November 12, 2021

McKinsey & Company Launches CustomerOne to Help Marketers Unlock Growth

End-to-end personalization and customer value management offering drives a 10 to 20 percent revenue lift for organizations

NEW YORK and LONDON, Nov. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — McKinsey & Company today announced the launch of CustomerOne, a proven approach and comprehensive toolkit designed to help organizations accelerate personalization and customer value management. CustomerOne draws on advanced analytics, ready-to-use assets and tools, and agile principles to optimize each stage of the customer journey. This offering helps organizations shift from business-driven campaigns to customer-centric, data-driven campaigns that are connected, intuitive, and personalized. It is derived from a battle-tested approach that has helped marketing teams realize up to a 10 to 20 percent revenue lift.

End-to-End Personalization, Every Time
Consumers today have a heightened desire for personalization and authenticity – a desire for the right offering, content, and experience. They are fickler, prone to change, and less loyal. Recent McKinsey research shows that roughly 40 percent of consumers have changed brands or retailers over the past 18 months, and more than 80 percent of those intend to continue with these newfound shopping and purchase behaviors.

Many organizations cannot sufficiently respond to their customers’ needs due to isolated and incomplete data, incomplete analytics and insights on their customers, and siloed organizational structures.

CustomerOne delivers business impact by surfacing deep consumer insights, unlocking opportunities quickly through AI-driven technology, and rapidly enhancing the range of tools a team can deploy. It pairs this with a proven agile way of working and approach to capability building – driving lasting impact. Organizations adopting this accelerated path to customer value can realize twice the impact in half the time.

“The leaders who achieve the best results from personalization and customer value management focus on long-term drivers of growth and emphasize customer lifetime value. It’s a force multiplier and a business necessity,” said Greg Kelly, senior partner and global leader for the Marketing & Sales Practice at McKinsey & Company. “Those who can activate the capability at scale can put customer lifetime value on a new trajectory – driving double-digit revenue growth, superior retention, and richer, long-term relationships.”

“The results we’re seeing – for example, driving a threefold increase of cross-product sales at a telco provider – are a testament to the power of CustomerOne. This approach delivered more than $100 million in less than 20 weeks at an iconic retailer and reduced mortgage churn at a retail bank by 20 percent.”

Personalization Propels Outperformance
By combining a robust and agile operating model with cross-functional capability building to get personalized marketing into production, marketing teams can focus on rapid activation, testing and learning, and driving impact.

Furthermore, CustomerOne gives organizations direct access to McKinsey’s exceptional specialized functions and disciplines, with more than 2,000 marketing experts and more than 180 advanced analytics practitioners.

Five ways CustomerOne helps unlock growth:

It uses state-of-the-art machine learning and advanced analytics, powered by QuantumBlack, to quickly identify and size specific areas where personalization and customer value management can drive disproportionate value.
It uses thousands of algorithms and actionable insights to accelerate value capture – all in a matter of weeks.
It works with any martech stack to drive dynamic segmentation, real-time decisions, and cross-channel “last-mile” delivery.
It uses an agile operating toolkit that has been tested by more than 300 marketing squads, allowing teams to mobilize from day one using out-of-the-box assets, boot-camp-style training, and proprietary workflow-management tool.
It includes cross-functional capability building which empowers teams to run on their own and outperform market disruptors.

About McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm committed to helping organizations realize sustainable, inclusive growth. We work with clients across the private, public, and social sectors to solve complex problems and create positive change for all their stakeholders. We combine bold strategies and transformative technologies to help organizations innovate more sustainably, achieve lasting gains in performance, and build workforces that will thrive for in this generation and the next.

About Marketing & Sales, McKinsey & Company
The mission of the McKinsey Marketing & Sales Practice is to help leaders of both consumer and business-to-business clients create Growth that Matters through meaningful transformations and marketing-driven profit. The practice helps its clients set their strategic direction, develop their marketing and sales capabilities, and connect their organization to realize the full potential of today’s omnichannel opportunities. Clients benefit from McKinsey’s experience in core areas of marketing such as branding, customer insights, marketing ROI, digital marketing, CLM pricing, and sales and channel management.

For further information please contact:
Media Contacts
US : DiGennaro Communications: MaryLiz Ghanem McKinsey-DiGennaro@digennaro-usa.com / 917-518-8422
UK : 3THINKRS : Ruth Jones / Becca Ross mckinsey@3thinkrs.com / 0208 0872843

November 12, 2021

South African Qualification Authority and World Education Services Partner to Facilitate Qualifications Recognition for Refugees and Displaced People in South Africa

OTTAWA, Nov. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Last night, at the Groningen Declaration Network annual meeting, the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) and World Education Services (WES) signed a partnership agreement that will ensure eligible refugees and displaced individuals can have their qualifications assessed and recognized in South Africa.

A significant number of individuals seeking SAQA’s foreign evaluation services are refugees and those who have been forcibly displaced. They often face challenges in meeting SAQA’s application criteria to have their qualifications assessed for recognition.

WES will serve as a collaborative partner to SAQA in developing a pilot initiative in line with its Recognition Model for Refugees and Asylum Seekers to assess and recognize the credentials of those with incomplete or partial documentation. The one-year pilot will begin in 2022 to develop a customized model for South Africa that incorporates global best practices–including the methodology developed by WES through its Gateway Program, the UNESCO Qualifications Passport, as well as practices from the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT). This unique pilot in South Africa will build on established practices and expand into the principles of RPL (recognition of prior learning)-informed documentation process used by WES in its assessment of credentials and qualifications of refugees and displaced individuals.

WES developed a recognized model for evaluating incomplete or partial documentary evidence in 2016. Canada was welcoming thousands of Syrian refugees who were educated and skilled but left their home with little to nothing. They faced challenges in proving their academic qualifications which was preventing them from being able to continue their education or find employment in Canada. After a successful pilot, the program scaled to what is now the WES Gateway Program that assesses the educational credentials of individuals in the U.S. and Canada who have been displaced due to adverse circumstances in their country of education and have limited proof of academic achievements.

“There are millions of people across the globe who are being forcibly displaced. It is imperative that there are appropriate systems in place to ensure that education and skills are recognized—no matter where someone lands. WES is honored to work with SAQA in building and testing a method that works for South Africa,” says WES’ CEO and Executive Director, Esther T. Benjamin.

In her statement, SAQA CEO, Dr Julie Reddy added, “SAQA is committed to providing lifelong learning opportunities, and enabling access to meaningful and sustainable livelihood opportunities to all people who live in South Africa. We welcome this opportunity to work with WES on this exciting and innovative project to validate and recognise the qualification achievements of the refugee community in South Africa.”

About WES

WES is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees to achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. For more than 45 years, WES has set the standard of excellence in the field of international academic credential evaluation. Through WES Global Talent Bridge, the organization joins with institutional partners, community-based organizations, and policymakers to help immigrants and refugees who hold international credentials fully to utilize their talents and education to achieve their academic and professional goals. Its philanthropic arm, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund, supports catalytic leaders and organizations working to build inclusive economies and to ensure that immigrants and refugees can achieve their aspirations and thrive.

About SAQA

SAQA is a statutory entity that was established over 25 years ago to design and implement a transformative National Qualifications Framework to reform and integrate a fractured education and training system. It is the only entity mandated by the South African National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to provide an evaluation and advisory service to recognise the foreign qualifications of its citizens and foreign persons who seek to pursue further studies and work opportunities in South Africa. SAQA is a key player in the implementation of the Addis Ababa Convention which provides a framework for the recognition of academic qualifications throughout Africa and has a special clause on creating a special dispensation for the recognition of qualifications of refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced persons.

For more information, contact: Anne Greenwood, Associate Director, Strategic Communications and Marketing, Canada, World Education Services. T: 416.972.5045 E: agreenwood@wes.org

November 12, 2021

Noteworthy Renal Research Progress Highlighted by George Clinical Scientific Leaders During ASN Kidney Week

OVERLAND PARK, KS., Nov. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — New kidney and metabolic research involving George Clinical teams and scientific leaders has received global attention during the 2021 American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week including contributions featured as abstracts, poster sessions, publications and presentations.

Despite the restrictions of a global pandemic, meaningful renal clinical research has advanced with the support of the organization over the past year with a broad set of studies concluding or continuing in chronic kidney disease (CKD), IgA nephropathy (IgAN), and a large-scale pooled analyses on kidney health outcomes.

Scientific leaders Vivekanand Jha, MD and Hiddo Jan L Heerspink, PhD authored posters, oral abstracts and spoke on panels of international interest. Demonstrating the depth and breadth of ongoing renal research Professor Jha’s contributions included the Effects of daprodustat on Hemoglobin and Quality of Life in Patients with CKD: Results of the ASCEND-NHQ, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study for which George Clinical provided scientific leadership and project operations. Professor Heerspink’s widespread renal progress evaluated new therapies for IgAN, the effects of multiple medications for patients with CKD and biomarkers that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of new renoprotective drugs.

“This impressive collection of studies represent not only the vanguard of renal clinical research but also meaningful progress in the field that will positively impact patient care and advance subsequent research for years to come,” said Chief Medical Officer Maria Ali.

In addition, the work of several other George Clinical scientific leaders and cross-functional teams was presented comprising: Dr. Jonathan Barratt’s work with The ALIGN study, a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Atrasentan in patients with IgAN for which George Clinical provides scientific leadership and Dr. David Wheeler’s work on the effects of canagliflozin (CANA) on kidney outcomes which is a pooled analyses from the CANVAS and CREDENCE programs where George Clinical provides global scientific leadership, steering committee management, endpoint adjudication, and operational support.

Kidney and metabolic scientific leaders Dr. Martin Gallagher Dr. Adrian Liew, Dr. Roberto Pecotis-Filho and Dr. Muh Geot Wong also were highlighted for their work in numerous studies during Kidney Week.

About George Clinical

George Clinical is a leading global clinical research organization founded in Asia-Pacific driven by scientific expertise and operational excellence. With over 20 years of experience and more than 350 people managing 38 geographical locations throughout the USA, Asia-Pacific region and Europe, George Clinical provides the full range of clinical trial services to biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic customers, for all trial phases, registration and post-marketing trials.

Contact: mreabold@georgeclinical.com

Website: https://www.georgeclinical.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/george-clinical-pty-ltd

Twitter: https://twitter.com/george_clinical

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgeclinical

For more information, contact:

Donna McDonnell

Business Development Administrator

M +1-901-229-5345

E dmcdonnell@georgeclinical.com

W georgeclinical.com | georgeinstitute.org

Donna McDonnell
George Clinical
901-229-5345
dmcdonnell@georgeclinical.com

November 12, 2021

Digihost to Commence Trading on Nasdaq on Monday, November 15

TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Digihost Technology Inc. (“Digihost” or the “Company”) (TSXV: DGHI; OTCQB: HSSHD), an innovative North American-based Bitcoin self-mining company, today announced that the Company has been approved to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”), and that trading on Nasdaq is expected to begin on Monday, November 15, 2021, under the symbol “DGHI.” The ticker used for Digihost’s shares traded over-the-counter (OTC) under the current symbol “HSSHD” will seamlessly transition to the new ticker symbol “DGHI” on the first day of trading on Nasdaq. Digihost will also retain its listing on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “DGHI.”

The Company expects the Nasdaq listing to enhance its investor profile and increase liquidity for its shareholders.

“A key goal of Digihost has been to provide our investors with greater liquidity through the listing of our shares on a major United States stock exchange. We believe that uplisting the Company’s shares from the OTC market to Nasdaq will also provide the Company with increased access to capital and institutional recognition. We are excited about this significant milestone for the Company and our shareholders and look forward to continuing to implement our growth strategy and building value for our shareholders,” commented Michel Amar, the Company’s CEO.

H.C. Wainwright & Co. served as advisor to Digihost in connection with the Nasdaq listing, and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP represented the Company as U.S. legal counsel in connection with the Nasdaq listing. Peterson McVicar LLP serves as Canadian counsel to the Company.

About Digihost Technology Inc.

Digihost Technology Inc. is a growth-oriented blockchain technology company primarily focused on Bitcoin mining. Through its self-mining operations and joint venture agreements, the Company is currently hashing at a rate of 400PH with plans to expand to a hashrate of 3.6 EH by the end of 2022.

For further information, please contact:

Digihost Technology Inc.
www.digihost.ca
Michel Amar, Chief Executive Officer
T: 1-818-280-9758
Email: michel@digihostblockchain.com

Cautionary Statement
Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking information”) that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking information in this news release includes expectations in respect to listing and trading on Nasdaq and future plans and objectives of the Company. Other forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information concerning: hashrate expansion, diversification of operations, potential further improvements to profitability and efficiency across mining operations, potential for the Company’s long-term growth, and the business goals of the Company factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: trading volume, volatility and other factors affecting liquidity and prices for the common shares on Nasdaq; continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s performance as supply chains are disrupted and prevent the Company from operating its assets; a decrease in cryptocurrency pricing, volume of transaction activity or generally, the profitability of cryptocurrency mining; further improvements to profitability and efficiency may not be realized; the digital currency market; the Company’s ability to successfully mine digital currency on the cloud; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company’s operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; and other related risks as more fully set out in the Annual Information Form of the Company and other documents disclosed under the Company’s filings at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

November 12, 2021

Barrows Hotel Enterprises Focuses on Hotel Improvements

Barrows Chairman Erwin Jager

Chairman and CEO Erwin Jager of Barrows Hotel Enterprises

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Barrows, the provider of hotel investment and advisory services for hotels in the Middle East and Africa is expanding its professional core activities with Property Improvement Projects and Hotel Improvement Projects As part of the preparations for the scheduled SPAC Merger in 2023.

The organization has been involved in hotel investments since 2008 and advising hotel operators on acquisitions and operational issues. Now that the market is moving strongly, the company sees enormous growth opportunities in the Middle East and Africa to accelerate the implementation of the PIP and HIP activities according to Barrows Chairman Erwin Jager.

Significant investments have been made in recent months in new software that monitors the project management processes of PIPs and HIPs. The first agreements for PIPs have been signed by the various hotel operators and will provide a lot of work for Barrows in the coming months.

“The company will undergo a transition in the next 6 months in its core activities that should increase sales and profits. In addition to the PIP and HIP activities, we are focusing strongly on restructuring 4 and 5 star hotels that have problems as a result of lack of succession, financing problems or other management issues. It is precisely with these activities that we can add our value. We know the market inside out and can apply a wide range of solutions that increase the value of real estate and the operational activities.

The company aims to grow in the coming years through acquisitions within the industry. There is an enormous oversupply of hotels in the market, making improvement plans an absolute necessity to guarantee guest satisfaction and continuity in occupancy. The technology offers so many opportunities that we need to scale up without any doubt. We have no time to lose if we want to achieve our goal,” said Erwin Jager.

Barrows Hotel Enterprises internationally manages over 10,000 hotel rooms in more than 10 countries. The company started in 2008 as a real estate investor in the residential market in Dubai. Since 2012, Barrows has changed its strategy and today the company is fully focused on the fast-growing hotel industry in the MENA region.

For more information:
media@barrowshotels.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9793e80e-4832-4c08-9369-ae1fa3710bfb

November 12, 2021

Regional govt must accommodate cross-border enterprises: Kadin

The Nunukan government must accommodate cross-border enterprises on the Indonesian-Malaysian border as their role is essential for maintaining commodity availability in the border region, the Nunukan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has said.

“Cross-border enterprises are essential for maintaining commodity supply and price stability in Nunukan,” Nunukan Kadin chairperson Irsan Humokor observed on Friday.

The regional authority must address cross-border enterprises’ concern over the lack of proper coordination and control from the authority, despite the enterprises’ importance in maintaining commodity price and supply in Nunukan, Humokor said.

Local cross-border enterprises depend on imports from Malaysia to fulfill local commodity demand, as relying on domestic sources alone would not allow them to meet the demand, he noted.

The regional government could establish an agency or a platform to accommodate the enterprises’ activities, the regional Kadin head suggested.

“Nunukan district or the North Kalimantan authority must coordinate with cross-border enterprises, and they could establish an agency to perform the task,” Humokor said.

The regional authority and local enterprises could then collaborate to ensure commodity price and supply stability in Nunukan or conceive commodity import plans from Malaysia through the established agency, he added.

Despite admitting that cross-border enterprises lack a legal basis to operate, the Kadin head reminded the authority that the situation in the border regions, such as in Nunukan district, is different from other regions in Indonesia that have closer access to major commodity centers.

“If we do not import commodities from Malaysia, Nunukan residents would live under commodity scarcity, as supplies from Makassar and Surabaya are always limited,” Humokor said.

Source: Antara News

November 12, 2021

British Foreign Secretary visits Bogor Creative Center

British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss visited the Bogor Creative Center on Friday to meet with several start-up entrepreneurs expertly mentored by the United Kingdom and Indonesia’s Nurture to Scale Program.

Foreign Secretary Truss arrived at the center located in the Pabaton neighborhood of Bogor Tengah Sub-district, Bogor City, West Java, at around 10:30 a.m. local time.

She was warmly welcomed by both West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil and Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto, who had waited for her to arrive at the Bogor Creative Center.

Her visit to the center, which showcases the creative products of 35 start-up entrepreneurs, mentored in the UK-Indonesia’s scaleup program, is part of her scheduled programs during her visit to Indonesia.

While complying with health protocols during her visit, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss looked enthusiastic to observe the creative products being displayed at the center. Governor Ridwan Kamil and Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto accompanied Truss to see the displayed creative products.

Foreign Secretary Truss’ visit to Indonesia is the last leg of her week-long Southeast Asian trip in her endeavors to intensify UK’s economic and security links with countries in the region.

According to the UK Government’s press release that ANTARA quoted on Friday, the first country that Truss visited was Malaysia before continuing her visit to Thailand and Indonesia.

Foreign Secretary Truss was quoted as saying in a press statement that she was keen to position Britain where the future growth is and to think about who its major partners will be in 2050 and beyond.

“Southeast Asia will be the engine of the global economy, and I want Britain to be part of that, upgrading our economic and security relations with the region to reflect its growing importance,” Truss was quoted as saying.

“Deeper ties are a win-win, delivering jobs and opportunities for British people while ensuring an open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Working with key Southeast Asia partners will help us promote freedom and democracy across the world,” she added.

During her stay in Indonesia, Truss met with her Indonesian counterpart, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, for talks on economic diplomacy and trade and foreign policy issues, including the Myanmar crisis and Afghanistan.

Truss, who studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Merton College, Oxford, would also forge closer ties with Indonesia on counterterrorism and cyber security.

As revealed by the UK Government’s press release, Truss is also scheduled to meet the ASEAN Secretary General to discuss deepening ties and working together to help the region build back better.

Truss was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs on September 15, 2021. She was appointed Minister for Women and Equalities on September 10, 2019. She was elected as the Conservative MP for south west Norfolk in 2010. (

Source: Antara News

November 12, 2021

Social Affairs Ministry builds 10 chicken farms in Asmat, Papua

The Ministry of Social Affairs has built 10 chicken farms to encourage strengthening the community’s economy and improve the quality of human resources in Asmat District, Papua Province.

During her visit to one of the chicken farms built in Amagais Village, Der Komur Sub-district, Asmat District, Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini expressed optimism that farms for other animals would be built following the development of chicken farms.

“If the chicken farm is successfully run here, then other farm animals, such as quails or pigs, can be raised,” the minister noted in her statement received here Friday.

The minister expressed hope that the farms that have succeeded, such as the one in Amagais Village, could become an example for other villages.

“This farm can be developed as a business that increases (the residents’) income. It should be managed well,” she remarked.

Asmat District Head Elisa Kambu expressed gratitude for the assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Minister Rismaharini’s visit and assistance is an honor and a form of love for the community in Asmat, he affirmed.

According to the district head, the chicken farm is a means to support the improvement of community nutrition, as the eggs from chickens are valuable for protein intake. People can also sell eggs to increase their income.

On the same occasion, a community leader from the Roman Catholic Diocese of AgatsMonsinyur Aloysius Murwito assessed that the social affairs minister’s visit demonstrated the government’s genuine intention to help boost the community’s welfare.

He urged the community to work diligently and optimize the assistance that has been provided to improve their standard of living.

The assistance to build chicken farms was the result of cooperation between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Agats. As many as 10 chicken farms spread across eight sub-districts are established under the program.

Source: Antara News