Latest news with #Zar
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Stablecoin company Zar raises $7 million in round led by Dragonfly Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and VanEck Ventures
While they may be called something different in every country, corner stores offer convenient access to snacks and beverages as well as phone minutes and remittances. The former CEO of a Pakistan-based payments company Brandon Timinsky wants to add stablecoins to the list of what these mom and pop businesses handle. As stablecoins—a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a value in line with the U.S. dollar—become an increasingly integral option for settling cross-border payments, Timinsky wants to make it possible for people to exchange cash for crypto at any corner store with his company Zar. To do so, he has raised $7 million from Dragonfly Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and VanEck Ventures, with additional participation from Coinbase Ventures and the co-founders of the Solana blockchain, to launch Zar's flagship service. The company's valuation in the deal was not disclosed. After founding SadaPay in 2019—and selling it in 2024—Timinsky is seeking to harness the benefits of crypto in emerging markets. Since 2021, stablecoins like USDT and USDC have exploded into a $238 billion industry, including helping people outside of the U.S. settle cross-border payments and protect their wealth from inflation. Timinsky says his company will take advantage of the 28 million global registered mobile money agents—a person or business contracted to offer financial services outside of a bank—who facilitate more than $1.5 trillion worth of financial services annually. 'Zar is tapping into that infrastructure to create a cash for stablecoin exchange in the physical world,' Timinsky told Fortune. 'Like Coinbase is an exchange online, Zar is an exchange that exists in the physical world.' Timinsky said that while Zar is not available to the public yet, nearly 100,000 customers have signed up for a waitlist and about 7,000 vendors have expressed interest in adding its services to their stores. The interest spans 20 countries, he said, including in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Argentina. Zar is not initially targeting the U.S. market. Stablecoin use is not as popular in the U.S. because the local currency tends to be more stable and has more robust payment systems than other countries. It works like this: Customers will walk into a 'bodega' in Colombia or 'kirana store' in Pakistan and scan a QR code. That QR code will link to the Zar app where the customer can review the vendor's ratings, check out other nearby exchanges, and enter how much money they would like to exchange for stablecoins. Then, the customer hands over their cash and the stablecoins are deposited into their digital wallet. Vendors will be able to make money from this service by choosing the exchange rate they will charge customers and adding a margin for themselves to profit, Timinisky said. Additionally, Zar will charge a fee on each transaction which may vary by country. Zar's funding announcement is part of a growing movement of stablecoin companies trying to implement the underlying infrastructure to facilitate transactions for the class of cryptocurrency. A company called Rain issues credit cards to customers who want to settle transactions in stablecoins. Another company, Plasma, is building a blockchain specifically designed for stablecoin transactions. Timinsky says he plans to launch his service by the end of the summer. The company will use the money raised in this round to expand its team, add office space, and continue building out its technology. This story was originally featured on
Al-Ahram Weekly
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Not to be missed: From Alexandria, Aswan film festivals to Samih Sawiris on piano, Jazz Day, El-Masreyeen - Music - Arts & Culture
Ahram Online highlights a selection of do-not-miss events this week from 30 April to 7 May in Cairo, Alexandria, and Aswan. Alexandria Short Film Festival's 11th edition (ASFF) 27 April - 2 May Across several venues in Alexandria The ASFF, organized by the Arts' Circle (Dayret Al-Fann) Association, offers film screenings, panels, workshops, and masterclasses, among others. The films compete in several categories: fiction films, documentary films, animation films, Arab films, and Egyptian student films. Follow the festival's page for more details about its programme. New films across cinemas Thursday, 1 May, brings several new films to movie theatres across Egypt: - Thunderbolts, starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and David Harbour; - Popeye The Slayer Man, starring Jason Robert Stephens, Sarah Nicklin, and Angela Relucio; - Sneaks, starring Martin Lawrence, Keith David, and Lawrence Fishburne; - Daniela Forever, starring Henry Golding and Beatrice Grannò. Mazaher ensemble (Zar) - music Wednesday, 30 April, 8pm Egyptian Centre for Culture & Arts - Makan, 1 Saad Zaghloul Str., Cairo Mazaher is an ensemble where women play a leading role. Its music is inspired by the three different musical styles of the Zar tradition practised in Egypt. Um Sameh, Um Hassan, and Nour El-Sabah, the musicians of Mazaher, are among the last remaining Zar practitioners in Egypt. El-Masreyeen band and Ziad Zaza - music Thursday, 1 May, 5pm Greek Campus, 171 Tahrir Str., Downtown, Cairo The band, one of the most famous Egyptian bands during the past few decades, was launched in 1977 by composer and conductor Hany Shenouda. This year, its fame shone again after its music was featured in the series Hala Khassa. The band is regularly performing in different venues. Egyptian rapper Ziad Zaza began his musical career three years ago. He released five EPs, two albums, and several singles. His song Dayra (2022) has garnered over 3.6 million views on YouTube. Ali Omar El-Farouk & Ahmed Harfoush - music Thursday, 1 May, 8pm Room Art Space & Café, 10 Etehad Al Mohamin Str., Garden City Dubbed "The Greatest Egyptian and American Songs," the evening will present a selection of jazz and pop classics from the golden era of music, featuring songs by Cole Porter, Abdel-Wahab, George Gershwin, Fareed El-Atrash, Jerome Kern, and Kamal El-Taweel. The night will be filled with nostalgia, music, and escape with the guitar and vocal sounds of Ali Omar El-Farouk and Harfoush. El-Farouk is an Egyptian-Canadian guitarist and oud player based in Montreal and Cairo. He is an active performer, teacher, and composer with a professional career spanning more than two and a half decades. Harfoush is an Egyptian jazz and pop vocalist based in London and has performed around the world for over two decades. Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) - film Friday, 2 May - Wednesday. 7 May The 9th edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival will be held across several venues in the southern city of Aswan. The festival is named after Umm Kalthoum, so the star's face is featured on the AIWFF's poster. This unique event is the brainchild of Mohamed Abdel Khalik, the festival's president, and Hassan Abou Eleila, its director. It is also a platform for films created by women or that tackle women-related issues, featuring workshops, seminars, discussions, and screenings. The AIWFF invites men to conversations and craft talks to build a dynamic balance between the two genders through the topics tackled and the journeys of the movies' creators. Moreover, the festival also plays an educational role. Among its various activities aimed at developing and supporting young and aspiring filmmakers, the festival holds workshops in the weeks leading up to the event. As a result, those from Egypt's south who participate in these workshops start to create short films. Sheikh Mahmoud El-Tohamy - music Friday, 2 May, 8pm Wisdom Hall, El-Sawy Culturewheel, 26th of July Street, Zamalek, Cairo Mahmoud, the son of the famous Sufi chanter Sheikh Yassin El-Tohamy, is among the masters of deeply rooted Islamic musical art. He has performed Sufi poetry chants at traditional Islamic Sunni events across the country, often appearing at significant moulid events in Cairo's Al-Hussein and Al-Sayeda Zeinab districts. El-Tohamy often collaborates with Egyptian Grammy award-winning Fathy Salama and his band Sharkiat in a project launched in 2018, titled Sufism vs. Modernism. Cassette 90 band - music Saturday, 3 May, 8pm Wisdom Hall, El-Sawy Culturewheel, 26th of July Street, Zamalek, Cairo The band consists of eight musicians who revive songs from the 1990s, including those by Egyptian singers Mostafa Amar, Hisham Abbas, Alaa Abdelkhalek, and Ehab Tawfik. International Jazz Day - music Tuesday, 6 May, 8pm Theatro Arkan, Sheikh Zayed City, Cairo International Jazz Day, organized by Cairo Jazz Society, will feature over 40 of Egypt's jazz stars. These include vocalist Noha Fekry, pianist Fathy Salama, guitarist Amer Barakat, and saxophonist Shady El-Qasseer. Abdel-Halim Nowera Ensemble for Arab Music - music Sunday, 4 May, 8pm Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, Zamalek, Cairo In memory of the prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer and composer Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, the ensemble will perform some of his best-known works. The ensemble was founded in 1967 by maestro Abdel-Halim Nowera. Its mission is to revive the authentic musical heritage, presenting various traditional vocal and musical forms. The evening, conducted by maestro Ahmed Amer, will feature singers Ahmed Abdel-Kerim, Rehab Omar, Hossam Hosni, and Essam Mahmoud, among others. Egyptian Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Samih Sawiris - music Wednesday, 7 May, 8pm Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, Zamalek, Cairo The Egyptian Philharmonic Orchestra will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a special concert featuring Samih Sawiris, a well-known Egyptian businessman, who will perform on the piano. Conducted by maestros Ahmed El-Saedi and a guest conductor Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer, the orchestra will perform Joja Wendt's Concert for Piano and Orchestra "The Challenge," followed by Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor. Sawiris, a business tycoon and the executive chairman and CEO of Orascom Development Holding, has been studying piano as a hobby for eight years, supported by El-Saedi. His first appearance on stage was in 2023, accompanied by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, in a grand charity concert in Gouna. Additionally, in the first half of the evening, the Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra, conducted by Tamer Kamal, will perform two pieces: Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre and Breval's Sinfonia Concertante for Flute, Bassoon, and Strings. The soloists of the orchestra are Basma Ahmed on the flute and Mariz Makram on the bassoon. Al Nour Wal Amal, founded in the 1060s, is Egypt's renowned orchestra of blind and visually impaired women musicians. The orchestra has toured the world performing in more than 30 countries across five continents. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
