitizing financing for boda bodas is key to making transport more accessible and affordable,” says Jim Chu, Founder and CEO at Untapped. “We look forward to providing the financing to help Asaak scale their business as much as they, and their entrepreneurs, need.”

“Our goal at Asaak is to make it easier for gig economy workers across Africa to access sustainable financial services,” Dylan Terrill, Chief Business Officer of Asaak said. “The team at Untapped is aligned with that goal and our growing partnership underscores the dedication to ensure that business owners have the opportunity to reach their full economic potential.”

Untapped Global is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder to enable any investor large or small to participate in the movement to empower entrepreneurship around the world.

About Untapped Global
Based in San Francisco with teams in East Africa, West Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe, Untapped Global is reshaping profitable investing in frontier markets. On a mission to empower the next billion entrepreneurs to scale to their full potential, Untapped creates opportunity by connecting frontier market innovators to global investors through its Smart Asset Financing™ platform that provides CAPEX financing for revenue-generating assets. Press or other inquiries please reach out to Lundie@untapped-global.com.

About Asaak
Asaak  is an African fintech company that provides asset financing to entrepreneurs across Africa. In 2019, they launched a motorcycle financing product for taxi (“boda”) drivers in partnership with the country’s largest ride hailing apps: Jumia, Uber, SafeBoda, and Bolt. Asaak is backed by leading American and African VCs (Resolute Ventures, Social Capital, 500 Startups, HOF Capital, Catalyst Fund). For more information, visit www.asaak.com or contact press@asaak.com

Untapped Global Logo

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1700940/Asaak_Boda_Boda_Driver.jpg

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1640513/Untapped_Global_Logo.jpg

NASA Astronauts Conduct Previously Postponed Spacewalk

Two astronauts with the U.S. space agency, NASA, left the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday to conduct a spacewalk to replace a broken antenna system, two days after the walk was postponed over concerns about space debris.

NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron stepped out of the ISS airlock early Thursday to replace the faulty antenna, used to communicate voice and data to ground control. The operation was expected to last six-and-a-half hours.

The spacewalk had originally been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed late Monday after NASA said it had received a notification of space debris that it needed to assess. The space agency said once it determined the debris did not pose a risk, the operation was rescheduled for Thursday.

It was not immediately clear whether the debris field that prompted the spacewalk to be postponed was related to a Russian anti-satellite missile test two weeks ago. That event created a debris field that forced ISS crew members to seek shelter in their escape capsules as a precaution.

Source: Voice of America

Omicron and Vaccines: What You Should Know

Omicron is unlikely to have completely outsmarted the vaccines, experts say, even with its unusual array of mutations.

There are a lot of unknowns, but they expect that the shots will still do what they do best: Keep people out of the hospital and out of the grave.

Omicron raised alarms when it was first identified during a sharp spike in cases in South Africa. The World Health Organization added it to its list of variants of concern last week.

The virus contains dozens of mutations, including several that are thought to make it more infectious and others that appear to help it evade the immune system.

"But I think it's still very possible that vaccines will hold up against severe disease, even with those mutations," said Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of medicine at Emory University and president-elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

That's what has happened with every variant so far. With delta, he noted, "breakthrough" infections among vaccinated people have increased, but those cases are mostly mild.

Omicron seems to be better able than other variants to infect people who have already had COVID-19, according to early data from South Africa. But people with reinfections generally have not been seriously ill.

Experts are recommending boosters for people who can get them. U.S. officials have authorized them for everyone age 18 and older.

Open questions

Researchers will have more questions than answers about omicron for the next few weeks while they study the variant. They don't yet know for sure how the virus stacks up against other variants in terms of how easily it infects or how sick it makes its victims.

Hospitalizations have increased in South Africa during the omicron surge, but it's not clear if that's because the virus causes more severe infections or because more people are getting infected. Most of the country is not vaccinated.

Scientists need to figure out whether the rise in infections is "vaccine failure or failure to vaccinate," said Dr. Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory University Vaccine Center.

"If it's vaccine failure, is it a problem of time since the last dose and waning immunity?" Orenstein said.

Though it does not yet seem to be necessary, some companies are working on modifying their vaccines to better protect against the new variant.

Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech partners say they can have a new vaccine ready in about three months. Johnson & Johnson says it is working on a new version but did not give a timeline. Oxford University told Reuters news agency that the vaccine it produces with AstraZeneca is still highly effective but that it can quickly update it if necessary.

Many companies have started developing modified vaccines against previous variants, but none has gone to regulators for approval.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it will not require drugmakers seeking approval for their updated vaccines to go through a process as lengthy as the one for the original versions. Much like with the annual flu vaccine, a few tests for safety and immune response will do.

Source: Voice of America

Sophi.io Wins at WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2021

Sophi Dynamic Paywall wins global award for Best Paid Media Strategy

TORONTO, Dec. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sophi.io, The Globe and Mail’s artificial intelligence-based automation, optimization and prediction engine, won WAN-IFRA’s 2021 Digital Media Awards Worldwide award in the Best Paid Media Strategy category for Sophi Dynamic Paywall, its real-time, personalized paywall engine that analyses both content characteristics and user behaviour to determine when to ask a reader for money or an email address, and when to leave them alone.

The judges unanimously selected Sophi Dynamic Paywall as the winner, with one judge commenting: “What Globe and Mail did is state of the art and what I appreciate most is that they permanently tested against the old paywall so those results are really, really sustainable.”

The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)’s Digital Media Awards Worldwide is the news media industry’s global digital media competition. The worldwide winners are selected from the winners of the regional Digital Media Awards in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and South Asia, which together provide news publishers with regular showcases for best-practice innovation in digital publishing worldwide. The awards recognize and celebrate the best of digital media.

“Sophi Dynamic Paywall has been crucial to driving reader revenue at The Globe and Mail,” said Phillip Crawley, Publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail. “I look forward to sharing more stories about how Sophi’s other customers are seeing great results with our AI-powered technology.”

Sophi is an artificial-intelligence system that helps publishers identify their most valuable content and leverage it to achieve key business goals. The Sophi suite of tools also consists of Sophi Site Automation which autonomously curates content across all of a publisher’s digital properties and Sophi Content Paywall which uses complex natural language processing models to analyze every piece of content and select articles to put in front of or behind a hard paywall, maximizing the value of both the subscription revenue opportunity and the advertising revenue for publishers.

Publishers on five continents now use Sophi’s AI and ML technology to power paywall decisions, website automation and print automation.

About Sophi.io 

Sophi.io (https://www.sophi.io) was developed by The Globe and Mail to help content publishers make important strategic and tactical decisions. It is a suite of AI-powered tools that includes Sophi Site Automation and Sophi for Paywalls. Sophi is designed to improve the metrics that matter most to your business, such as subscriber retention and acquisition, engagement, recency, frequency and volume. Sophi also powers automated laydown of print and ePaper publishing.

Contact  

Jamie Rubenovitch 
Head of Marketing, Sophi 
The Globe and Mail 
416-585-3355  
jrubenovitch@globeandmail.com

Huawei and UNESCO to Implement Project in Africa for Digital Education Systems

The three-year project will deliver online learning platforms for Ghana, Ethiopia, and Egypt

SHENZHEN, China, Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — At an online meeting on November 25, UNESCO and Huawei announced the launch of the implementations phase of the Technology-Enabled Open Schools for All (TeOSS) project in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

UNESCO and Huawei announced the launch of the implementations phase of the Technology-Enabled Open Schools for All (TeOSS) project in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

Aligned with UN SDG4, TeOSS will serve as a basis for powering the digital transformation of the education sector and support the three UNESCO member states in building resilient education systems that can withstand global disruptions such as COVID-19. Evaluating project outcomes will help guide strategies and models for scaling out TeOSS at a national level, and for expanding the project to other African nations to drive ICT integration into teaching and learning.

In addition to connecting schools, the TeOSS projects in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Egypt will provide training for teachers and students in the use of digital tools, establish online platforms to link school and home learning, and develop digital curricula that can be accessed remotely without supervision. It is aimed to help students become confident digital citizens capable of navigating the virtual world independently and equip teachers with the skills required to use existing and new digital tools to maximize learning outcomes.

“The project is designed to test schooling models that can respond immediately to new challenges imposed by the pandemic and also leverage technology to help enable the development of future models of schooling,” said Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO. “It is defined by a digital school model that makes programs accessible for all students, whether in times of crisis or not – it is a case of going beyond the current situation and opening a new horizon of teaching and learning.”

Planned in close collaboration with the governments of Ghana, Ethiopia, and Egypt in line with their existing national strategies, the TeOSS projects have been developed to meet specific local needs.

In Egypt, an ICT skills framework has been developed for teachers and students in K12 schools. Digital courseware development experts and primary and junior high school teachers will receive training, and a National Distance Learning Centre will be established for use by educators nationwide to ensure continuity in professional development.

“Egypt’s new education system 2.0 emphasizes the integration of technology into the educational process with multiple digital learning resources and learning platforms to ensure education for all and achieve educational quality and access.” said Dr. Reda Hegazy, Deputy Minister for Teachers’ Affairs for the Ministry of Education and Technical Education in Egypt. “The teacher’s role has shifted from providing information to being a guide and facilitator of the educational process through digital learning resources.”

The TeOSS project in Ethiopia will focus on ICT infrastructure build-out to connect pilot schools, train teachers and students, and build a Learning Management System integrated with a Teacher Training Platform.

“Ethiopia understands very well the need for ICT and digitalization in our future schooling system to deliver quality and inclusive education equitably for all, without any disruptions, as stipulated in our new education sector roadmap,” said Dr. Fanta Mandefiro from the State of Ministry of Education of Ethiopia. “This project is perfectly aligned with our aspirations and the activities of our programs and initiatives for utilizing digital content in our education system.”

In Ghana, the focus is on creating digital content for all subjects, as well as providing training for teachers and students at Primary and JHS schools. The project will also build an e-repository that teachers can use to upload content and which learners can access online and offline with little or no supervision.

“I am glad to note that this UNESCO-HUAWEI is building on the already established partnerships and collaborative efforts with our national institutions, particularly CENDLOS, which is the institution mandated by the Government of Ghana to facilitate the integration of ICT into the education system across the board,” said Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education for Ghana.

TeOSS is aligned the Tech4Edu domain of Huawei’s digital inclusion initiative TECH4ALL, which aims to drive education equity and quality with technology.

“The digital platforms that Technology-enabled Open Schools for All will create mean that learning never needs to stop – whatever the future holds,” said Kevin Zhang, CMO of ICT Infrastructure for Huawei. “Huawei is fully committed to working with UNESCO, governments, and all stakeholders to deliver successful, sustainable, and scalable projects.”

The TeOSS project and the partnerships that will implement it are crucial for digitalizing education and driving equitable and inclusive access to lifelong learning opportunities for all.

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