Ethiopia’s Cooperative Bank of Oromia has signed a new five-year strategic agreement with Mastercard as it looks to boost digital and financial inclusion across the country.

Through the partnership, the bank has launched its Coopbank Prepaid Mastercard offering designed specifically to enable international travellers from Ethiopia to complete global purchases online through e-commerce sites and digital platforms.

Card transactions will be supported by a dedicated mobile app that will offer “efficient card management capabilities”, Mastercard says.

Additionally, the Addis Ababa-based bank will also deploy Mastercard’s Community Pass technology, which functions as an “interoperable digital platform facilitating service delivery for marginalised individuals and communities”, according to Mastercard’s website.

More specifically, the bank will leverage the Farm Pass digital service contained within the platform to provide the country’s farmers and agricultural cooperatives with an agriculture marketplace and additional financial services that function even in offline environments.

Cooperative Bank of Oromia says it has already extended the Farm Pass to over 11,000 farmers in Ethiopia, including 16 farmer primary cooperatives and four cooperative unions, and has so far used the service to facilitate over 9,200 transactions between smallholder farmers and primary cooperatives with a total transaction volume of $1.4 million.

The bank adds through a statement that it plans to scale the service within the value chains of coffee, barley, wheat and poultry.

Deribie Asfaw, CEO of Cooperative Bank of Oromia, says the agreement with Mastercard seeks to “address the unique needs of our customers from farmers to consumers and businesses, empowering them to thrive and contribute to the economy”.

He adds that this agreement will deliver “secure and adaptable financial tools” to end consumers.

As part of its digital transformation efforts, the bank also launched CoopApp and CoopApp Alhuda through Temenos in March. Temenos’ T24 core banking engine has been powering the bank since 2017.

Source: fintechfutures.com

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Glia, a pioneering force in customer interaction technology, has unveiled the first-ever responsible AI platform purpose built for financial institutions.

The offering, known as Glia Cortex, will enable financial institutions to harness the power of AI in a secure and responsible manner, revolutionising customer service and contact centre operations.

The impetus behind the development of Glia Cortex stems from the increasing demand within the financial industry for AI-driven solutions to modernise and streamline contact centre operations. However, concerns around data privacy, security, and potential risks associated with AI adoption have hindered progress in this area.

Glia is renowned for its Unified Interaction Management platform, which offers comprehensive solutions for customer engagement across various channels.

Glia Cortex represents a significant leap forward, empowering financial institutions to integrate AI seamlessly into their existing workflows while maintaining stringent safeguards for data privacy and security.

At the heart of the product are three key components: Customer AI, Agent AI, and Manager AI.

These components automate and elevate customer interactions, enhance agent productivity, and provide managers with deeper insights for better team performance and service improvements.

Service 1st Federal Credit Union has already partnered with Glia to implement Glia Cortex in their contact centre operations. Sarah Zinga, AVP of Digital Services for the credit union, attested to the benefits, stating, ““How do I improve my credit score? What is my current balance? With Glia, we have been able to leverage AI to help us automate these simple calls and free up our agents’ time for when the human touch is really needed, and ultimately provide the best member experience for what our Service 1st members expect.”

This launch underscores Glia’s commitment to innovation in the financial services industry, following recent advancements such as Unified Interaction Management and generative AI solutions.

Jay Choi, CPO for Glia, explained, “Financial institutions are looking to AI to modernise and create efficiencies in their contact centres, however they have been rightfully cautious as significant questions around safety, privacy, and business and reputational risks associated with adopting AI remain. Glia Cortex unleashes the benefits of AI and generative AI while maintaining proper, steady guardrails to keep data private and secure. We’ve made it possible to deploy AI without introducing risk, providing responsible technology that institutions and their customers can trust.”

Source: fintech.global

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The regulatory approval process with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has commenced for Innocan’s LPT-CBD release technology, marking a key step in the advancement of non-opioid pain management

HERZLIYA, Israel and CALGARY, AB, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Innocan Pharma Corporation (CSE: INNO) (FSE: IP4) (OTCQB: INNPF) (“Innocan” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce significant advancements in the regulatory process for its Liposome-Cannabidiol (LPT-CBD) technology, which provides an innovative solution in non-opioid pain management. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has granted Innocan an Investigational New Drug (“IND”) number and approved an initial meeting with the Company to discuss the strategic path forward.

The meeting with the FDA has been set for July 31, 2024, where Innocan will present its preclinical results and proposed clinical development plan. This meeting is key to launching human clinical trials for the LPT-CBD injectable drug, developed to provide a novel treatment option for chronic pain.

“We are very pleased with this crucial step towards launching our IND program for LPT-CBD in the United States,” commented Iris Bincovich CEO of Innocan Pharma. “This upcoming FDA consultation is pivotal, poised to set the stage for our clinical trials and drive forward our mission to revolutionize pain management. We look forward to the FDA reviewing our development program and providing us with guidance on our advancement to human clinical trials.”

Continued Iris Bincovich, CEO, “I thank Prof. Chezy Barenholz and Dr. Ahuva Cern of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, renowned experts in liposome research, for their continued efforts providing strong supportive data on LPT-CBD, enabling our upcoming engagement with FDA.”

LPT therapy, which requires only one single monthly subcutaneous injection, offers a groundbreaking alternative to opioid-based approaches. Addressing the critical opioid crisis, where, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over three-quarters of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involve opioids, Innocan’s LPT-CBD presents a compelling, life-saving alternative. In multiple pre-clinical trials, Innocan’s therapy has shown consistent efficacy of its LPT-CBD injectable treatment, through prolonged and controlled release of CBD in animals with chronic pain conditions.

About Innocan

Innocan is a pharmaceutical tech company that operates under two main segments: Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Wellness. In the Pharmaceuticals segment, Innocan focuses on developing innovative drug delivery platform technologies based on advanced cannabinoids science, to treat various conditions to improve patients’ quality of life. This segment involves two drug delivery technologies: (i) LPT CBD- loaded liposome platform facilitating exact dosing and the prolonged and controlled release of CBD into the blood stream. The LPT delivery platform research is in the preclinical trial phase for: Pain Management. In the Consumer Wellness segment, Innocan develops and markets a wide portfolio of innovative and high-performance self-care products to promote a healthier lifestyle. Under this segment, Innocan has established a joint venture by the name of BI Sky Global Ltd. that focuses on advanced targeted online sales. https://innocanpharma.com/

For further information, please contact:

For Innocan Pharma Corporation:
Iris Bincovich, CEO

+1-516-210-4025

+972-54-3012842

+442037699377
[email protected]

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information

Certain information set forth in this news release, including, without limitation, information regarding research and development, collaborations, the filing of potential applications with the FDA and other regulatory authorities, the potential achievement of future regulatory milestones, the potential for treatment of conditions and other therapeutic effects resulting from research activities and/or the Company’s products, requisite regulatory approvals and the timing for market entry, is forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond Innocan’s control. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Innocan, including expectations and assumptions concerning the anticipated benefits of the products, satisfaction of regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions and satisfactory completion of requisite production and distribution arrangements.

Forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this news release. The key risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: general global and local (national) economic, market and business conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities; and relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, customers, business partners and competitors. There are also risks that are inherent in the nature of product distribution, including import / export matters and the failure to obtain any required regulatory and other approvals (or to do so in a timely manner) and availability in each market of product inputs and finished products. The anticipated timeline for entry to markets may change for a number of reasons, including the inability to secure necessary regulatory requirements, or the need for additional time to conclude and/or satisfy the manufacturing and distribution arrangements. As a result of the foregoing, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this news release concerning the timing of launch of product distribution. A comprehensive discussion of other risks that impact Innocan can also be found in Innocan’s public reports and filings which are available under Innocan’s profile at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking information. Innocan does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward looking information as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

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