Fintech PR
Uzum becomes first tech unicorn in Uzbekistan after raising over $100 mln in funding
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Uzum, a leading digital services ecosystem in Uzbekistan, has secured more than $100 mln in funding through a combination of a Series A funding round and debt financing, making Uzum the first tech company in Uzbekistan to achieve unicorn status with a post-money valuation of over $1 billion. Uzum plans to use the funds to develop the country’s IT and logistics infrastructure, as well as to fund its own BNPL-service.
Uzum secured over $50 mln in equity through a Series A funding round consisting wholly of primary investments. The round was led by the global venture capital firm FinSight Ventures (whose portfolio companies have included Intercom, ThoughtSpot, Automation Anywhere, Toss, GupShup, Razorpay, Bumble, Rappi, Carta and others), joined by Xanara Investment Management, a multifamily office in the UAE, and Uzum’s senior management team. The company separately raised an additional $50+ mln in debt financing.
Investors taking part in the Series A funding round will receive stakes of less than 5% in the company. Given Uzum’s strong performance in 2023 – its first full year of operations – and the ecosystem’s enormous potential, the shareholders decided to not substantially dilute their ownership stakes during the funding round. In 2024, Uzum plans to raise additional financing of approximately $200 million in a Series B funding round from investors in the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Combining e-commerce, fintech and banking services for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises, the Uzum digital ecosystem includes a marketplace, an express delivery service, traditional and digital banks, a BNPL service, an automotive marketplace and an app for entrepreneurs. All of the ecosystem’s components are now being integrated into two superapps: Uzum for individuals, and Uzum Business for legal entities. By the end of 2023, the Uzum ecosystem had 10 million monthly average users and net profit just shy of $100 million. Meanwhile, Uzum’s retail banking and fintech businesses were among the leaders in the country in terms of profit, and its e-commerce business was the largest online platform in Uzbekistan by the number of users and number of orders, with turnover of around $150 million.
In 2024, Uzum plans to launch the largest logistics complex for e-commerce in the country, which is expected to increase e-commerce turnover on its platform by more than 150% during the year. It also plans to launch a number of ecosystem products for unsecured lending to individuals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.
Alexey Garyunov, managing partner at FinSight Ventures, commented:
“We focus on FinTech, B2B SaaS and the e-commerce markets in the US and India, as well as investing in superapps in emerging markets. By combining convenient payment solutions with an e-commerce platform, Uzum achieved impressive results in just a year and a half, launching one of the top three apps in the country in terms of the number of downloads, trailing only instant messengers and social networks. Uzum has already become the national leader in its key business verticals (fintech and e-commerce) thanks to strong network effects and synergies between its various businesses. Uzbekistan is one of the markets where consumers moved from offline directly to mobile (bypassing the web browser stage), which makes this market ideal for creating a superapp that combines banking, fintech, e-commerce and other services in an ecosystem for consumers and entrepreneurs. We witnessed the success of Kaspi.kz in creating a superapp in neighboring Kazakhstan, Rappi in Latin America, and Toss in South Korea, and we are confident that Uzum, which has the necessary talent, resources and products, will repeat this success to become the national tech leader in Uzbekistan.
Djasur Djumaev, Uzum’s founder and CEO, said:
“Digital services in Uzbekistan today are incredibly popular. We see this in the growth rates of the markets that we work in as well as in our own experience. In a little over a year, we have built an ecosystem whose services are used by more than 10 million people in Uzbekistan every month. Last year, we earned nearly $100 million in net profit, and we intend to increase this figure this year, partly by integrating services within the Uzum ecosystem. We also plan to add new business streams and services for business and private users to the ecosystem this year. We see tremendous interest in the Uzbek market and in Uzum’s digital ecosystem as one of its drivers and, of course, this would not have been possible without the extraordinary team of world-class professionals who created the first tech unicorn in the country’s history.”
According to KPMG, Uzbekistan is home to the fastest-growing e-commerce market in Central Asia, with the potential to grow up to sevenfold by the end of 2027. At the same time, the country’s GDP grew by 6% in 2023, and Uzbekistan plans to double this figure in the next few years. Experts note that the country’s economy has the potential for growth and rapid digitalization thanks to several factors, including a high rate of Internet penetration, a young population, as well as a currently low penetration rate of banking and financial services.
About Uzum
Uzum is a digital ecosystem and the largest digital platform in Uzbekistan, providing services spanning e-commerce, express delivery, banking and fintech, and business development. More than 10 million people in Uzbekistan, or nearly one-third of the country’s population, use Uzum services every month. Learn more at uzum.com.
About FinSight
FinSight Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in investments in FinTech, B2B SaaS and e-commerce companies as well as other segments of the tech market. The company invests at various stages (from seed to later stages), covering the entire funding cycle for tech companies. FinSight focuses on the US and Indian markets and also invests on a more global scale in superapps in emerging markets. FinSight manages more than $500 million in assets, with investor returns of over $600 million since its founding in 2004.
One of the firm’s biggest deals was its investment in Bumble, which Blackstone acquired in 2019. At the time of the deal, the company was valued at $3b. Having backed Bumble from the very beginning, Finsight VC was the sole financial investor in the company.
About Xanara
Xanara Investment Management is a multifamily office located in Dubai. The company specializes in managing client assets, provides family office services, and also advises on wealth creation and preservation.
For additional information please contact: [email protected]
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STOCKHOLM, April 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — EQT AB’s Q1 Announcement 2024 will be published on Thursday 18 April 2024 at approximately 07:30 CEST. EQT will host a conference call at 08:30 CEST to present the report, followed by a Q&A session.
The presentation and a video link for the webcast will be available here from the time of the publication of the Q1 Announcement.
To participate by phone and ask questions during the Q&A, please register here in advance. Upon registration, you will receive your personal dial-in details.
The webcast can be followed live here and a recording will be available afterwards.
Information on EQT AB’s financial reporting
The EQT AB Group has a long-term business model founded on a promise to its fund investors to invest capital, drive value creation and create consistent attractive returns over a 5 to 10-year horizon. The Group’s financial model is primarily affected by the size of its fee-generating assets under management, the performance of the EQT funds and its ability to recruit and retain top talent.
The Group operates in a market driven by long-term trends and thus believes quarterly financial statements are less relevant for investors. However, in order to provide the market with relevant and suitable information about the Group’s development, EQT publishes quarterly announcements with key operating numbers that are relevant for the business performance (taking Nasdaq’s guidance note for preparing interim management statements into consideration). In addition, a half-year report and a year-end report including financial statements and further information relevant for investors is published. Finally, EQT also publishes an annual report including sustainability reporting.
Contact
Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, +46 72 989 09 15
EQT Shareholder Relations, [email protected]
Rickard Buch, Head of Corporate Communications, +46 72 989 09 11
EQT Press Office, [email protected], +46 8 506 55 334
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/invitation-to-presentation-of-eqt-ab-s-q1-announcement-2024,c3956826
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- Kia drives forward transformation into ‘Sustainable Mobility Solutions Provider’
- Roadmap enables Kia to proactively respond to uncertainties in mobility industry landscape, including changes in EV market
- Company to expand EV line-up with more models; enhance HEV line-up to manage fluctuation in EV demand
- Goal to sell 1.6 million EVs annually in 2030, introducing 15 models
- PBV to play a key role in Kia’s growth, targeting 250,000 PBV sales annually by 2030 with PV5 and PV7 models
- Kia to invest KRW 38 trillion by 2028, including KRW 15 trillion for future business
- 2024 business guidance : KRW 101 tln in revenue with KRW 12 tln in operating profit; operating profit margin of 11.9% on sales of 3.2 million units globally
- CEO reaffirms Kia’s commitment to ESG management
SEOUL, South Korea, April 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Kia Corporation (Kia) today shared an update on its future strategies and financial targets at its CEO Investor Day in Seoul, Korea.
Based on its innovative achievements in the years since the announcement of mid-to-long-term business initiatives, Kia is focusing on updating its 2030 strategy announced last year and further strengthening its business strategy in response to uncertainties across the global mobility industry landscape.
During the event, Kia updated its mid-to-long-term business strategy with a focus on electrification, and its PBV business. Kia reiterated its 2030 annual sales target of 4.3 million units, including 1.6 million units of electric vehicles (EVs). The 2030 4.3 million annual sales target is 34.4 percent higher than the brand’s 2024 annual goal of 3.2 million units.
The company also plans to become a leading EV brand by selling a higher percentage of electrified models among its total sales, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and battery EVs, projecting electrified model sales of 2.48 million units annually or 58 percent of Kia’s total sales in 2030.
“Following our successful brand relaunch in 2021, Kia is enhancing its global business strategy to further the establishment of an innovative EV line-up and accelerate the company’s transition to a sustainable mobility solutions provider,” said Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia. “By responding effectively to changes in the mobility market and efficiently implementing mid-to-long-term strategies, Kia is strengthening its brand commitment to the wellbeing of customers, communities, the global society, and the environment.”
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VANCOUVER, BC, April 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE: BIOV) (FRA: 5LB) (OTCQB: BVAXF) (the “Company“) is providing this bi-weekly update on the status of the management cease trade order granted on February 29, 2024 (the “MCTO“), by its principal regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC“), under National Policy 12-203 – Management Cease Trade Orders (“NP 12-203“), following the Company’s announcement on February 21, 2024 (the “Default Announcement“), that it was unable to file its audited annual financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2023, its management’s discussion and analysis of financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2023, its annual information form for the year ended October 31, 2023, and related filings (collectively, the “Required Annual Filings“). Under National Instrument 51-102, the Required Annual Filings were required to be made no later than February 28, 2024.
As a result of the delay in filing the Required Annual Filings, the Company was unable to file its interim financial statements for the three months ended January 31, 2024, its management’s discussion and analysis of financial statements for the three months ended January 31, 2024, and related filings (collectively, the “Required Interim Filings“). Under National Instrument 51-102, the Required Interim Filings were required to be made no later than April 1, 2024.
The Company anticipates filing the Required Annual Filings by April 30, 2024. The auditor of the Company requires additional time to complete its audit of the Company, including the Company’s recent acquisition of all intellectual property, immunotherapeutics platform technologies, and clinical stage assets of the former IMV Inc. that closed on February 16, 2024. In addition, the Company anticipates filing the Required Interim Filings immediately after the filing of the Required Annual Filings.
Except as herein disclosed, there are no material changes to the information contained in the Default Announcement. In addition, (i) the Company is satisfying and confirms that it intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the delay in filing the Required Annual Filings and/or Required Interim Filings is continuing, each of which will be issued in the form of a press release; (ii) the Company does not have any information at this time regarding any anticipated specified default subsequent to the default in filing the Required Annual Filings and Required Interim Filings; (iii) the Company is not subject to any insolvency proceedings; and (iv) there is no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed.
About BioVaxys Technology Corp.
BioVaxys Technology Corp. (www.biovaxys.com), a biopharmaceuticals company registered in British Columbia, Canada, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patient lives with novel immunotherapies based on the DPX™ immune-educating technology platform and it’s HapTenix© ‘neoantigen’ tumor cell construct platform, for treating cancers, infectious disease, antigen desensitization, and other immunological fields. The Company’s clinical stage pipeline includes maveropepimut-S which is in Phase II clinical development for advanced Relapsed-Refractory Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) and platinum resistant ovarian cancer, and BVX-0918, a personalized immunotherapeutic vaccine using it proprietary HapTenix© ‘neoantigen’ tumor cell construct platform which is soon to enter Phase I in Spain for treating refractive late-stage ovarian cancer. The Company is also capitalizing on its tumor immunology know-how and creation of a unique library of T-lymphocytes & other datasets post-vaccination with its personalized immunotherapeutic vaccines to utilize predictive algorithms and other technologies to identify new targetable tumor antigens. BioVaxys common shares are listed on the CSE under the stock symbol “BIOV” and trade on the Frankfurt Bourse (FRA: 5LB) and in the US (OTCQB: BVAXF). For more information, visit www.biovaxys.com and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Signed “James Passin“
James Passin, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +1 646 452 7054
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