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Austin Ashizawa | Student Life Editor
January 21, 2022
In a stunning event that rocked the gaming world, Microsoft has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The purchase comes on the coattails of a massive lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against Blizzard that included allegations from more than 2,600 current and former employees which detail disturbing cases of sexual harassment and racism. In September of 2021, the company settled for $18 million, and although the settlement is being appealed, over 40 Blizzard employees have left the company since last July.
Over the past year, Blizzard has collapsed like a house of cards, been doused in gasoline, and set ablaze. So why was Microsoft so intent on absorbing the studio? Simply put, it owns some very, very successful game franchises. Call of Duty? Owned by Blizzard, and in addition to the substantial player base, the game’s total earnings are estimated to be almost $9.7 billion. Overwatch? Also owned by Blizzard, the game has kept millions on their toes in anticipation of the long-awaited sequel, Overwatch 2. The games are famous (or in some cases infamous) for their ability to drive in hordes of money through tantalizing cosmetics and in-game purchases, but under this glistening surface lies issues that have persisted for years.
It’s been clear that Activision has started to lose their touch as they reuse the same, stale formula. Their most recent installment in the Call of Duty series, Vanguard, was only able to top about 40,000 copies sold in November of 2021 while Black Ops Cold War (released 2020) sold over 90,000 on debut. “Every year, they create a new campaign and throw a new mechanic in with some new maps and guns for the multiplayer and then release,” senior Max Silva said. “They expect players to blow money on the game before moving to the next one a year later, buying the game for full-price and starting the process all over again.”
Against their ever-expanding rival, Sony, Microsoft has been seeking every opportunity possible to elevate themselves. In recent years, this has been done through the acquisition of other studios, most notably with the purchase of Bethesda which produced such successful game franchises as Fallout and Skyrim. However, that deal came at $7.5 billion, making this recent purchase of Activision Blizzard the biggest endeavor the company has undertaken yet. If all goes well, the deal has the potential to revitalize Activision and push Microsoft into becoming the third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent (the parent company behind Riot Games and its IP League of Legends) and Sony (maker of Playstation). “Call of Duty is usually marketed with Playstation, providing exclusive content and driving sales,” Silva added. “This is now out of the question, and in essence, Microsoft is stealing a huge market from their competitors.”
“With the success of Halo Infinite, there’s really no telling how Microsoft will take charge of these big titles,” junior Christopher Royer said. “But there has to be a plan for these titles owing to the sheer amount of money in the contract.” With a large audience of over 25 million Xbox game pass subscribers, the deal has the potential to be an amazing redemption as a corrupt and dying corporation is raised from the garbage and lifted into a new golden age, but it could also be a scenario like what we have seen time and time again with imposing parent companies. For one of the most infamous examples of acquisition gone wrong, look no further than Electronic Arts. They managed to acquire the Star Wars license and yet over the past couple of years, they seemed to have thrown the opportunity by the wayside.
A lot of news about the situation is still unfolding, and only time will tell how well the transition is handled. According to the Wall Street Journal’s sources, Microsoft confirmed that the current CEO of Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, will remain for the next couple of months until he is replaced by the current CEO of Microsoft gaming, who will oversee the studio personally. With piles upon piles of allegations against Kotick, it seems that this could be a step in the right direction towards a better and brighter future inside of Activision Blizzard. And overall, “whether it was the people they hired or the conditions of the workspace there must be change on a basic game company work environment,” Royer added. “But if Blizzard adopts the same policies as Microsoft in keeping a social and professional work environment, things should run much more smoothly.”
“I know that Microsoft is going to continue their spending spree as they keep expanding Game Pass,” Silva said. “But with Spencer in charge and the team left to develop, I feel the environment will improve and prove even more productive with Xbox in charge.” And despite the obvious shifting of influence scales in the gaming market following this event, Spencer has announced that Xbox still plans to continue releasing Activision games for the entire industry—not just Xbox. The future looks bright for the videogame industry as we wait for Microsoft to fully take the reigns in mid-2023. And who knows? It may even be the savior of so many long-forgotten gaming properties.


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Thursday, 21 September 2017
The World Trade Organization on Thursday upped its forecast for global trade growth in 2017 thanks to stronger than expected demand for merchandise in Asia and North America. A previous projection of 2.4 percent growth for this year has been boosted to 3.6 percent, the organization said in a press release, headlined “WTO upgrades forecast for 2017 as trade rebounds strongly”. “Growth of 3.6 percent would represent a substantial improvement on the lackluster 1.3 percent ...
Saturday, 1 July 2017
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt informed the World Trade Organization on Friday of the legality of their actions after boycotting Qatar, exercising their sovereign rights guaranteed by international law to protect their national security. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Trade and Investment said that this came on the sidelines of a meeting with the WTO Council on Trade in Goods held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the compatibility of the decisions taken by Saudi Arabia, ...
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
The first multilateral deal agreed at the World Trade Organization came into force on Wednesday, a step billed as a milestone for the body facing unprecedented threats from a hostile US administration.The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) has now been ratified by 112 of the WTO’s 164 members, crossing the two-thirds threshold needed for activation, the Geneva-based organization confirmed. Under the deal, nations agreed to simplify and standardize customs procedures at borders to make it ...
Thursday, 17 March 2016
Members of the World Trade Organization are willing to engage with Iran on its accession to the body
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
UAE maintained its top ranks on the world trade map and came 16th globally in commodity exports, and 20th globally in commodity imports

domain: news


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Covid-19 has disturbed food suppliers around the world. As per a new survey by Agribusiness Olam International, farmers across the globe are suffering harsh repercussions due to the pandemic.
It is one of the world’s largest suppliers of coffee, cotton, cocoa, and rice.
Olam’s survey covers nearly three and a half thousand farmers and has been conducted across six months in 19 countries. It found that about five out of 10 African farmers saw less demand for their produce.
Furthermore, the survey reveals that around half of all farmers saw crop production reduce and incomes fall. Similarly, about 50% of farmers had to find new ways of generating revenue.
Olam International’s Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Julie Greene, said that seven out of 10 farmers are reporting a reduction in income compared to before the pandemic.
“We’ve found that five out of 10 farmers have reported less production. While their situation is slightly less drastic than what they had predicted in our prior survey, it’s still quite notable that Africa is the highest hit region. And about six out of 10 farmers in Africa reported that they are eating less, a less diverse, and a less nutritious diet.”
She said that a lot of that has to do with having less food ready in local markets, being less able to afford food and the food that they have is already spoiled or infested.
“It is not so much a question of farmers getting ill from the virus. There, of course, is a certain impact in that respect, but the greater impact is on farmers’ access to inputs. Access to affordable seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides was already difficult before the pandemic in many of these rural regions. They are subject to various movement restrictions with the pandemic now, and farmers simply have less income”.


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Stock Library News (video, audio, still images)
Pond5, the pioneering online marketplace for stock media and creative components, announced today that the one-millionth clip had been added to its stock video collection, making Pond5 by far the largest and fastest-growing collection of royalty-free video on the Web.
www.hollywoodedge.com.>The Hollywood Edge has announced the release of Segue Surround 5.1 HD, a first-of-its-kind sound effects toolkit featuring more than 1,100 whooshes, stingers, impact effects, atmospherics and other transitional elements
Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that Sony Pictures Stock Footage has introduced a first-of-its-kind stock footage collection featuring motion picture quality clips with custom-designed, studio-produced 5.1 soundtracks.
Battling high winds and blowing dust, cinematographer and storm chaser Martin Lisius captured the first-ever 3D tornado footage this week in Nebraska.
The winners of the 2011 Framepool/ LBB/ FireFlies Challenge come from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The prominent jury chose their favorites amongst more than 40 short-films on the topic of "compassion".
iStockphoto today announced that it has expanded its Vetta collection to include video and Illustrations. Vetta is a collection of best-in-class iStock content that has been editor-selected for exquisite quality, art direction, creativity, originality and style.
Photolibrary Group, the world's leading independent provider of stills, footage and music has extended its exclusive distribution agreement with VisitBritain, Britain's national tourism agency, to include access to its extraordinary collection of film footage.
Footage.net, the stock, archival and news footage search engine announced today that preview clips from Los Angeles-based GreenScreen Animals, the world leader in HD green screen animal content, are now available for viewing and download through
Reenactment Stock Footage.com, the world's largest and only exclusive historical re-enactment and recreation stock footage library and agency, just announced that their filmmaking team will be on location at the 150th anniversary re-enactment o


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Activision is seemingly planning to take action against a Call of Duty cheating software distributor, as it took down a video advertising the cheats.
Activision appears to be aware of a rather egregious new piece of cheating software that’s plaguing Call of Duty and has taken down a YouTube video advertising the program. This advanced piece of cheating software has been termed the “next-generation of cheating” thanks to its console compatibility and machine learning technology, and it is virtually undetectable.
Call of Duty is particularly notorious for its problem with cheaters. Warzone, as a free game, is especially troubled with these hackers since there’s no cost for them to create a new account and continue their crimes after they’ve been banned. The rise in crossplay has made hacking in general a much more noticeable problem for console players. The issue has grown so vast, as many players are comfortable with openly cheating, that even streamers are having to prove that they’re not manipulating the game in their favor with elaborate camera and stream set-ups. Activision is still making efforts to stomp out cheating by directly combating those who create the software responsible.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
According to Anti-Cheat Police Department on Twitter, Activision has removed a video advertising a new, advanced piece of cheating software that essentially turns players into a magnet for the user’s gun. It makes it incredibly easy to kill other players, taking skill out of the equation. Players became aware of the Call of Duty cheats earlier this week and as the news gained traction within the community, it seems Activision caught wind of it as well. Although nothing official has been stated, it would appear Activision is attempting to directly take down those responsible for creating the software.
Activision is now aware of the console cheats and probably are going to make plans to take them down, they started to shut down the YouTube channels that advertise the cheats this is good for the community pic.twitter.com/e6Y2DjCflk
— Anti-Cheat Police Department 🕵 (@AntiCheatPD) July 8, 2021
There’s no telling how Activision plans to handle this, but it’s clear that the publisher is aware and is doing something about it. Whether or not the company’s lawyers can send a simple cease and desist letter to the creators or if it’ll need to do something a bit more drastic remains to be seen, but it makes sense that Activision would want to keep the integrity of Call of Duty intact.
The gaming giant has a history of taking legal action against Call of Duty cheat creators, so it’s likely that a similar course of action could take place here. As Activision tries to corner the free-to-play market, it’ll want to keep its audience happy by exterminating cheaters quickly and efficiently, or it could lose tons of money in potential microtransactions or even full-priced games if players come to believe that the whole series is plagued with cheaters. As of right now, over half a million cheaters have been banned from Call of Duty and the number is likely to continue rising.
Next: “World’s Largest” Video Game Cheat Company Hit By Arrests
Pokémon Go: How To Complete The 5th Anniversary Collection Challenge
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Investor Contact: Terry Hammett
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Commercial Vehicle Group to Participate in the 67th Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA) Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany from September 20-27
Introducing next generation global seating, trim and associated cab related products
NEW ALBANY, Ohio, September 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (the “Company” or “CVG”) (NASDAQ: CVGI), a leading supplier of fully-integrated system solutions for the global commercial vehicle market, announced today that it will participate in the 67th Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA) Commercial Vehicle Show to be held in Hannover, Germany from September 20 to 27, 2018.
At the show, CVG will be introducing next generation seating products that represent regional seat offerings from around the world. Greg Boese, Senior Vice President & Managing Director – GTB Seats, states, "We are proud to launch our next generation seat platform, which satisfies the growing expectations of drivers and fleets in the global truck and bus markets. The seat incorporates a new level of refinement providing superior comfort, styling and durability."
CVG’s new seats are designed and developed in collaboration with OEMs, drivers, and fleets in the trucking industry for regional markets. The new designs ensure maximum adjustability for driver comfort and best-in-class refinement and performance. Exclusive industry leading features, such as BackCycler® and cushion bolsters are available with contemporary styling. Senior Director & Product Line Manager – GTB Seats, Tim West, noted that “we are excited to showcase our new global seat products to highlight the improved features and functions we have recently brought to market.”
CVG will also display new technology trim products targeted for use in the commercial vehicle market. CVG is partnering with industry leaders on In-Mold Structural Electronics (IMSE), a process that turns ordinary plastic into smart surfaces by integrating flexible printed circuitry and electronic components into the 3D injection molded structures. This process provides significant advantages by way of part count elimination, labor savings, weight reduction, and packaging space improvements.
Various other product lines will be on display including RoadWatch Tracker, wire harnesses, and wiper systems for commercial vehicle applications. Attendees are invited to visit the CVG booth located in Hall 11 / Booth H20.
About Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc.
Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (and its subsidiaries) is a leading supplier of a full range of cab related products and systems for the global commercial vehicle market, including the medium- and heavy-duty truck market, the medium- and heavy-construction vehicle market, and the military, bus, agriculture, specialty transportation, mining, industrial equipment and off-road recreational markets. Information about the Company and its products is available on the internet at www.cvgrp.com.
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of KAB Seating, on Friday 14 September, 2018. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/


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Faces and Places Shiffrin heats up sponsor market First Look podcast: Opening Day and more Raveling ‘an information reservoir’ F1 players accelerate growth in U.S. Instagram expands its student program Plugged In: Amy Trask Venue lockers deliver merch, food SunTrust Park brew steeped in the game Teams to get millions in relocation fees
SBJ/November 26-December 2, 2012/In DepthPrint All
Remember when lining up “likes” on Facebook was a coup? Now sports sponsors, and the agencies that help bring those alliances with leagues and teams to life, want much more. They consider Twitter and Facebook mandatory for just about any marketing campaign, and they realize success means more than just putting a couple of logos next to each other in a message.
Talk to brands and agencies alike and it becomes impossible to avoid words such as “unique content,” “authenticity” and “passion.” All of which is industry-speak for giving people — in this case, sports fans — something they might actually read or click on and pass along to their online followers and friends.
“It has to resonate with customers,” said Brian Gainor, director of strategy and analytics at Freshwire, a new digital content company owned by Omnicom Group. “Fans demand more access and personalization.”
The right mix of social media offers handsome rewards, starting with the ease of getting near-instant responses from the audience on what works and what doesn’t. And when a campaign or promotion goes viral, the transformation can turn advertising and marketing into much more credible word-of-mouth. Or, in this case, word-of-mouse.
Coke Zero’s mobile concierge for the NCAA Final Four.
Contests, prizes, games, videos and behind-the-scenes vignettes tend to hold the attention of fans, marketing experts have found. And this kind of marketing increasingly starts with iPhones and Androids and from there migrates to laptops, desktops and televisions.
The Marketing Arm, creators of a seasonlong college football campaign dubbed “On the Way to Saturday” (see story, Page 30), has tracked usage and found mobile traffic surging ahead of desktop traffic by a 4-to-1 ratio.
“Nothing’s more personal to you than your phone,” said Adam Zimmerman, president of marketing at Atlanta-based sports marketer CSE. “It’s with you at all times. If the goal of a sponsorship is to put you into an environment created by the sponsor, I can do that on your phone.”
CSE, for example, worked on behalf of Coke Zero to launch a mobile concierge this year for the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans. The mobile website included standard information on game and practice times, special events and concerts tied to the championship.
Beyond those elements, the mobile website featured maps and alerts, social media connections to see what other basketball fans were up to, and Coke-themed offers. For example, a screen shot of the New Orleans page featured a capsule detailing the history of local institution Acme Oyster House with directions to the restaurant and a targeted
Companies, steered by marketing firms, often target the so-called influencers in social media, fans or consumers who have large followings on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks — and who tend to set the agenda when it comes to chatter about a particular team, school or sport.
Special offers resonate, as do contests and access to content online or elsewhere that wouldn’t otherwise be made available. Nationwide Insurance, title sponsor of the feeder series to NASCAR’s top division, worked with Turner Sports to provide fans with live coverage online that includes 10 alternate camera angles, audio from the scanners used by drivers and crew chiefs, and a constantly updated leaderboard.
The online features, known as RaceBuddy, were just part of the digital push by the insurance company in racing. Slice-of-life videos, along with outtakes from the shoots, profiled several drivers. Earlier in the season, a four-part series following driver Danica Patrick aired on Nationwide.NASCAR.com. In each case, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts tied to the race teams, the series and the sponsor promoted the content, funneling fans to the website and creating conversation topics.
“It goes back to the second screen,” said Mary Spencer, vice president at Wasserman Media Group, Nationwide’s agency. “You get more content and data.”
Agencies are perfecting the art of luring customers and guests to tweet and post links about events and promotions that tie sponsors to sports and entertainment.
Engine Shop, a New York firm prepping an undisclosed Super Bowl-related project, illustrates the increasing attention to detail when planning an event. Last summer, the agency helped Bud Light Lime with a 10-city tour of happy hour invitation-only events, culminating with a New York party at a 2,500-person capacity venue.
Bud Light Lime staged a 10-city tour of happy hour events that used social media to dole out invitations and spread the word about the event.
Photo by:Engine Shop
Those who went to the private parties found it all but impossible not to mention the beer as they dashed off messages on their phones.
Josh Pelz, Engine Shop’s head of digital, notes the New York finale included an enhanced Wi-Fi network to ensure easy communication. Guests received a laminate upon arrival that told them how to access the Wi-Fi network, what the hashtag was, the Twitter handles of celebrities at the event in case they were mentioned in messages, and a link to the Foursquare check-in. To encourage chatter and content such as photos and videos, a large wall behind the stage collected and projected all of the mentions of the event, prompting people who wanted to see their comments and posts displayed. The effort generated 19 million Twitter impressions for the New York event alone, Pelz said, and demonstrated the direction such campaigns are heading toward.
Companies love the way social media can enhance a tour or one-off event, delivering more value on an investment that would otherwise have a limited shelf life. Twitter and Facebook and other online conversation and sharing creates a three-part arc: anticipation before the event, accounts of what happens during it, and then recaps and remarks in the days after on what transpired.
“Clients today want to be able to have messaging online to attract the most people, and sports are always ripe,” said John Rowady, founder and president of rEvolution, a sports marketing and media agency. With that in mind, companies must answer the question of what to do with social media in the context of a campaign. Or, as Rowady puts it, “How can I layer in components that differentiate you from other brands?”
His clients include ESPN, which works with rEvolution on its NBA-themed RV tour. The agency uses television spots created by Wieden & Kennedy as the anchor for a Facebook fan page and Twitter feed tracking the tour (whichever NBA games ESPN covers on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays). The agency has a few staffers riding along on the tour, responsible for creating and linking reports on the broadcasters’ meeting fans in different cities, adventures on the road, and backstage clips of commercial shoots and other snippets.
Rowady cautions against judging social media the same way as TV audiences; that is, by mass appeal. Instead, he said, thinking “big numbers are great and small numbers are terrible” misses the point. If the right audience sees and likes a social media campaign, the value can be just as effective because the conversation is one-to-one.
One of the most popular digital tools for on-site events is so-called RFID technology, or radio-frequency identification.
Bryan Rasch, senior vice president of digital strategy at GMR Marketing, said a campaign on behalf of Canadian telecommunications company Telus at last year’s Canadian Football League championship did just that. While the company learned what people liked best, the RFID technology also made things easier for fans because it sped up access to specific areas and loaded information on preferences using the chip.
Whether it’s RFID or Twitter, Rasch said companies, and the teams and properties they align with, want the same thing: to become integral links and focal points during times when consumers are having fun. “Teams and brands love it because they are part of the conversation,” he said.
PepsiCo, among others, proves the point. From conversations between star athlete endorsers and weekend warriors on the benefits of Gatorade in competition, to fan-generated montages marrying NFL fandom with Pepsi-owned soft drinks and snacks, the company takes varying approaches to social and digital campaigns.
No matter the tone, they all share one characteristic, company executives say. They marry sports, PepsiCo and fans in a new, constant way.
“Ten years ago, a few years ago, we’re in the stadium, we’re at home with you and we’re on the shelf,” said Jennifer Storms, PepsiCo senior vice president of global sports marketing. “When we look at digital, now we connect you to the sports you love 365 days a year and 24/7.”
Just don’t forget the hashtag.
Erik Spanberg writes for the Charlotte Business Journal, an affiliated publication.
AT&T depends on social and digital media to keep customers happy, so the company’s marketing automatically veers in that direction. This fall, much of that effort can be seen in a seasonlong college football campaign.
Known as “On the Way to Saturday,” the program, developed by The Marketing Arm, encourages social and digital activity through constant prompts based on the travels of a pair of hired college football fans named Will and Ravi. They are young actors who happen to be football fans, too, said Travis Dillon, vice president of activation and property management at the agency.
Shorter, condensed items are pushed out to fans throughout the week, chronicling not only the on-campus experiences but also the endless road trip itself. In turn, the links and messages encourage more site traffic to watch longer-form videos, spurring more
College football fans can follow the exploits of Will and Ravi as they follow the ESPN “College GameDay” pregame show and compete in various challenges along the way.
Photo by:The Marketing Arm
ESPN “College GameDay” airs a minute-long feature each week tied to the campaign and more content can be seen at a dedicated site, way2saturday.com. Prizes linked to fans who offer advice and challenges include tickets to the national championship in January, where winners will attend the game with Will and Ravi.
Dillon said the campaign showcases AT&T’s core business, demonstrates how the company’s products are relevant, reminds fans of the brand’s extensive college football relationships, and provides a consistent national presence all season long.
“For fans to keep up with Will and Ravi, social media plays a critical part,” he said. “We’ve asked consumers to tell the guys what restaurants they should go to, what traditions they should keep their eyes on. And every time the guys complete a challenge, it’s a new opportunity for [customers] to win.”
When insurance company Nationwide decided to give golf fans at a famed PGA Tour event more to do at the tournament and at home, the sponsor went digital.
This year, Wasserman Media Group worked with Nationwide, the presenting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, to create what came to be known simply as Digital House. Located at the Jack Nicklaus course that serves as the tournament site, Nationwide set up an area for golf fans to take a break from walking the links. There, they could listen in on live interviews by Golf Digest contributor and blogger Geoff Shackelford.
Photo by:Wasserman Media Group
“Golf fans are very tech-savvy,” said Jennifer van Dijk, Wasserman’s vice president of digital consulting. “So we tried to take advantage of Nationwide’s presence on the course and merge that with technology. Let the digital amplify what’s going on [at the tournament].”
Shackelford featured players such as Bill Haas, he gave fans at home a flavor of the tournament, and interviewed everyone from PGA Tour officials to the course calligrapher in charge of scoring updates.
Digital House generated 5 million social impressions, the agency said, and will return next year. The program also gave Nationwide a platform to discuss the charitable arm of its sponsorship, with proceeds from the tournament going to the Columbus-based Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
While digital elements did include paths back to Nationwide, van Dijk described it as a “soft sell.”
“Nothing heavy handed, and that was intentional,” she said. “[We] wanted to use the vernacular of social media to gain interest and engagement.”
Forget generation next. When it comes to digital and social marketing, PepsiCo wants to represent generation now.
The snack and beverage maker relies on the viral nature of online campaigns to enhance and supplement traditional promotions and advertising. Executives note that one of the keys to success is the realization that one size doesn’t fit all. Disparate approaches can be seen with sports-themed social media campaigns for flagship brand Pepsi and sports beverage Gatorade.
At the start of the current football season, Pepsi launched its “Anthems” campaign, a national/regional push featuring pop, rock and rap acts recording custom songs tied to various NFL teams. Pepsi is the league’s official soft drink.
Gatorade uses celebrity in a different way, emphasizing in Twitter messages and on its site the advantages of energy and hydration as part of competition. Robert Griffin III, Ryan Lochte, Serena Williams, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant, among many others, offer bite-sized observations or are featured in messages bearing hash tags #WinFromWithin and #Everything@Prove.
Since the launch of #WinFromWithin in January, 90 percent of the social media conversation ties into that theme, said Jennifer Storms, PepsiCo senior vice president of global sports marketing. The time consumers spent online on the Gatorade site increased by 30 percent during the same span, according to company research.
“When we put out content and it’s sports-related and has this great tie with music [on Pepsi Anthems], it’s getting consumed,” Storms said. “With Gatorade, it’s incredibly personal. They want to know how to get that edge. We’re not going to take a blanket approach across our brands.”


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A highly potent analgesic agent used to relieve pains of cancer patients is now being widely consumed as narcotics in the country.
Students of colleges and universities are mostly addicted to the drug called O-Morphon of oxymorphone group. Like psychedelic drug LSD, it produces effects like intensified thoughts, emotions and sensory perception, said police.
Following their arrest, detectives seized 13,000 O-Morphon tablets from Mitford area in Old Dhaka and a Sundarban Courier Service office in Dhanmondi in the capital on Monday.
AKM Hafiz Akhter, additional commissioner (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, revealed this at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre on Tuesday.
He said the information gleaned from the arrestees helped the Detective Branch (Lalbagh Detective) seize the tablets, Hafiz said.
“O-Morphon is a medicine used for relieving serious pains on one hand, it’s an illegal drug under the law of Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) on the other hand,” he said.
Only Ziska Pharmaceuticals Ltd has the permission to manufacture the drug in the country, the DB official said, adding that it can only sell the medicine among the drug stores or hospitals having licences to sell it.
“No authorised shops or hospitals can sell the medicine without physician prescriptions. But now, it’s a matter of concern that the risky tablet is being widely sold at different drug stores having no licences,” he said.
“We’ve come to known that Ziska manufactured 5 lakh O-Morphon tablets in the last five months and sold those in 15 districts,” Hafiz said.
According to the DB officer, 120 drug stores and hospitals have licences across the country to sell the drug. Of them, Barishal alone accounts for 50 licences with 20 drug stores being on Barishal Hospital Road.
Some 27 drug stores and hospitals in the capital took the licences while 17 in Khulna and five in Rajshahi.
The price of a packet containing 20 tablets is Tk 400, but it is being sold from Tk 2,500-Tk 3,000 among the addicts.
The tablets are mixed with syrup or soft drinks and then taken.
The DB officer said it is like dangerous drug LSD. The students of colleges and universities are mostly addicted to O-Morphon.
In response to a question, he said, “If we find any negligence of Ziska Pharmaceuticals Ltd, we’ll take action against it.”


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NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc issued its first sustainability bond on Monday, elevating $1 billion to make investments in renewable vitality, well-organized transport, greener structures and practical housing.
The sector’s largest firm joins a rising checklist of debt issuers tapping the market for inexperienced and sustainable bonds, which is swelling as asset managers come under rigidity from their merchants to come environmental, social and governance (ESG) causes.
Global inexperienced bond issuance reached a notify excessive of $270 billion at the discontinue of 2020 and could per chance attain $450 billion this year, essentially based fully mostly on Climate Bonds Initiative.
The money raised via the sustainability bond is a fraction of the total debt Amazon issued on Monday – some $18.5 billion. The firm said it kinds piece of a brand new Sustainable Bond Framework and can be spent on new and present initiatives.
The initiatives consist of theMost Contemporary
10 Also can unbiased – 17: 56: 53 – Brazil’s Eletrobras warns $1.3 bln pension deficit also can unbiased hit funds – acquisition of electrical autos for transportation fleets, to boot as e-bikes and other electrical-powered replacement delivery autos, Amazon said. The framework furthermore cited sustainable constructing initiatives, savor the exercise of an all-electrical heating and cooling system speed on renewable vitality in the firm’s new Arlington, Virginia, headquarters.
Amazon furthermore said that it is a long way going to also unbiased exercise these funds for personal equity investments in well-organized transportation and zero carbon structures.
Amazon has pledged to attain get zero carbon emissions by 2040 and to vitality all its operations with renewable vitality by 2030, to boot as lengthen opportunities for under-represented teams in its personnel.
The resolution to desire money to fund social initiatives comes Amazon fends off criticism for its treatment of its workers as its industry boomed at some point soon of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As well as being castigated for sorrowful health and security practices at some point soon of the early months of the pandemic, Amazon has furthermore been criticised for illegally firing workers and pressuring workers no longer to blueprint a union at one amongst its sites.
Amazon has denied these allegations and has said it helps workers’ rights to criticize work instances.
Reporting by Kate Duguid in New York and Simon Jessop in London; Modifying by Lisa Shumaker


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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kroger store located at Southland Terrace will close later this month, according to a news release.
Officials say the store will officially close at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Authorities say the store "has lost significant profits for 10 straight years, including $4.3 (million) the last 5 years."
Shoppers will still be able to use three other Kroger stores within three miles of the Southland Terrace location, including a new MarketPlace store that's 2.1 miles away.
Officials say the 108 Kroger employees affected by the store's closing will be offered jobs at other Kroger stores in Louisville with the same wages and benefits.
Copyright 2016 WDRB News. All rights reserved.
624 W. Muhammad Ali BlvdLouisville, KY 40203


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- PSU BIKE SHOP
- Portland State's brand new bike co-op
The students are also selling raffle tickets to raise money for an interesting new program: bike sharing at Portland State. While the city of Portland is trying to raise support for a $2.64 million Portland bike sharing program, a group of PSU students are trying to develop their own campus-wide version.
According to PSU bike shop chief Ian Stude, the Portland State students are modeling their idea on University of Oregon's bike loan program, which lets students rent refurbished bikes for $12 a term. They plan to collect bicycles abandoned at the end of terms, fix them up into commuter bikes and rent them out on the cheap to students and faculty who want to ride. Stude estimates that there are between 20-40 bikes abandoned on campus every year, but many of those such junk that they're not worth refurbishing into a safe commuter bike. Currently, abandoned bikes are donated to the Community Cycling Center and Bike Farm.
"It's a really up in the air, nebulous project," cautions Stude, who says there's no date set for when or if bike sharing would unveil at PSU. There are still organization and administrative hurdles (such as the dreaded word "liability") keeping the students' idea from becoming a sure thing. But in the mean time, the coffee and pastries are very real: 6th and Harrison, 9-11 AM, through Thursday Jan 7th.


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More signs have arrived overnight at the Sunset Showcase Theatre ahead of the opening of Mickey’s PhilharMagic Orchestra. With the arrival of the new banners and signs, it appears that the attraction could open any day. It was originally announced that the attraction would be opening sometime in April. It is possible that this could mean it opens this weekend. However, no date has been set by Disney at this point.
When it opens, this will be the fifth version of this show. It originally opened at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in 2003. Since then, it has also opened at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, Tokyo Disneyland in 2011, and Disneyland Paris in 2018. What do you think about it coming to Disney California Adventure next? Share your thoughts in the comments below!


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Paradox Interactive and Harebraind Schemes confirm the new date.
Paradox Interactive, and Harebrained Schemes have announced that their strategy game BattleTeach delayed until the beginning of the year 2018.
The title funded on Kickstarter with a campaign that exceeded the $ 2.8 million, and his debut was scheduled for 2017, but now have announced that the game will be delayed several months. To compensate for the situation, have announced that the closed beta (reserved for those who supported the game on Kickstarter) will be updated this week with new developments in artificial intelligence, interface improvements and tweaks in the gameplay.
Jordan Weisman, ceo of Harebrained Schemes, has explained that they believe that the game needs more development time to achieve the quality that had been proposed and expected by the players who financially supported its development.
The game combines giant robots and strategy with a planned release for the PC.
August 14, 2017
- ← Criam uma máquina de arcade para o clássico The Legend of Zelda
- The apps that will make you eat and drink is the best of the summer →


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- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:50 06:04 12:14 15:39 18:19 19:33
A high-tech personal parking meter that drivers can operate inside their cars was unveiled Saturday by Valtrans, a subsidiary of Dubai’s Al Habtoor Transportation Systems. The hand-held Piaf device – launched for the first time in the Middle East – enables motorists to pay parking fees without having to walk to a machine and insert loose change.
A pre-paid card is inserted into the device, which is placed on the vehicle’s dashboard with its display screen facing the windshield. The device automatically deducts hourly parking fees until the owner returns and switches it off. Payment information is sent wirelessly to the car park operator’s computers. Parking inspectors can check whether or not a pre-paid card is valid by inspecting the device’s screen.
Valtrans has signed a Dh10 million renewable three-year contract with manufacturer DXP France and will be the system’s official distributor in all Gulf Co-operation Council countries.
A committee at the Parking Department of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority is studying the operation of the device to determine how it can be incorporated into the city’s mainstream parking system.
“This is the latest technological innovation in parking payment methods,” said Mansoor Al Habtoor, Managing Director of Valtrans. “Parking officials at the RTA are happy with the system and are currently studying ways of implementing it.”
The unit is expected to be introduced at the beginning summer this year to save motorists the inconvenience of walking to a parking meter or looking for change in the heat. Al Habtoor said the price of the device has not been fixed but would be between Dh150 and Dh250. Market research revealed that 68 per cent of motorists favoured a Dh200 price tag.
“We are working with the RTA to come up with a feasible pricing mechanism that will be fair to all categories of motorist,” added Al Habtoor. “Motorists will have the choice of either buying the Piaf device or renting it after paying a refundable deposit equivalent to its cost.”
The system is being marketed in other emirates and Gulf states but is expected to be launched in Dubai first. Valtrans plans to roll out more than 100,000 of the devices in the first year of operation in Dubai alone. The same unit can be used in any city that operates the system.
The RTA is planning to implement a mobile phone parking payment scheme early this year. However Imad Alameddine, General Manager of Valtrans, said the Piaf device would not compete with the mobile service but would complement other payment methods.
“The system is already used in 84 cities in Europe including ones in France, Sweden, Norway and Belgium,” he added.
“Some cities have replaced roadside meters and the mobile phone system with Piaf.” And he said the device could also reduce the RTA’s bill for repairing and maintaining older parking machines, replacing paper reels and collecting cash.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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How do onions get salmonella contamination? Onions can become contaminated at any point in the food supply chain — while growing in the fields, during processing or distribution, or when they’re being prepared in a restaurant or home. Last year, a salmonella outbreak from contaminated red onions caused more than 1,000 infections.
Can salmonella get inside an onion? Even though bacteria like salmonella lives on the outside of vegetables such as onions and carrots, when you cut into them, the bacteria will be spread to the inside. “Treat raw vegetables as carefully as you do raw meat,” said Craig.
Is salmonella killed by cooking onions? Cooking onions to 150 F will kill any potential salmonella, according to Dr. Stephen Amato, a food safety expert and the Director of Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance Programs at Northwestern University.
Does cooking destroy salmonella in onions? What if onions are cooked? Cooking an onion will kill the salmonella bacteria, Warriner said. The real risk is that the bacteria could be on the outside of the onion, which could spread to kitchen surfaces and other ingredients when it’s chopped, he added.
How is salmonella spread in onions? – Related Asked Question
How do you prevent salmonella from onions?
Throw them away or return them to where you bought them. Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the recalled product using hot soapy water or a dishwasher. Always follow these four food safety steps to prevent getting sick from Salmonella: Clean: Wash your hands, utensils, and surfaces often.
How long can salmonella live on onions?
27, 2021. Because these onions can last up to three months, they could still be in homes and businesses, the statement said. Symptoms of Salmonella infection include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, which begin six hours to six days after a person consumes food contaminated with the bacteria.
Are onions safe now 2021?
According to the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 892 illnesses linked to salmonella contamination from whole, fresh onions in 38 states and Puerto Rico as of Nov. 12, 2021.
What kind of onions have salmonella?
Throw Away Unlabeled Red, White, and Yellow Onions Due to a Risk of Salmonella, the CDC Says. The Centers for Disease Control says consumers should throw away raw red, white, and yellow onions that don’t have a label on them while it investigates a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to them.
How common is food poisoning from onions?
During interviews, health officials found that 75% of sick people ate raw onions or dishes that contained raw onions. Several people reported eating at the same restaurants, which means they could be part of an illness cluster, the CDC said.
What temp kills salmonella in onions?
Cooking onions, or any other food, to a temperature of at least 165 degrees is enough to kill off any salmonella.
What states have salmonella onions?
This map shows where the 1,040 people in this Salmonella outbreak lived.
|State of Residence||Number of Sick People|
Where does Kroger get its onions?
Our Organic Yellow Onions are grown in Southeastern Washington State where the bulk of harvest takes place between August and September.
Do I have to throw away my onions?
Because of the outbreak, the CDC urged people to throw out any onions from ProSource. The CDC added that if you are unsure of the supplier for any onions in your home, throw them out. … Symptoms of salmonella include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, high fever, and dehydration, according to the CDC.
Is it safe to eat onions in a restaurant?
Meanwhile, the CDC urges people to toss any red, white or yellow whole onions that don’t have a label or sticker. As for onion recalls and supply chain interruptions, no news is good news for local restaurateurs.
Are Safeway onions recalled?
– Safeway has launched a voluntary recall of green onions that may be contaminated with salmonella. The recalled green onions, also known as scallions, were sold from Aug. 3 through Aug. 7 at Safeway and Pak ‘n Save stores in Northern California and Western Nevada.
What are the symptoms of salmonella from onions?
Symptoms of Salmonella infection can include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food. Otherwise healthy adults are usually sick for four to seven days. In some cases, however, diarrhea may be so severe that patients need to be hospitalized.
Are Peri & Sons Farms onions safe?
Our Peri &, Sons Farms’ mild, sweet, yellow onions are sustainably grown on our family farms under the strictest food-safety protocols and are available in Premium (pesticide residue free) and USDA Organic.
Is the salmonella scare over?
Epidemiologic and traceback data showed that this outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg infections was linked to whole, fresh onions imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico. As of February 2, 2022, this outbreak is over.
Is it safe to buy onions at Walmart?
If consumers cannot determine whether they have onions from Mexico that were purchased in recent weeks, they should throw them away or return them to the place of purchase. …
Can you cook out salmonella?
The short answer: Yes, cooking can kill Salmonella. Depending on the type of food, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend cooking food to a temperature between 145 degrees F and 165 degrees F to kill Salmonella.
Is it safe to eat onions CDC?
CDC advises people who have unlabeled whole red, white, or yellow onions at home to throw them away and not eat them. People should not eat, and businesses should not sell or serve, whole onions that were imported from Chihuahua, Mexico, and distributed by ProSource Inc.
How do I know if my food has salmonella?
Um, how do I know if I’ve got it? There’s no way to know during the incubation period, really, but when salmonella starts making itself known, you’re likely going to feel it in your lower abdomen with some cramping. Nausea and vomiting are also super common salmonella symptoms.
Is E. coli killed by cooking?
E. coli is naturally found in the gut of humans and animals. The bacteria is usually killed by cooking but ground or tenderized meat poses a greater risk because the pathogens are distributed throughout.
What temperature salmonella dies?
Salmonella are destroyed at cooking temperatures above 150 degrees F. The major causes of salmonellosis are contamination of cooked foods and insufficient cooking. Contamination of cooked foods occurs from contact with surfaces or utensils that were not properly washed after use with raw products.
Did Walmart recall onions?
Walmart, Kroger, Trader Joe’s Recall Onions Over Salmonella.
What food is being recalled right now 2021?
Memorable 2021 Food Recalls
Tyson Foods Inc. recalled 8,492,832 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products for possible Listeria contamination. Serenade Foods recalled 60,000 pounds of frozen, stuffed chicken products sold nationwide for possible salmonella contamination.
Are Whole Foods onions recalled?
Our US stores do not source any onion varieties from the affected supplier and our products have not currently been affected by this recall.
Where does Walmart onions come from?
Per an investigation, the contaminated onions can be traced back to two sources, ProSource Produce of Hailey, Idaho, and Keeler Family Farms of Deming, New Mexico. The onions were originally imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and encompass red, yellow, and white onions.
Where does Walmart get onions from?
Grocery stores including Kroger and Walmart sell Thomson International onions. Thomson International recalled onions that had been shipped to all 50 states and that are sold under a variety of brand names, including: Thomson Premium.
Are Kroger onions recalled?
Kroger among stores to receive onions being recalled because possible Salmonella. … Red, yellow, white and sweet yellow onions shipped from May 1 till now are being recalled by Thomson International Inc., the company says. Kroger is among the retailers to receive these onions along with restaurants.


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The UK Wants to Know Why Fashion is So Wasteful
On Friday, June 22, the House of Commons environmental audit committee put forth an inquiry that will explore the carbon impact, natural resource usage, and water footprint of clothing throughout its lifecycle and supply chain.
“Fashion shouldn’t cost the Earth,” said Mary Creagh MP, chair of the committee. “But the way we design, make and discard clothes has a huge environmental impact. Producing clothes requires climate-changing emissions. Every time we put on a wash, thousands of plastic fibers wash down the drain into the oceans. We don’t know where or how to recycle end-of-life clothing.”
Much of the inquiry is due to the overwhelming evidence that the fashion industry has developed unsustainable practices. “Fast Fashion,” or the development of cheap, trend-driven clothing created rapidly, has become a catalyst for textile waste and pollution.
An estimated 300,000 tons of fashion waste goes straight UK landfills each year, about one garbage truck of fashion waste is incinerated or landfilled every second worldwide, putting the annual cost to the UK economy of landfilling clothing and household textiles at about £82m.
“Our inquiry will look at how the fashion industry can remodel itself to be both thriving and sustainable,” said Creagh.


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Tesla Motors Inc. has an exciting 2017 laid before it. Tesla Model 3 is maybe the highly anticipated electric car in history. There is no doubt that the successful debut of the Model 3 will sit at the top of the company's highlights this year. Its Autopilot self-driving system promises to only improve, thanks to software updates to the hardware, However, with the firm's next quarter earnings report just right around the corner, reservation holders can look forward to more insight on how the company is progressing.
Tesla Model 3 Production
Tesla CEO Elon Musk set July 1 as the day when the Model 3 will start mass production. But with design changes, a recent history of missing deadlines, and production delays, it's uncertain if Tesla will hit its deadline. According to a source, Tesla announced in early February that it would begin test-building the Model 3 on February 20. Preparation for the test-building halted production at Fremont, California assembly plant for a week. "The date we are setting" internally, and externally with suppliers, for the Model 3, is "July 1 next year," said Musk, last May 2016.
Tesla Model 3 Price
Tesla is yet to release full details on the pricing strategy for Model 3, aside from the fact that the car will have a base price of $35,000. According to the reports, a little hint from CEO Elon Musk, that the fully-loaded version of Model 3 can cost more than $50,000. Tesla founder said that the average price of a Model 3 is roughly around $42,000. Some of the Model 3 owners will also get the $7,500 tax benefit in the US, making their cars even lesser. But for now, the company has tough competition in the low-cost EV market as GM Chevy Bolt is available for $37,000, and with the federal tax rebates, its price reduces to less than $30,000.


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Craving more hype? Then say hello to the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT will be everywhere, will do everything, will touch everyone — and generate trillions of dollars. It will be on every wrist, imprinted into bike shorts and on cans of green beans; it will reside in every home, office, factory, hospital room, school desk, and tent worldwide. The mighty IoT may one day spew out data streams of monoicosebyte proportions, all seemingly in a nanosecond. (Monoicosebytes are 9x exponential steps beyond the terabyte.)
If you’re counting, it will be the fourth industrial revolution — the ultimate tipping point. The paramount of all paradigm shifts. The most disorderly of disruptive technologies.
IDC, a global tech market intelligence firm with an awesome ability to count objects before they exist, claims the installed base of connected things will be 212 billion by the end of 2020. These IDC crystal-ballers say Internet of Things will be “a new construct in the information and communications tech world,” and they peg IoT spending at $8.9 trillion by 2020.
Predictable with any market “ready to explode,” there is even more research to prove the point.
In its “2014 State of the Internet of Things” study, Accenture Interactive, which advises marketing and digital clients worldwide, says that 69 percent of all consumers plan to buy an in-home IoT device in the next five years. By the end of 2015, about 13 percent of consumers will own an IoT device — smart thermostats and Internet-connected security cameras are examples. Currently, only about four percent have even one such device.
Taking into account those who already own such products, Accenture Interactive ticked off connected devices expected to be most popular over the next few years:
- Connected security systems (11 percent expected adoption in the next year; 35 percent in the next five years).
- Smart thermostats (13 percent projected adoption in the next year; 43 percent in the next five years).
- Wearable wellness devices (22 percent expected adoption by 2015; 43 percent adoption in the next five years).
Eagerly sitting at the connected home table or ready to grab a seat, companies from giant-sized Google to pint-sized AAAA Security Services, are salivating over this looming feast. The trouble is there’s no tangible IoT infrastructure; no fully accepted new-and-improved Internet (like next-generation IPv6); no across-the-board standards; not enough living engineers to build the IoT; no sufficient battery life to make little things tick-talk for very long. So hold onto your quad core smartphone: Things aren’t really talking to other things like the IoT “sell” says.
Today and into the near future, the closest IoT nirvana gets is the Internet of Some Things: a smart TV, security video cameras each with an IP address, a smart thermostat, a smart water heater or, maybe, a smart home platform with a smartphone controller. Some things are connected, sometimes to each other; but more often, various devices and applications are not easily interoperable.
The IoT cheerleaders can’t even agree on a moniker for the Internet of Things. For example, Microsoft uses “Internet of Your Things.” On the factory floor it’s “machine-to-machine” or M2M. Cisco and Qualcomm like the “Internet of Everything.” Others prefer the Internet of Objects or Internet of Smart Objects.
It turns out the most-accepted term — Internet of Things — was coined by Procter & Gamble executive Kevin Ashton as an attention grabber to rouse snoozing grey flannels at a Cincinnati supply chain meeting in 1999.
Home security, automation, entertainment systems, home appliances, wearables and healthcare devices, as well as the smart home overall will, in the long run, turn into all things hung from the ubiquitous IoT. And this may possibly be boom or doom for security and smart home dealers and distributors, as well as home appliance manufacturers and their designers.
In some ways, “it’s already here,” comments Adam Justice, vice president of embedded and networking firm Grid Connect and board member of the IP for Smart Objects (IPSO) Alliance. “Connected locks. Connected light bulbs. Connected home energy management systems.” These and other examples are now providing value to consumers. It also lets some companies “get ahead of the competition,” he says.
Taking a measure of consumer interest in smart home applications and the Internet of Things, a survey commissioned by Savant Systems, known for its smart home involvement in the luxury and mid-market, discovered that more than half of consumers in the United States believe home automation will be an everyday feature less than 10 years from now, and nearly one-fourth say that the technology will be an everyday feature in less than five years.
The survey, conducted by GfK Custom Research, further reveals that control/ease of use (69 percent) and convenience (58 percent) are the most important features for consumers when purchasing a new technology. The bottom line is that consumers just want and appreciate things working together, adds Tim McInerney, director of product marketing at Savant. Cost savings (41 percent) and safety and security (35 percent) were cited as the two primary considerations among consumers for the adoption of smart home automation systems.
So, no matter hype or helpful, here today or waiting for tomorrow, it makes business sense to know more than a headline or two about IoT and its connections to the smart home.
Basically, the Internet of Things is the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing-like devices within the Internet infrastructure. It’s expected to offer advanced connectivity of objects, devices, systems and services covering a variety of protocols, domains and applications. Internet-connected objects sense, communicate, compute and potentially actuate as well as have intelligence, multimodal interfaces, physical/virtual identities and attributes.
Beyond these basics, things get dicey quickly.
Which gets us back to the IPSO Alliance, a resource center and thought leader for industries seeking to establish the Internet Protocol as the basis for IoT and M2M applications, according to its stated role. Earlier in 2014, the alliance stepped forward to broaden its Internet of Things standards vision to include education on the proper use of protocols to create end-to-end IoT solutions as well as to promote open standards using current and emerging IP technologies.
“As more standards organizations attempt to lay claim to the IoT, it was important to redefine our vision to ensure we are meeting the needs of our membership and, more importantly, of the design community at large,” says Pete St. Pierre, the alliance president and a member of the product management team for the Internet of Things at Oracle.
Adds Alliance Chairman Geoff Mulligan, a consultant recognized as a key developer of the embedded Internet, “We will publish two documents outlining open standards for interoperability among objects.” The first, he says, defines a simple and extensible set of smart objects that can build communication between devices used in smart energy, home automation and a host of other functions. The second outlines a conceptually simple architecture that can be used to build interoperable machine-to-machine and IoT applications.
“The ultimate goal is to define how to use the existing set of open standards, specifically IP, to build successful IoT products,” adds St. Pierre. “This can be done without creating new and complicated protocols in the future.”
“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel,” agrees Christian Légaré, IPSO member and executive vice president and CTO at Micrium, which makes embedded software components for engineers building microprocessor, microcontroller and digital signal processing-based devices for appliances, among other products. It’s a matter of showing people “how to use the IP protocol and reference architectures,” he says.
In addition to such show and telling, an inherent issue hampering IoT growth is the 40-plus year old IPv4 protocol, the fourth (Really the first; don’t ask.) version for the IP Internet. It routes traffic, among other functions, but limits the number of total address to 4,294,967,296, not nearly enough to handle all of that anticipated IoT traffic.
Enter IPv6, way back in 2006. It solves the address-limit problem and specifies a new packet format to minimize packet header processing by routers. Consider a packet like a letter: The header is the envelope and the data area is whatever is inside the envelope. Because IPv4 and IPv6 packet headers are significantly different, the two protocols are not interoperable; in essence, IPv6 is not backward compatible with IPv4. So network operators implementing IPv6 IoT will need to run a dual stack IPv4/IPv6 network for years to come. Mulligan suggests, “It’s really not hard to run a dual stack, not as difficult as people think. And it will become a critical necessity” when those billions of devices hang on Internet.
In addition, for IPv6 to work, it must be implemented end-to-end: IPv6 has to be enabled by everyone along the way —network hardware vendors, transit providers, access providers, content providers and endpoint hardware makers.
So, for numerous reasons, the shift to IPv6 is moving ahead but with lethargic speed; only by mid-2014 did IPv6 traffic go over four percent of total as compared with IPv4. Not many service providers are change-over activists. Observes Légaré: North America holds about 70 percent or so of worldwide IPv4 addresses and its service providers are “shy about investing in new gear after getting burned in the past.” In North America, Comcast Corporation, the mass media, home automation, broadcasting and cable company, is one of few carriers to commit to IPv6.
There’s also a power challenge with IoT, “a need for next-generation power delivery that offers low power consumption and that transforms conventional styles of power supply,” advises Oleg Logvinov, director of special assignments in semiconductor firm STMicroelectronics’ Industrial & Power Conversion division. His company is a member of the IPSO Alliance and Logvinov is chair of the IEEE’s Standard for an Architectural Framework for the Internet of Things Working Group, among other IEEE standards group assignments.
One IoT challenge — security and its twin sister privacy — is a harder nut to crack.
“Security, particularly for critical infrastructure, is a key concern for end users owing to the number of attack points and potential magnitude of impact,” says Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation and Process Control Senior Research Analyst Rahul Vijayaraghavan. “As the IoT market moves towards semi- and fully-autonomous control networks, end users will have limited awareness and control in the event of targeted attacks, heightening the risk of sudden disruptions.”
In June 2014, for instance, HP (Hewlett-Packard) released results of a study revealing that 70 percent of the most commonly used IoT devices contain vulnerabilities, including password security, encryption and general lack of granular user access permissions.
“While the Internet of Things will connect and unify countless objects and systems, it also presents a significant challenge in fending off the adversary given the expanded attack surface,” says Mike Armistead, vice president and general manager, Fortify, Enterprise Security Products, HP. “With the continued adoption of connected devices, it is more important than ever to build security into these products from the beginning to disrupt the adversary and avoid exposing consumers to serious threats.” Headlines already warn that some connected baby monitors and home security video cameras are being exploited. (To see results of SDM’s poll on this topic, visit http://www.sdmmag.com/polls/30/results.)
According to Vijayaraghavan, security is one of the “four pillars essential to facilitating a smooth transition into the IoT era. The others: communication, data management and networking.
So, without security, the IoT likely will not be widely adopted, contends Bill Boldt, senior marketing manager of security products at Atmel, which is a founding company of the Open Interconnect Consortium, with an aim to improve interoperability and define connectivity requirements for IoT devices across multiple vertical markets. Any IoT product requires the highest level of security possible, says Boldt. It is not just the data the IoT application generates that needs to be protected; some applications also store personal information, identities and log-in details for service providers that would certainly be a target for hackers.
Likewise, being able to access an IoT application that is controlling other appliances such as home security, life safety, heating and air conditioning systems would compromise system integrity and potentially have dire consequences. Also, manufacturers need to protect their IoT devices from being cloned and sold as counterfeit products in order to protect brand equity and preserve potential revenue streams, so security needs to have a layered approach.
To achieve this level of security, for example, Atmel has a range of hardware authentication and encryption devices containing methods of protecting secret keys that not only restrict access, but also provide key generation and management. Boldt points out that, “when securing secret keys, hardware key storage is stronger than software-only storage every time.” With cryptography engineering being built-in to IoT, developers and dealers do not need to be cryptography experts. Also, hardware countermeasures are employed on the devices to further protect security. These include a metal shield over the whole crypto-authentication device, no probe/test points and tamper detection algorithms.
A total approach can be Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which can be thought of as a microcontroller that can take a punch, and come back for more, Boldt contends. The TPM is a small integrated circuit with an on-board microcontroller, secure hardware-based private key generation and storage and other cryptographic functions (digital signatures, key exchange, etc.), and is a solid way to secure IoT end points, edge devices, email and Web access while protecting local data.
Privacy is yet another kettle of Internet of Things fish. Take fitness bracelets and wristwatches, which collect personal health information and store it in the cloud, as one example.
Perhaps most striking is Americans’ lack of confidence that they have control over their personal information, according to a report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project. That pervasive concern applies to everyday communications channels and to the collectors of their information, both in the government and in corporations, observes Mary Madden, the Pew report’s senior researcher. For example:
- 91 percent of adults in the survey “agree” or “strongly agree” that consumers have lost control over how personal information is collected and used by companies.
- 88 percent of adults “agree” or “strongly agree” that it would be very difficult to remove inaccurate information about them online.
- 80 percent of those who use social networking sites say they are concerned about third parties like advertisers or businesses accessing the data they share on these sites.
- 70 percent of social networking site users say that they are at least somewhat concerned about the government accessing some of the information they share on social networking sites without their knowledge.
- Yet, even as Americans express concern about government access to their data, they feel as though government could do more to regulate what others do with their personal information:
- 80 percent of adults “agree” or “strongly agree” that Americans should be concerned about the government’s monitoring of phone calls and Internet communications. Just 18 percent “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with that notion.
- 64 percent believe the government should do more to regulate advertisers, compared with 34 percent who think the government should not get more involved.
- Only 36 percent “agree” or “strongly agree” with the statement: “It is a good thing for society if people believe that someone is keeping an eye on the things that they do online.”
Still another IoT obstacle is more perception than reality.
With 212 billion connected things — burglar alarms, smart thermostats, televisions, refrigerators, smart watches — all talking at once, will the future bode monster Internet break-downs? “Right now, only 16 percent of traffic is consumer goods,” points out Légaré.In emerging IoT, much of the traffic will be very short spurts of information — an alarm, temperature, pressure or humidity, for example — made up of short and frequent packets, he points out.
With IoT at a crossroads, it’s understandable that IPSO is sharpening its vision, spurred by the over-hype, carrier reluctance, market confusion and tech complications of such a mighty transition. Muddling the scene, some say, is the recent, sudden eruption of a packet-load of self-proclaimed framers of the IoT constitution, heavy-hitter groups driving particular tastes in architecture and — you can’t blame them — furthering their individual bottom line goals. For example:
Thread —Recognizing what it says is the need for a new, better way to connect products in the home, seven companies joined forces to form the Thread Group and develop Thread, an IP-based wireless networking protocol aimed at product developers. Founding members are Yale Security, Silicon Labs, Samsung Electronics, Google’s Nest Labs, Freescale Semiconductor, Big Ass Fans and ARM. The group will create certification based on third-party testing to verify IoT product “quality, security and interoperability.” Certified products will bear the Thread logo. Designed specifically for the home, its self-healing mesh network model uses open standards and IPv6 technology with 6LoWPAN (IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks) as a foundation and requires, according to the group, “just a software enhancement for today’s 802.15.4 products.”
While Google itself is not a founding member (Nest Labs is), some industry observers suggest it’s behind the wizard’s curtain. At the time of the writing of this article, the president of Thread, Chris Boross, is technical product marketing manager at Nest and Google has made its home systems interest well known with the Nest acquisition. Thread is quick to point out that Nest Labs joined the group before Google gobbled it up, however.
Open Interconnect Consortium —Technology firms Atmel Corporation, Broadcom Corporation, Dell, Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics and Wind River formed this group to improve interoperability and define connectivity requirements for IoT devices across multiple vertical markets. Hinting at future certification plans, OIC focuses, it says, on defining a common communications framework based on industry standard technologies to wirelessly connect and intelligently manage the flow of information among personal computing and emerging IoT devices, regardless of form factor, operating system or service provider. About competing groups and efforts, OIC, in its Web site FAQ, states that “currently, we don’t see one single effort that addresses all the necessary requirements.”
OIC specifications will use both existing and emerging standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, ZigBee, Z-Wave and Ant+, the latter an interoperability function added to base ANT (Advanced Network Tools) protocol, an open access multicast wireless sensor net technology found in sport, wellness, home care and remote control devices. OIC-branded devices will connect using many different operating systems, including iOS, Android, Linux, Tizen, RTOS (real time operating systems) and others.
Influential semiconductor chipmaker Intel seems a natural at the OIC helm with Samsung Electronics hedging its bets with representation here and in Thread. Both companies have been active lately. Samsung Electronics entered into an agreement to acquire SmartThings, an open platform for the smart home and the consumer Internet of Things. SmartThings supports an open and growing ecosystem of developers, who are producing new types of connected devices and unique apps in the cloud. Then in mid-2014, Intel rolled out what it calls the “world’s smallest standalone 3G modem” as part of its increasing investment in IoT for connected home appliances, security devices, industrial systems and wearables. The chipset, just 300mm squared, combines transmit and receive functionality with a fully integrated power amplifier and power management, according to the company.
In October 2014, an OIC founder, Broadcom, exited the consortium. It is expected that, going forward, a number of companies in this and other IoT standards organizations will shift their allegiance. Specific to Broadcom, it reportedly left due to a disagreement over intellectual property.
AllSeen Alliance -- This group plans to drive widespread adoption of products, systems and services that enable IoT, built upon an open, universal development framework. Premier members are Electrolux, Haier, LG, Microsoft, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Sharp, Silicon Image, Technicolor and TP-Link. As of mid-August 2014, there were more than 60 members; so-called community members include AT&T Digital Life, Bosch, Cisco, Cloud of Things, HTC, iControl Networks and Revolv, to name a few. Recently, Revolv has been purchased by Nest and Revolv’s home automation hub will no longer be for sale and development has stopped. The Linux Foundation-charged alliance now manages the AllJoyn (by Qualcomm) open source project with software code using open standards. It also has “Designed for AllSeen” branding, its initial phase certification program for validating products that implement AllJoyn properly, according to the alliance. At a later time, it plans to introduce a more fully featured certification program with interoperability testing.
In mid-October 2014, Qualcomm said UK-based CSR will be acquired by Qualcomm Global Trading Pte. Ltd, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. “The acquisition complements Qualcomm’s current offerings by adding products, channels, and customers in the important growth categories of Internet of Everything,” according to a company statement.
“The addition of CSR’s technology in Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart1 and audio processing will strengthen Qualcomm’s position in providing critical solutions that drive the rapid growth of the IoT, including business areas such as portable audio, automotive and wearable devices,” says Steve Mollenkopf, chief executive officer of Qualcomm.
While Qualcomm knows its Allseen involvement will juice up AllJoyn and its CSR acquisition will broaden an anticipated Bluetooth with mesh offering, another of the Allseen group’s more recently onboard premier players, Microsoft, may see its own participation as a doorway into the smart home and office, thanks to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Windows devices and Xbox game console. On the official Microsoft Blog and posted in July 2014, Kevin Dallas, the company’s general manager, Internet of Things, wrote, “We believe the promise of IoT lies in making new and existing devices smarter by connecting them to services in the cloud.”
Another indicator: In mid-2014, Microsoft and American Family Insurance launched a business accelerator for startups focused on home automation. The accelerator will help next generation startups create advancements which lead to safer and smarter homes. “Home automation is ripe for startup innovation,” says Steve Guggenheimer, corporate vice president, developer experience and evangelism for Microsoft.
With more special interest groups than can fit in a Congressional committee room, will Thread, OIC and AllSeen and their muscle members be combatants or will they play nicely by working complementary slices of the total IoT pie?
Sorry, but togetherness may be a day late and a trillion dollars short. Battle lines are already drawn as consumer product makers roll out sky-rocketing numbers of Internet-connected burglar alarms, televisions, refrigerators, smart watches and slow cookers with myriad IoT-like solutions. It’s valuable to ask if history will repeat itself: Remember the infamous 1970s videotape format war with its consumer-bloodied Betamax versus VHS rumble? Four decades later, many smart home products on today’s market or near launch are incompatible with each other or different control platforms.
Always in fighting shape, “Google and Intel are competing; underlining protocols are all IP but they are competing now to some degree,” observes Légaré. Microsoft and Google also seem after the same things when it comes to IoT.
IPSO’s Mulligan is hopeful, however. “Frankly, we see ourselves as ‘big tent;’ we will embrace (others) as long as they talk open standards and don’t cause confusion. We are not saying we are the one and only way.” He sees more harmony than harm among alliances and consortia. His vision of the puzzle pieces fitting together: “View Thread as handling the lower level mesh layer underneath IP. View OIC as commissioning and providing security. And AllSeen as originally looking at a higher layer protocol space sitting on top of the Internet Protocol and using OIC for commissioning and security.”
Clearly, such groups influence IoT developments and help determine the role, product choices, installation needs, appliance designs and bottom lines of dealers, distributors, residential systems integrators, appliance designers, and product manufacturers as well as what finally is purchased, installed and used by consumers, businesses and government agencies.
If such efforts manage to “deliver the right set of platforms and services to realize the IoT opportunity,” as Microsoft’s Dallas suggests, then some of the hyped excitement will turn into helpful reality. That may already be kind-of happening —that Internet of Some Things.
“Consumers don’t care what the standards are just so things work together and easily,” points out Justice, who adds that the aim of providers is to “deliver the best experience to end users.” He is testing that formula in a recent retail relationship with Amazon.com, where his firm sells ConnectSense, a platform of DIY cloud-based Wi-Fi 802.11b/g wireless sensors that monitors changes in a user’s environment and then sends notifications via phone call, email, text or Tweet. Various sensors monitor temperature, humidity, water, motion, security and lights.
An interesting Amazon twist, while the online retailer sells diverse IoT devices ranging from security and life safety to smart home and wellness wearables, the rationale for Amazon to get into smart home wouldn’t have anything to do with trying to create a line of smart home hardware —that’s small potatoes, contends Michael Wolf of NextMarket and NextMarket Insights. “Instead, I believe the company would basically look to create a ‘point of sale’ touch point in nearly every part of the house. Basically, wherever they could stuff a sensor and some intelligence that could connect to a person’s Amazon account.”
Still, a sure bet for the approaching IoT: There will be winners and losers.
- In that fantastic future, with everything IoT-enabled working in a standardized, open environment, there will be less need for custom design and installation for many projects except for the biggest, most complex or projects serving clients who need personal handholding.
- Future off-the-shelf purchasing may mean more buying off a retailer’s shelf or through the Web and not from a traditional distributor’s warehouse or a dealer’s menu of choices. DIY —through Best Buy, Lowe’s, Staples, Amazon and myriad brick/mortar and online stores —will gain considerably as the realized IoT dampens consumer frustrations and fears. “DIY is increasingly a growing market. Convergence permits the same platform for multiple applications,” says Logvinov.
- Products, which often differentiate themselves as to their proprietary setting beyond features and aesthetics, will now be on a more level playing field where pricing will be a much higher priority.
- As more things hop effortlessly onto the Internet and smartphones and tablets evolve into interactive Internet-based application displays and controllers, all without much end user fuss, professionally monitored alarms and security video may to some degree give way to self-monitoring consumers who can call police and emergency medical help directly —the ultimate in verified alarm.
- Product and system maintenance —that extra revenue under contract or purchased warrantee —will reconfigure with fees tumbling or disappearing with the advent of remote, automated diagnostics, repair and updating bundled in. The maintenance of things, devices and appliances, no matter their complexity, will look more like one giant monthly Microsoft Update.
- With everything truly IoT-enabled and pricing pressured downward, mass marketing becomes more attractive and more easily accessible, especially for the widest reaching security companies and broadband providers – with both able to bundle.
According to Blake Kozak, senior analyst for security and building technologies at research firm IHS Inc., “The words ‘smart home’ continue to be kicked around, but what does it truly mean for home security? The answer: Change. For years, consumers have depended on the services of traditional monitoring stations and alarm companies. Equipment was simple and easy to use and did what it needed to do. Then in 2007, came the first iPhone from Apple, one of the first cell phones to deploy a multi-touch interface and in 2008 the release of Android, an open-source platform. Two releases that have changed the way in which consumers interact, not only with each other but other devices.”
He adds, “Fast forward to 2014, the alarm industry is now in a period of change. On the back of smartphone deployments, alarm companies are now offering consumers the ability to interact with the equipment in their home. With new technology, comes new entrants and security companies now face stiff competition from other suppliers wanting to make a play in the home. With so much change and choice, where does the consumer turn?”
Kozak identified three models that consumers can chose from when rolling out a “smart” security system.
The first security deployment type is what he calls point security, defined as hardware that does not link to other devices in order to generate automation, with each device having its own application. “For example, many of the Z-Wave and Wi-Fi garage door modules used today are often independent of a total solution. Additionally, all-in-one devices such as Piper (owned by iControl Networks) are defined as point security products even though there are capabilities to integrate more pieces of hardware.”
The second type is connected security, which is a traditional burglar alarm system. All devices are connected to a panel, either hardwired or wireless with limited automation in place.
Lastly, smart security is defined as devices that are linked together through one central point and one application can manage all devices.
Says Kozak, to date, globally, connected security has gained the largest traction on the back of traditional monitoring companies. However, more recently, the market has seen a shift and a movement towards smart security and point security (mostly across North America) as more DIY vendors appear in the market and end users demand a seamlessly integrated home.
As this trend to “smart” takes place, the IHS analyst expects point security to benefit and grow because many of these products are used individually prior to being deployed in a single integrated solution. As a result, Kozak anticipates that point security could be a gateway to more “smart” systems.
Overall, these three deployment types are important because they could help shape the future structure of the industry. For example, point security could be a gateway to bigger solutions and more integration within the home as end users become accustomed to these devices.
Alternatively, connected security has the longest track record, yet has failed to increase in overall penetration rate. As a result, the combination of point security, which often involves startups and little to no brand recognition, with connected security, which often involves long-standing and proven brands, will likely lead to a new market of smart security.


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IPO-bound OYO reduces onboarding process from 15 days to 30 mins with the launch of digital self-onboarding tool
Using the OYO 360 tool, hotel owners can simply log in using their phone numbers or social media accounts to initiate the property onboarding process.
Wednesday September 01, 2021,
3 min Read
Zooming its focus on technology,has launched a self-onboarding tool — OYO 360 — which will enable hotels to turn into an OYO in under 30 minutes, according to the hospitality unicorn.
The company said that the fully digital OYO 360 tool will simplify the onboarding process, and will fast-track onboarding in 30 minutes, as against a typical 15-day process.
Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, OYO INSEA, said,
“With technology as a driver and data powering every touchpoint of the journey of our patrons including small hotel and home-owners, OYO is carving a niche in the hospitality world with its diverse tech and product offerings. OYO 360 is a big bet to accelerate supply acquisition and enhance the overall experience by making onboarding simpler and convenient. It aims to provide direct control on pricing, increasing occupancies and visibility on simplified contracts and reconciliation processes."
"Currently, daily 12 properties are being onboarded via OYO 360 which brings us confidence on the success of this tool. As we sign up more patrons and keep building our network, we are confident that we’ll be able to attract more guests, diversify the customer base and solidify their business performance through OYO’s tech tool-stack,” he added.
Using the OYO 360 tool, hotel owners can log in simply with their phone number or through social media accounts to initiate the property onboarding process. This tool would require basic details about the hotel, the number of rooms, amenities provided, as well as submit images of the property. The tool uses AI capabilities to auto-check for image quality, reject images with objectionable content, and auto categorises images by detecting elements in the images. OYO explained that if the property is already listed on any of the OTAs, all this information is auto-filled. With a simple review and in a single click, the company says the property can go live in just 30 minutes across all platforms.
OYO said in a statement that the self-onboarding tool will help property owners impacted by COVID-19 to boost their revenues and increase profits digitally. "As part of its supply acquisition strategy, OYO 360 will play a critical role in the organic growth of the business, including newer self-sign ups and growing the supply infrastructure via technology," it added.
According to OYO's internal data, the first 100 OYO partners who have joined via OYO 360 are witnessing 95 percent online bookings which are supporting their revenue lift.
Edited by Kanishk Singh


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The recently formed digital lender is redefining the credit landscape in the country
Seven years since Kenya launched the world’s first digital credit solution, the market for digital credit has expanded rapidly in the country.
Digital credit has become a leading source of credit in Kenya and that it is mostly used to finance working capital and day-to-day consumption needs. However, various studies suggest that many borrowers are struggling to repay.
With this hindsight, Zenka Finance has introduced an innovative way of digital borrowing. “We looked at the statistics and realized there is a market we can comfortably serve. There is need to provide financial solutions in a way that gives people peace of mind and balance in achieving fulfillment in their lives,” says Robert Masinde, chief executive officer at Zenka Finance.
Zenka was coined from a combination of two words.
Zen– achieving a balance
Kash-an African derivation of cash.
Among the techniques the lender first adopted was outpacing competitors in the development of products that appeals to customers in a unique way.
To begin with, their app offers first time borrowers loan free of any interest or related charges. “We want our customers to experience our services without incurring any costs,” says the CEO.
The firm has also ensured that repeat borrowers can graduate to larger and more affordable loans as they build positive credit histories over time.
Loan limit on the app is capped at Ksh 20,000. However, this is set to increase in the future in line with the firm’s aim to diversify its product offering and scope.
Despite many borrowers having the best intentions of repaying loans on time, they are often faced with uncertainties, says the executive. “Rather than dealing with defaults, we found it credible to extend repayment period as a result. This offers borrowers more time to offset their outstanding loans.”
A few months after they launched, their services have been well received in the market, demonstrating that the sector needed such interventions.
While most of the digital lenders have shied away from multiple platforms, the lender availed its services across many channels. Zenka services are now available to Android users, iOS users and USSD.
“We do not want to limit anybody. That is why we made it available across these channels,” says Masinde.
Other than increasing accessibility of its services, the lender is enhancing the experience of the clients it serves through a call centre.
According to Masinde, it is among the few financial institutions that boast of having a fully functional customer experience centre. “Our communication channels cuts across all platforms” he says adding that, “We make use of emails, telephone and social media to engage clients. This support runs 18 hours a day.”
He further notes that today’s businesses must embrace technology to survive. Those companies that will fail to innovate could soon go out of business. Just like technology, data is becoming an important part of the lending industry. Indeed more companies are using data to score their customers’ creditworthiness.
Zenka Finance deployed a chatbot named Zena on Social Channels to enhance its speed of communication and engagement with customers. It also uses statistical and machine learning techniques to analyze data and understand customer’s lending risk, as well as working in conjunction with credit bureaus in credit decision making.
Credit is meant to spur the social and economic potential of a community. It should be used for a good cause. Thus, it makes sense for borrowers to repay, advises the executive. “Most of the borrowers repay, otherwise we wouldn’t be in business.”
“Our loans are mainly disbursed via mobile money which has a limit on the amount of money one can disburse. We are now exploring ways in which we can expand our offering and increase our loan limits. Going forward we will be looking to set up physical branches across the country and increase our touch points to customers.”
Importance of digital lenders
Mr. Masinde argues that there is no denying the fact that digital credit has expanded the scope of financial services in Kenya. FSD Kenya indicate that there are over 6 million Kenyans with access to technology that can deliver micro-loans within seconds and build a credit history that can, in theory, give them access to larger and cheaper loans in the future. Millions of others who own low-end phones can access loans and savings products via their mobile devices.
Digital loans are fast, easy to obtain, short-term, and are available from numerous bank and non-bank institutions. “Gone are the days when you needed a bank account to access loan facilities. You can now do it from the comfort of your phone,” he explains. These represent a tremendous step for formal financial inclusion.
Different sources estimate that digital borrowers tend to borrow frequently, and it is, therefore, important to build better mechanisms to monitor consumer protection and over indebtedness. Masinde believes that digital lenders must do business ethically and with a human face. He sits as the chairperson at the recently formed Digital Lenders Association of Kenya whose key priority is to promote professionalism in the industry.
Going forward, Zenka Finance aims to strengthen its products offering and ensure that customers get unrivalled services in the market. Besides Kenya, it looks forward to set up operations in Uganda, Rwanda and Ghana.
“The ultimate aim is to grow the business and become more diversified in the financial industry,” he ends.
The CEO at a glance
- He studied at Oxford University-UK.
- Holds B.Comm. (Finance) degree from University of Nairobi
- CPA (K)
- He has a wealth of experience as a banker.
- He has worked with Citi Bank and Standard Bank of South Africa.
- He set up Micro Mobile Limited, a mobile technology solutions provider for micro credit and other financial access requirements.
- He is the currently CEO of Zenka Finance
- Chairperson and founding member of Digital Lenders Association of Kenya.


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By Eric Savitz
Motorola (MOT) is getting serious about the market for tablets – and other non-phone mobile devices.
On the company’s post-earnings conference call with the Street, Co-CEO Sanjay Jha hinted in response to a question that the company could expand into the market for devices that sit someplace between PCs and mobile phones.
“You are seeing a convergence with PC and mobility,” he said. “I actually see this convergence as being very, very important. Very, very important. We are very engaged with this marketplace. We think that tablet is one form factor, there are [a] number of other form factors and other solutions that people are engaged in. We are engaged with the development very intimately, and we will announce whatever we need too announce at the appropriate time.”
On better-than-expected Q1 results, MOT is up 36 cents, or 5.2%, to $7.28.


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What is pushing India's small dairy farmers out of business?
A new study establishes a link between global development in dairy industries and slowing down of local small-scale dairy business
Antimicrobial resistance: How biosecurity in livestock can be a tool to improve animal health, reduce antimicrobial use
Inability to measure biosecurity and hygiene status of a farm has been a major obstacle
Cross-breeding, herd management key strategy to maximise India’s milk production: Study
New British-Australian study lays emphasis on cross-breeding to increase milk yield in India without neglecting indigenous animals
Production of milk, meat and eggs increased in 2016 rainy season
The production of wool decreased during the same period of July 1 to October 31, 2016