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Iraq Business
2 days ago
- Business
- Iraq Business
Iraqi Logistics: EQIQ Launches Boxy with $1.5m Pre-Seed Investment
By John Lee. EQIQ, a UAE-based venture capital fund, has unveiled its $1.5 million pre-seed investment in Boxy, which it says is Iraq's first AI-powered logistics aggregator. Boxy aims to unify over 1,500 last-mile couriers into a single intelligent platform, addressing the fragmented logistics landscape in Iraq. EQIQ says Boxy has demonstrated early product-market fit, with consistent high double-digit growth and a recent 100% month-on-month increase in merchant adoption. Emerging from stealth after a year of development, Boxy was co-founded in 2024 by Ahmed Baqer (CEO, picutred left) and Mehrshad Pezeshk (CTO, pictured right), in partnership with EQIQ. Baqer brings over a decade of experience scaling operationally intensive startups such as Careem Iraq and Northladder, while Pezeshk has over 15 years of experience building and exiting tech-driven logistics ventures in the Middle East and North America. According to a press release, EQIQ's greenfield approach positions it as a co-founder of Boxy, providing not just capital but also strategic, operational, and infrastructural support from its Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) headquarters. Mohamed Al-Hakim, Founding Partner at EQIQ, said: "Logistics is the backbone of the daily operations of the tech ecosystem ... Boxy offers a tech-enabled, AI-powered logistics platform that helps merchants scale their businesses. By pairing our resources and networks with exceptional founders with 25+ years of sector expertise, we've built a venture designed to reshape how parcels move across Iraq and, soon, beyond." Boxy's platform uses a proprietary AI-matching engine to assign shipments to the most suitable courier, cutting merchant onboarding time from weeks to hours. Its service streamlines delivery operations by replacing multiple courier dashboards with a single unified interface. The new investment will be used to deepen Boxy's technology stack and expand its operations across Baghdad and other major cities, laying groundwork for a scalable digital infrastructure that supports Iraq's e-commerce and fintech sectors. See our Comprehensive Guide to Logistics in Iraq here. (Source: EQIQ)
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Irdai imposes ₹5 crore fine on Policybazaar for regulatory lapses
Policybazaar, the online aggregator arm, has been fined for violation of provisions of applicable IRDAI Regulations concerning certain aspects of directorships held by Key Managerial Personnel New Delhi Insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (irdai) has fined PB Fintech's online aggregator arm, Policybazaar, and has levied a penalty of ₹5 crore. Policybazaar, the online aggregator arm, has been fined for violation of provisions of applicable IRDAI Regulations concerning certain aspects of directorships held by Key Managerial Personnel (KMPs) and principal officer (PO), product display, Outsourcing Agreements, tagging of policies, and premium remittance, the company said in an exchange filing. The company also added that the regulator inspected Policybazaar in June 2020, following which PB Fintech received a so-called show-cause notice in October 2024.
The Hill
23-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
AllAfrica covers a continent the US is increasingly ignoring
For the staff of the digital news service AllAfrica, this has been a typically frenetic season. The platform is the premier producer and aggregator of content from and about Africa. It reaches tens of millions monthly with news in English and French, coverage usually absent from most Western media. A rare exception was President Trump's May 21 Oval Office ambush of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a propaganda video. Trump claimed South Africa's white Afrikaners were subjects of widespread land confiscations and 'genocide.' Seasoned negotiator Ramaphosa deftly referred questions to his team's Afrikaners: a cabinet minister, a billionaire businessman and a former world golfing champion. The White House confrontation was a 'developing story that isn't going away, and poorly covered — without context — by all major media,' said Dr. Tamela (Tami) Hultman, AllAfrica's co-founder and chief content officer. In fact, many Afrikaners whom the administration has deemed 'refugees' have admitted to accepting free repatriation to find easier jobs. South African polls showed most Afrikaners are uninterested in leaving South Africa. AllAfrica provided that deeper context. Reed Kramer, another co-founder, told me South Africa's concern about Afrikaner disinformation continues as Trump's team uses it to undermine the country's current G-20 inter-governmental economic group presidency. 'We're valued for comprehensive African coverage, not just what U.S. media see as the issue of the moment,' said Hultman. (Full disclosure: Hultman, Kramer and I were classmates at Duke University in the 1960s.) AllAfrica reported on less-noticed news, such as cancelled U.S. funding for HIV and drug-resistant tuberculosis research by South Africa's world-class scientists. Most recently, Hultman said AllAfrica's audience seems more interested in New York City's Democratic mayoral nominee, Uganda-born Zohran Mamdani. Hultman said AllAfrica seeks to spotlight other under-covered issues, such as the Trump administration's desire for minerals from war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, plus Africa's agricultural innovations and entrepreneurial culture. 'It is inexplicable,' she told me, 'that international media have largely ignored the world's worst humanitarian disaster — in Sudan — where U.S. allies support rival combatants who overthrew a democratic government, are stealing the country's gold and creating famine.' Genocide in Sudan's Darfur area, which prompted global outrage in the early 2000s, has returned. AllAfrica was among the first to report South Sudan's refusal to accept eight deportees from Vietnam, Cuba and Mexico, leading to the administration's threatened withdrawal of all South Sudan visas, including that of basketball star Khaman Maluach, just hours before Duke's NCAA Final Four appearance. Further evidence of the administration's devaluing Africa's strategic importance were Pentagon signals of dramatically cutting military assistance and training to African armies fighting insurgencies. The site's groundbreaking coverage of Africa's Covid crisis exposed wealthy nations' failure to share vaccines with African countries, even when South Africa, for example, contracted to package vaccines for export to the U.K. A long-time working relationship with World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his team facilitated that reporting. In its early days, AllAfrica was nominated as ' Best News Site,' alongside Google and BBC, by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The website Media Bias Fact Check wrote, 'Overall, we rate AllAfrica Least Biased based on balanced and diverse story selection and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact check record.' 'For decades, AllAfrica has been indispensable for teaching about Africa,' said Kenneth Vickery, emeritus professor of African history at North Carolina State University. 'Nothing else provides the range, depth and quality of its coverage.' Over 60 percent of AllAfrica's multimedia audience is in Africa, primarily using mobile devices. Users include journalists, heads of state and government, business leaders, scientists and clinicians, human rights organizations and democracy activists. 'We began early on and continue to this day to work with African journalists, some very brave and dedicated people among them,' said Kramer, who has known Ramaphosa since before he became South Africa's president. Still, there is work to be done. On July 9, at a White House meeting of West African leaders, Trump praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for his English skills, wondering, 'Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?' English has been the official language of Liberia for more than 200 years, as it was settled by formerly enslaved African Americans. Hultman and Kramer attribute their career to listening to Africans, beginning with their pioneering on-the-ground research on U.S. corporations supporting apartheid in the 1960s and 1970s. 'We were in the fortunate position of knowing both the activists arising inside South Africa and a network of outside contacts who wanted to support them,' Kramer told an interviewer. 'The concept of a news agency focusing on Africa stemmed from frustration with the lack of news and information.' Last May, Hultman and Kramer, who are married, received Lifetime Achievement Awards during the 2024 African Media Leaders Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, for 'exceptional contributions to media development in Africa.' The third co-founder and AllAfrica's executive chair, Amadou Mahtar Ba from Senegal, said at the ceremony, 'In an era where the media landscape continues to change at a breathtaking pace, Tamela Hultman and Reed Kramer remain beacons of inspiration, reminding us of the enduring power of truth and the boundless potential of digital innovation.' AllAfrica is using artificial intelligence to increase collaborative content creation with staff in Dakar, Cape Town, Nairobi, Monrovia and Washington, D.C. The site will help enable around 100 print and broadcast partners across Africa to use the newest Voice AI and Voice Agent technologies to boost efficiency and revenues. Sustaining an independent news agency is increasingly challenging, Hultman says. But 'covering Africa — with its dynamism, creativity and vast untapped youth market — is critical to United States strategic interests.' AllAfrica's multi-national staff, Hultman and Kramer say, is dedicated to being the voice of 'All Africa All the Time.'
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
New rules for motor vehicle aggregators notified in Chandigarh
Chandigarh: With the Chandigarh administration notifying the 'Chandigarh Administration Motor Vehicles Aggregators Rules, 2025', the aggregators may provide pooling facilities to riders whose details and KYC are available. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now These riders shall be travelling along the same route but with varied stoppages from one point to another under a virtual contract through the app. The rules further stipulate that female passengers seeking to avail themselves of ride pooling shall also be provided the option to pool only with other female passengers. The pooling facilities shall be available within certain kilometres of detour from the route assigned to be undertaken for a destination specified by the first rider in such a vehicle. The Chandigarh Administration may, by way of notification, relax the detour specifications to provide accessibility in urban agglomerations and areas beyond the limits of municipal corporations, stipulate the rules. Special emphasis is laid on the safety of the riders. For this, the rules stipulate ensuring the appropriate functioning of the Global Positioning System (GPS) installed in the vehicle and providing efficient resolution for any issues that may develop in its functioning. The aggregator shall ensure the installation of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices and an Emergency Alert System in vehicles registered in other states also for the safety of passengers as per MoRTH guidelines. Additionally, the aggregator must ensure that the driver plies the vehicle on the route assigned on the app. In non-compliance with the same, a mechanism should be developed wherein the app device indicates the fault to the driver, and the control room of the aggregator immediately communicates with the driver regarding the same. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now To ensure the safety of women employees and drivers, the aggregator should introduce mechanisms to protect their rights, in compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The aggregator must enforce a mechanism on the app to ensure that the identity of the driver undertaking a trip is the same as the one enlisted with the aggregator, requiring verification every time a trip is accepted. Regular spot checks of vehicles should be integrated with the aggregator by personnel authorised by such an aggregator. The rules also aim to regulate fares. The taxi fare shall be notified by the Chandigarh Administration from time to time. The minimum fare chargeable to customers availing themselves of aggregator services shall be for a minimum of 3 kilometres to compensate for dead mileage and the distance travelled and fuel utilised for picking up the customers. The aggregator shall not be permitted to charge more than the taxi fare fixed by the Chandigarh Administration from time to time. However, the aggregator can charge a fare up to 20% lower than the taxi fare fixed by the Chandigarh Administration under intimation to the office of the State Transport Authority, UT Chandigarh. The driver of a vehicle integrated with the aggregator shall receive at least 80% of the fare applicable on each ride, and the remaining charges for each ride shall be received by the aggregator.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kanaan Sellers Group Prepares for Nasdaq Nordic Listing
Set to become Europe's first publicly listed eCommerce aggregator BASEL, Switzerland, June 02, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kanaan Sellers Group ("Kanaan"), a leading European eCommerce aggregator focused on kitchen, home, and outdoor living brands, announces its intention to go public on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market later this year, targeting a valuation around Euro 40mn in early Q4. Founded by former Goldman Sachs Director Mike Vermeulen, Kanaan has built a robust and profitable business model in a challenging eCommerce environment. In an industry that has seen significant transformation including consolidation and shifts in strategies among aggregators, Kanaan has achieved profitable, sustainable growth by acquiring, operating, and scaling high-margin, niche consumer brands. Kanaan's focused and capital-efficient approach – favouring equity financing over venture debt for its initial acquisition phase – has proven to be a winning strategy. Backed by Infinitas Capital, a next-gen single-family office led by Robin Lauber, Kanaan has grown to manage 12 brands across nine European markets, generating seven figure EBITDA in 2024. Kanaan runs a well-diversified product portfolio with over 400 SKUs sold across all major platforms – including Amazon, Otto and Galaxus – while its proprietary direct-to-consumer channels are driving growth and customer engagement. Kanaan has plans to expand beyond Europe into the UK and the US. Mike Vermeulen, CEO and Co-Founder of Kanaan Sellers Group, said: "Over the past three years, we have built a business that not only withstands a challenging market but does so profitably. In a frequently maligned sector, we have emerged as a standout performer. What sets us apart is our disciplined approach to capital allocation and acquisitions, even during market highs; best-in-class working capital financing; and an experienced team of professionals in finance, supply chain, and e-commerce. This is an opportune moment in the market, where high quality brands are available at extremely attractive valuations, and we have a proven business model to scale them. "A Nasdaq Nordic listing would reflect both the strength of our European operations and the appeal of the region's diverse and engaged investors. It marks the next step in our growth and will provide a strong capital base to accelerate expansion." Kanaan's agile and opportunistic approach capitalises on the unique post-pandemic window of opportunity. This ability to act quickly in a buyer's market has allowed Kanaan to acquire quality, founder-led brands at compelling valuations. Kanaan's flagship brand, Springlane, demonstrates the company's value creation strategy. A multi-category kitchen brand active in six countries, Springlane continues to contribute substantially towards overall revenues. It is a true multi-channel business, and direct-to-consumer channels are supported by original content and a loyal customer base. It is a case in point of Kanaan's ability to scale and integrate acquisitions, and serves as a repeatable blueprint for future growth. The proposed IPO will provide growth capital and increased market visibility, strengthening Kanaan's ability to acquire and partner with founder-led business. As the global eCommerce retail market continues its upward trajectory, expected to reach $6.5 trillion by 2028, Kanaan is uniquely positioned to lead value-driven consolidation across a fragmented and undervalued sector. Robin Lauber, Founder of Infinitas Capital, commented: "We are extremely proud to support Kanaan Sellers Group as they continue to demonstrate their ability to create lasting value. Mike and the team have built a profitable growth engine, driven by a clear strategy of identifying value, executing quickly, and integrating effectively. As they prepare to enter the public markets, we look forward to their continued success as they lead the next wave of eCommerce consolidation." View source version on Contacts For more information, visit or contact: RosewoodEmail: media@ Phone: +44 (0)20 7653 8702 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
