ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Infinity Recycling (“IRC”), a growth capital platform dedicated to investing in circular economy solutions, is delighted to announce the successful final close of its Circular Plastics Fund I SCSp (“CPF”). The final close exceeded the fund’s €150 million target, securing a total of € 175 million in committed capital from institutional investors and value chain partners from across the world, giving it an unique position as an accelerator in the transition to a circular economy.

IRC has had the privilege of welcoming an impressive group of institutional investors since the fund’s last close in December 2024 including Dutch insurance group ASR, Danish philanthropic association Realdania, ING Sustainable Investments, the sustainable Investments arm of ING, Danish investment and holding company KIRKBI, and the impact investment initiative of Swiss company Après-demain.

The CPF, an Article 9 ‘dark green’ impact fund under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, was established to help accelerate the world’s transition to a circular economy of materials. It does this by supporting advanced recycling technologies with the scaling up of their technology and the strengthening of their business propositions. The tremendously successful fundraise is testament to the growing enthusiasm amongst institutional investors for impactful investment opportunities in the circular economy.

This important milestone for IRC coincides with the recent passing of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (‘PPWR’), itself paving the way for advanced recycling to be counted as recycling. By valorising residual waste streams into primary commodities used in the production of new materials, CPF’s investments plays a pivotal role in fostering sustainability and decarbonization of the chemical industry.

To date the CPF has gained significant momentum, investing in five portfolio companies (Pryme N.V., Itero Technologies Limited, Clariter S.A., DePoly S.A., and Ioniqa B.V.) deploying over EUR 45 million and with a strong pipeline of transactions. IRC’s unique ability to provide both capital and operational expertise has enabled long-term value creation, generating promising returns while making a tangible impact on sustainability.

Jan Willem Muller, Managing Partner at Infinity Recycling:

“The support for new technologies and their scaling up is paramount in enabling additional capital to enter the market and support the transition towards a circular economy. By fostering innovation and scalability, we unlock the potential for greater investment, accelerating our collective journey towards a more sustainable future”

Jeroen Kelder. Managing Partner at Infinity Recycling:

“The strong interest from institutional investors, keen to make an environmental impact, is a clear endorsement of our mission: catalysing the world’s transition to a circular economy of materials. We are thankful for the confidence of the Limited Partners in our unique investment focus and quality of execution”

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• 658% growth in regional payment volumes since 2020, with a 78% YOY increase
• 180% growth in consumers shopping online at least once a week in Saudi Arabia and 140% in UAE and Kuwait
• Preference for cash on delivery in the region halves from 41% in 2020 to 20% in 2023
• 33% of MENA consumers report they’ve been a victim of payment fraud
• Third of all MENA shoppers would shift to a competitor website following a single failed payment

DUBAI, UAE, May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Amidst an era marked by swift digital transformation, the digital economy in the MENA region demonstrates robust growth, soaring by an impressive 78% year-on-year in digital payment volumes since 2020. These revelations and more are unveiled in Checkout.com’s 4th annual MENA e-commerce report, titled: “The state of digital commerce in MENA 2024, A tale of rapid, sustained growth,” launched this morning.

48 months of exponential growth
The report highlights unprecedented growth in the MENA region’s digital payment volumes, as Checkout.com’s total processing value witnessed a staggering 658% surge since the onset of 2020. Notably, a remarkable 78% year-on-year growth between 2022 and 2023. This surge is a testament to the region’s accelerated adoption of digital commerce, which continues to see a deepening consumer preference for online shopping.

Innovations such as AFT (Automated Funds Transfer) have played a pivotal role in facilitating this trend. Furthermore, the growth momentum of Checkout.com processing volumes is underscored by it securing its acquiring license in the UAE in 2023. As Checkout.com continues to expand, its trajectory mirrors the overall upward trajectory of digital commerce in the region

The findings also shed light on a robust increase of 56% in the number of MENA consumers engaging in e-commerce weekly or more since 2020. Furthermore, the growth rate for daily digital shoppers in MENA surged by 80% with Saudi Arabia leading the digital shopping spree with an astounding 180% growth in consumers shopping online at least once a week, followed closely by the UAE and Kuwait, each experiencing a 140% growth. This data underscores the deep and consistent change in online shopping habits among consumers in the region, which in turn demonstrates an increased trust in the system; a barrier to adoption noted in the 2020 report.

Additionally, the report highlights MENA consumers’ optimistic outlook on their future online spend, revealing that half of all shoppers anticipate an increase in their online spending over the next 12 months. Particularly, online shoppers in Saudi Arabia express significant enthusiasm, with 53% anticipating an increase in their spending in the coming year.

The increase in predictive spending demonstrates that there is resiliency and robustness to the digital economy in the MENA region. Despite increasing inflationary pressures and technical recessions breaking out across other developed economies, MENA presents an oasis of opportunity for global brands to expand and develop new operations in the market.

The unmistakable demise of cash 
Discussing the payments landscape, the report marks a significant shift away from cash on delivery towards digital payment methods.  Over the past 48 months, the preference for cash on delivery in the region has halved from 41% to 20%, reflecting broader acceptance and trust in digital payments, cards, and digital wallets. This shift is notably pronounced in countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait, where the preference for cash has dropped to as low as 10% among the population.

This presents a unique chance for businesses to keep their costs down. With new technologically advanced payment solutions that present a more scalable and consumer-friendly experience. The previously increasing complexity and cost of operations, such as cash management and shipping logistics, for businesses in the region will continue to decline.

Payment security is the key loyalty driver
The report reveals that the number of respondents ranking payment security as the most important feature offered by an e-commerce business is growing exponentially. Furthermore, the silent revenue killer, namely false declines, continues to grow in the region with 23% reporting experiencing a falsely declined payment in the last three months. Moreover, 33% of MENA consumers report being victims of payment fraud, and understandably, security is valued. Alarmingly, a third of all shoppers surveyed indicated they would switch to a competitor’s website following a single failed payment.

Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager, MENA, at Checkout.com, reflects on these findings: “The sustained growth and rapid evolution of digital commerce in MENA are reshaping how consumers shop and pay. Our report not only highlights the remarkable strides in digital payment adoption but also signals a growing confidence among consumers in the digital economy.

“This report makes a case for the continued need for fintechs to analyze and optimize every aspect of their e-commerce experience as consumers become more deeply connected to digital shopping and payments. As our report identifies, a third of all shoppers surveyed would switch to a competitor if they experienced a single failed payment. So the cost of getting your payment performance wrong has never been higher. That’s why as a payment solution provider to businesses across the region and globally, Checkout.com drives performance in this dynamic landscape,” he added.

As Checkout.com continues to chart the course of digital commerce in MENA, the “The state of digital commerce in MENA 2024, A tale of rapid, sustained growth” report offers invaluable insights for merchants, policymakers, and stakeholders aiming to capitalize on the opportunities presented by this digital evolution.

Checkout.com, a leading global payment solutions provider, has diligently tracked the booming e-commerce landscape in the region for the past four years. The latest report delves into a retrospective analysis of 48-month trends, calculating growth rates to grasp the magnitude of change in digital commerce within MENA.

About Checkout.com
Checkout.com processes payments for thousands of companies that shape the digital economy. Our global digital payments network supports over 145 currencies and delivers high-performance payment solutions across the world, processing billions of transactions annually.

With flexible and scalable technology, we help enterprise merchants boost acceptance rates, reduce processing costs, combat fraud, and turn payments into a major revenue driver. Headquartered in London and with 16 offices worldwide, Checkout.com is trusted by leading brands such as Alshaya Group, Botim, Dyson, Hunger Station, Instashop, Qlub, Majid Al Futtaim, Netflix, SHEIN, Sony and Tamara.

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SINGAPORE, May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With a commitment to broadening the reach and usability of blockchain technologies, HTX Ventures, the global investment arm of the cryptocurrency exchange HTX, has announced a strategic investment in ChainML, a Silicon Valley-based AI and ML development and research lab that recently unveiled its groundbreaking Agentic Base Layer, Theoriq.

ChainML recently raised $6.2 million during its Super Seed funding round, led by Hack VC. The funding underscores the confidence and excitement surrounding ChainML’s vision to seamlessly integrate AI into the decentralized world of blockchain and revolutionize the AI landscape. By providing a platform like Theoriq for limitless AI innovation, built on the principles of composability, extensibility, and community-driven governance, ChainML promises to offer an unmatched ecosystem for deploying sophisticated AI agents that leverage Web3 technology to ensure transparency, security, and efficiency.

Theoriq’s axioms, based on principles of social evolution and implemented with blockchain, lay the foundation for continuously improving, community-governed AI systems.

Key features include:

• Agentic Primities: Fundamental elements in the ecosystem that facilitate autonomous interaction, embodying roles, behaviors, and functions that contribute directly to an agent’s capacity to operate independently within its environment.
• Modular Composability: Allowing developers to craft tailored AI solutions that can combine and be recombined to create sophisticated systems to evolve and adapt over time.
• Community Permissioned Governance: Ensuring that decision-making authority is vested in a diverse group of community stakeholders who actively contribute to and provide feedback on the quality of AI agents, ensuring that the technology aligns with collective goals and values.

Edward, Managing Partner at HTX Ventures, said “ChainML’s Theoriq is an innovative platform that provides an actionable solution for AI agents to interact interchangeably, packed with more autonomy and capability. The platform paves the way for the future of AI, we are excited to be part of this journey.”

“Today marks a pivotal moment for ChainML and for the broader AI and Web3 communities,” said Ron Bodkin, Co-founder & CEO of ChainML. “With Theoriq, we’re not just launching a product—we’re spearheading a movement towards a transparent, community-governed AI ecosystem. HTX Ventures’ support will be instrumental as we unlock new potentials for AI integration within the decentralized space.”

HTX Ventures is excited to support innovative projects like ChainML, which combine AI development with blockchain to explore new synergies. Users can interact with the Theoriq testnet this summer by joining the waitlist.

Contact Details
Michael Wang
[email protected]

Company Website
https://www.htx.com/en-us/ventures

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