Fintech PR

New Design Challenge Empowers and Informs Responses to Global Water Crises

Published

5 years ago

June 5, 2019

Newsfile

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Circle of Blue — in collaboration with leading institutions, designers, educators, and youth organizations — today announced Designing Water’s Future, an unprecedented global challenge to develop creative, cross-disciplinary, and participatory stories and solutions for water crises worldwide.

Creative design and innovative communications
Citizen science
Applied data analyses and visualization
AI-powered connectivity

Designing Water’s Future, will leverage the power of creative design and communications, citizen science, frontier data analysis, visualization tools, and Artificial Intelligence-powered analysis to advance responses and solutions. Circle of Blue – the award-winning journalism, science and convening organization that reports on the global competition between water, food, and energy in a changing climate – announced the initiative at the Sustainable Brands conference in Detroit and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in The Hague.

The World Economic Forum ranks water crises among the gravest risks to political, environmental, and economic stability.

“Time has run out and we no longer have any margin of error. We must unite the best in creativity, technology, and story-telling to shift the world’s most dangerous course,” said J. Carl Ganter, managing director of Circle of Blue and past vice chairman of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Water Security.

Conflicts over water are increasing around the world while debilitating droughts, catastrophic floods and other risks pose imminent threats to lives, livelihoods, and businesses. Yet imperatives such as the Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation are underfunded, global water stories of success and failure remain underreported, data is often lacking, unverified or remains unshared, and people are out of touch with where their water comes from and where their wastewater goes.

“Many organizations are working tirelessly on promising solutions, but the scale and urgency of water challenges outpace current efforts and resources,” Ganter said.

The specific challenges will be active this summer and previewed at World Water Week in August:

Narrative challenge. Students from universities from Beijing to Boston take on “water as a client” using array of design, storytelling, and communications tools.
Grassroots stories and citizen science. Crowd-sourcing projects on “#MyWaterStory,” “#MyWaterScience,” and “#MyWaterSolutions
Visualization hackathon. Transforming water data into compelling visualizations.
Collaboration. Accumulating resources and connections.

“The only hope for water’s future is the one we deliberately design,” Ganter said. “This is the moment in history when arts, culture, and story must combine with science and technology.”

Designing Water’s Future’s first iteration grew out of a 2008 session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, led by Brian Collins, Chief Creative Officer at COLLINS, and Ganter of Circle of Blue. It engaged thousands of students worldwide.

Collaborators include the World Economic Forum, Voice for the Planet, Global Commons Alliance, Science Based Targets Initiative, China Environment Forum, Columbia University Water Center, Northwestern University Segal Design Institute, Imagine H2O, Qlik.org, Water Foundry, and Vector Center.

Circle of Blue is the internationally recognized center for award-winning reporting, research, and analysis on the competition between water, food, and energy in a changing climate. It curates the World Economic Forum Transformation Maps, and produced Watershed at the Vatican. Circle of Blue is a member of the Science Based Targets Network and founding member of the Global Commons Alliance, whose partners engage more than 10,000 cities and local governments worldwide. Circle of Blue’s model received the Rockefeller Foundation Centennial Innovation Award.

SOURCE Circle of Blue

Fintech PR

Wahed appoints Khalid Al Jassim as Executive Chairman of Wahed MENA to help guide the strategic growth of Wahed in the region

Published

4 hours ago

November 24, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

wahed-appoints-khalid-al-jassim-as-executive-chairman-of-wahed-mena-to-help-guide-the-strategic-growth-of-wahed-in-the-region

DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Wahed, a global Shariah-compliant fintech, has appointed Khalid Al Jassim as Chairman of Wahed MENA.

On this appointment, Khalid commented, ”I am excited to guide Wahed’s growth in the region. Wahed’s mission of furthering Islamic Finance is one I resonate with deeply and I look forward to supporting its growth ambitions.”

Khalid has over twenty five years of investment banking and corporate advisory experience gained with some of the most innovative and groundbreaking institutions in the world.

His career spans leading firms including SABIC, Arthur Anderson and Arcapita Bank in Bahrain, where he was instrumental in making it into one of the PE powerhouses in the region. His responsibilities started in the earlier years with establishing the Investment Placement Team and transforming it into one of the most robust teams in the industry. At the time that Khalid left Arcapita to build his personal business, he was an Executive Director. Today he is Chairman of Afkar Vision, a private advisory house specialized in mergers and acquisitions with offices in Manama, Dubai and Riyadh.

As well as being one of the earliest investors in Wahed, he is currently Chairman of the Audit Committee and Board Member at Bahrain Islamic Bank, the 4th oldest Islamic Bank in the World and Board Member at SICO Bank and SICO Capital in Saudi, an $8bn asset manager in the region.

Mohsin Siddiqui, Wahed CEO said, “We are delighted to announce Khalid’s appointment. His unique understanding of the financial landscape in the MENA region is unparalleled and we are excited to bring this expertise in continuing to grow our presence in the region.”

About Wahed

Founded in 2015, Wahed is a financial technology company that is advancing financial inclusion through accessible, affordable, and values-based investing. The company has made significant inroads in the world Shariah compliant investing by creating an easy-to-use digital platform that provides a suite of Shariah compliant investing products including managed portfolios and venture and real estate investments. Wahed caters to over 400,000 customers globally and manages over $ 1 billion in assets.

For more information, visit: www.wahed.com

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Fintech PR

Qatar Development Bank announces strategic investment in global Islamic FinTech, Wahed

Published

4 hours ago

November 24, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

qatar-development-bank-announces-strategic-investment-in-global-islamic-fintech,-wahed

DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Qatar Development Bank (QDB) announces a strategic investment in Wahed, a global Shariah-compliant fintech.

Wahed currently manages over $1 billion in assets and has attracted over 400,000 clients worldwide. The company is built on the principles of democratizing access to financial services and offers clients access to Shariah-compliant investments in its mobile app. Wahed removes the barriers to sophisticated investment management services that have been traditionally reserved for high-net-worth investors.

Khalid Al Jassim, Executive Chairman of Wahed MENA said: ‘We are delighted to welcome our new shareholders, QDB. We believe Qatar is fully aligned with our mission in creating a technology-first Islamic finance leader that unlocks a financial ecosystem free from Riba. We look forward to supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030 of becoming a leading knowledge-based economy.

Ali Rahimtula, Partner at Cue Ball Capital said: “Qatar Development Bank’s strategic investment is a clear signal of the faith the industry has in Wahed and its ability to create the future of Islamic Finance.”

About Wahed

For more information, visit: www.wahed.com

About Qatar Development Bank

Qatar Development Bank’s mission is to advance the economic and innovation development cycle of Qatar, supporting and contributing to the nation’s economic diversification. As well as a focus on the development of Qatar’s private sector, QDB is a powerful catalyst for socio-economic development in the country, empowering the local economy and bettering living standards.

For more information, visit: https://www.qdb.qa/

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2566075/Qatar_Development_Bank_Announcement.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/qatar-development-bank-announces-strategic-investment-in-global-islamic-fintech-wahed-302314778.html

Fintech PR

China’s AIMA brand electric motorbike is now in Bangladesh

Published

17 hours ago

November 23, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With the popularity of electric vehicles in Bangladesh, the globally renowned AIMA brand has also arrived in Bangladesh. The esteemed DX Group has brought the AIMA F-626 to customers. This environmentally friendly battery-operated electric motorbike has already been approved by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) now.

In light of the increasing popularity of electric motorcycles in the country, the internationally-leading brand AIMA has entered the market. By the end of 2023, AIMA electric two-wheelers had established a presence in over 50 countries worldwide, with 11 global production bases, including overseas factories in Indonesia and Vietnam. In 2022, AIMA collaborated with Rob Janoff, the designer of the Apple logo, to refresh the brand’s VI system with a youthful and fashionable image. In 2023, AIMA teamed up with PANTONE, the global authority in color expertise, to create the trending color of the year. As an industry leader, AIMA spearheads the electric two-wheeler sector and showcases the prowess of a leading electric two-wheeler brand on a global scale. As of March 31, 2024, AIMA’s total electric two-wheeler sales had reached 80 million units, earning certification from Frost & Sullivan, a globally recognized business growth consulting firm, as the “Global Leading Electric Two-wheeler Brand”.

Over the years, AIMA has always been a product trendsetter in the electric two-wheeler sector. As of March 31, 2024, the total sales volume of AIMA electric two-wheelers reached 80 million, and Frost & Sullivan, a world-renowned market consulting company, awarded AIMA with the market status certification of the “Global Leading Electric Two-wheeler Brand (by Sales)”.

AIMA adhere to the customer-centered product philosophy and technologies that support long-term innovation and breakthroughs. We believe that the efficiency and modern technology of the AIMA F-626 will present an excellent alternative means of communication for our customers.