منطقة البحر الكاريبي: الملاذ الأفضل للأثرياء من جميع أنحاء العالم

دبي، الإمارات العربية المتحدة, 7 فبراير / شباط 2022 /PRNewswire/ —يشهد عالم الأعمال حاليًا زيادة كبيرة في عدد الأثرياء الذين يرغبون في الحصول على جواز سفر كاريبي عن طريق الاستثمار؛ وهو ما أسهم إلى حدٍ كبير في زيادة الانتعاش الاقتصادي لدول منطقة البحر الكاريبي.

وفي مقابلة أُجريت مؤخرًا مع الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة CTrustGlobal، أشار إلى حدوث زيادة كبيرة في نسبة الطلبات المقدّمة للشركة للحصول على جنسية ثانية؛ معظمها من دول نامية، منها، على سبيل المثال لا الحصر: باكستان والهند ودول الشرق الأوسط.

وقال الرئيس التنفيذي للشركة: «يُتيح الحصول على جنسية ثانية للأفراد السفر بدون تأشيرة إلى العديد من الدول في العالم. وتُعدّ برامج الحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار التي توفرها دول منطقة البحر الكاريبي من أفضل البرامج في العالم؛ وذلك لمرونتها التي تُتيح للأفراد من الأثرياء الاستثمار في العقارات وتأسيس أعمال تجارية دون إجراءات معقدّة».

وأردف بقوله: «إذا كنت شخصًا ثريًا لا تعتمد على وظيفة ولديك رغبة في السفر إلى دولة أخرى والاستثمار فيها، فإنّ برامج “الحصول على جنسية ثانية عن طريق الاستثمار” هي أفضل وأسهل وسيلة لتحقيق رغبتك».

وأضاف: «توفّر معظم الدول برامج للحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار، والاختلاف بين هذه البرامج يتمثل في المدّة الزمنية اللازمة للحصول على الجنسية وتكلفتها؛ لذا يجب على كل من يرغب في الحصول على جنسية ثانية من خلال هذه البرامج أن يدرس كل برنامج منها بعناية لكي يتمكّن من اتخاذ قراره وفقًا لميزانيته وشروط البرامج».

ما الوجهة المفضلة للأثرياء في الوقت الحالي؟

يقول الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة CTrustGlobal: «وجهتهم المفضلة هي جزر منطقة البحر الكاريبي بلا شك؛  فجوازات السفر الكاريبية تُتيح لحامليها السفر بدون تأشيرة إلى ما يقرب من 140 إلى 160 دولة».

وفيما يلي نظرة سريعة على أسباب اهتمام المستثمرين الكبير بهذه المنطقة:

الانتعاش الاقتصادي القوي

منطقة البحر الكاريبي هي منطقة يعتمد دخلها بشكل رئيسي على السياحة، ولا تزال واحدة من أبرز الوجهات السياحية في العالم؛ على الرغم من تعرضها المستمر لعواصف استوائية وأعاصير.

تزداد وتيرة وشدّة هذه العواصف الاستوائية والأعاصير بسبب تغيّر المناخ، ويكون بعضها مدمرًا تمامًا لأنشطة شركات السياحة العاملة في المنطقة؛ ومع ذلك، تكيّفت العديد من هذه الشركات مع هذا الوضع واعتادت على استئناف أعمالها في مختلف الظروف.

وقد أثرت جائحة كوفيد-19 على هذه المنطقة بدرجة أكبر من تأثيرها على غيرها من المناطق في العالم؛ حيث عانت المنطقة من إغلاق الحدود وإلغاء الرحلات الجوية، كما توقفت البواخر السياحية تقريبًا عن العمل؛ وهو ما أثر على حياة عشرات الآلاف من الأشخاص في هذه المنطقة.

وقد أظهر تقرير صادر عن المنظمة الكاريبية للسياحة حدوث انخفاض كبير في عدد السياح الوافدين في عام 2020 مقارنة بعام 2019؛ حيث انخفض عدد السياح بنسبة 65٪؛ وهي النسبة الأكبر في تاريخ هذه المنطقة.

وعلى الرغم من هذه التحديات، يتزايد عدد الأثرياء الذين يتطلعون إلى زيارة هذه المنطقة والاستثمار فيها؛ وأحد أسباب ذلك هو قدرة المنطقة على التكيّف السريع مع جميع الأوضاع والظروف المستجدة.

ويشير خبراء إلى أنّ دول منطقة البحر الكاريبي كانت أسرع من غيرها من الدول في تنفيذ التدابير اللازمة لمواجهة هذه الجائحة؛ حيث عاد السياح لزيارتها مرة أخرى بشكل أسرع مقارنة بغيرها من الوجهات السياحية. كما تفوق أدائها في التعامل مع الجائحة على أداء العديد من المناطق الأخرى في العالم، والتي شهدت انخفاضات أكثر حدّة في عدد السياح.

ويُعدّ هذا الاقتصاد القوي أحد العوامل الرئيسية التي تُسهم في اهتمام العديد من المستثمرين في جميع أنحاء العالم بالاستثمار في هذه المنطقة.

كما تُحقق بعض دول منطقة البحر الكاريبي أعلى معدّلات الاستثمار الأجنبي المباشر على مستوى العالم؛ حيث تزيد نسبة صافي تدفقات الاستثمار الأجنبي المباشر من الناتج المحلي الإجمالي لاقتصادات هذه الدول على 10٪.

وعلى الرغم من أنّ الأزمة المالية العالمية التي حدثت في عام 2008 قد قللت بدرجة كبيرة من تدفقات الاستثمار الأجنبي المباشر إلى المنطقة، فقد شهدت المنطقة انتعاشًا كبيرًا في الآونة الأخيرة؛ ولا تزال حتى الآن واحدة من الوجهات الاقتصادية المهمّة على مستوى العالم.

أفضل برامج الحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار على مستوى العالم

برامج الحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار هي برامج تُتيح للأفراد الحصول على جنسية ثانية وجواز سفر ثانٍ من خلال الاستثمار؛ حيث تُمكّنهم هذه البرامج من شراء عقارات في الدولة المضيفة للتأهل للحصول على جنسيتها أو التبرع لصناديق التنمية الخاصة بكل منهم؛ وهي طريقة أسرع بكثير من طرق الهجرة التقليدية للحصول على الجنسية.

ومن خلال هذه البرامج، لا يضطر المستثمرون لزيارة الدولة المضيفة أو الإقامة فيها؛ لذا فهي تتفوق على غيرها من الطرق التقليدية للحصول على جنسية ثانية، كما توفر للمستثمرين فرصًا متنوعة للاستثمار في جميع أنحاء العالم لما تتمتع بها هذه الدول من علاقات بدوا عديدة حول العالم.

وبفضل الإجراءات الميسرة لهذه البرامج بالرغم من قيامهم بالعناية اللازمة لكل مقدم طلب، يمكن لمقدّمي طلبات الحصول على جنسية من خلال الاستثمار الحصول على الموافقات اللازمة خلال ثلاثة أشهر تقريبًا، كما يمكنهم الحصول على الجنسية وجواز سفر يسهل السفر بدون تأشيرة إلى العديد من الدول، والعديد من المزايا الأخرى.

وهذه المزايا تحديدًا هي ما يبحث عنها المستثمرون من دول العالم الثالث والدول النامية؛ فهي لم تعد مجرد ترف بالنسبة لهم، بل أصبحت ضرورة.

وفيما يلي معلومات موجزة عن الدولتين اللتين لديهما أكبر عدد من المتقدمين في منطقة البحر الكاريبي:

الهند

أشار بيان صحفي صادر عن صحيفة Business Standard إلى حدوث زيادة في عدد الأثرياء الهنود الذين يستثمرون في منطقة البحر الكاريبي للحصول علي الجنسية الثانية. ويرجع السبب في ذلك إلى الفرص المتعدّدة التي توفرها لهم هذه المنطقة لتنويع استثماراتهم.

يشهد قطاع الرعاية الصحية في البلاد ظروفًا غير مستقرة نتيجة تأثر أدائه بدرجة كبيرة بسبب الجائحة، كما تؤثر القواعد الضريبية الأساسية المطبّقة في الهند على استثمارات المستثمرين؛ لذا فهم يتطلعون إلى تأمين حياة أفضل لعائلاتهم والحفاظ على أصولهم المالية بدرجة أكثر استقرارًا.

وقد كشفت تقارير صادرة عن شركة CTrustGlobal عن حدوث زيادة كبيرة في استثمارات كبار المستثمرين الهنود في دول أخرى. (يوجد بالهند 7000 مليونير تقريبًا لا تقل ثرواتهم عن 30 مليون دولار أمريكي، وأكثر من 100 ملياردير).

كما ذكر تقرير “استعراض اتجاهات هجرة الثروات العالمية” (Global Wealth Migration Review) أنّ ما يقرب من 5000 مليونير منهم هاجروا إلى خارج البلاد في عام 2020 فقط؛ وقد توجه عدد كبير منهم إلى منطقة البحر الكاريبي.

تجدر الإشارة إلى أنّ الحكومة الهندية قد طبّقت في السنوات القليلة الماضية سياسات مرنة تُتيح للأثرياء الهنود الاستثمار في دول أخرى؛ وهو ما مكّنهم من الحصول على جنسيات هذه الدول.

وترجع الزيادة المستمرة في أعداد المستثمرين الهنود في منطقة البحر الكاريبي إلى توفير دول هذه المنطقة لأفضل برامج للحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار على مستوى العالم، فضلًا عن رغبتهم في تنويع استثماراتهم وتأمين حياة أفضل لعائلاتهم.

نيجيريا

على الرغم من تمتع نيجيريا بموارد هائلة، يواجه الأثرياء من النيجيريين الكثير من القيود المفروضة على سفرهم للعديد من دول العالم؛ ويرجع السبب في ذلك إلى أنّ جواز السفر النيجيري يسمح لصاحبه بالسفر بدون تأشيرة مسبقة إلى ما يقرب من 54 دولة فقط؛ منها دول إفريقية.

ويُعدّ الرقم المذكور صغيرًا جدًا إذا ما قورن بعدد الوجهات التي توفرها جوازات سفر دول أخرى مجاورة لنيجيريا مثل غانا والكاميرون وكوت ديفوار؛ حيث تُتيح جوازات سفر هذه الدول لحامليها السفر إلى العديد من الدول المتقدّمة مثل الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وبعض الدول الأوروبية.

ويمثّل الحصول على جنسية دومينيكا  عن طريق الاستثمار فرصة مثالية للمستثمرين النيجيريين لتنويع استثماراتهم؛ حيث يُتيح لهم حمل جواز السفر الكاريبي إلى جانب جواز السفر النيجيري زيارة أكثر من 150 دولة على مستوى العالم، منها دول اقتصادية كبرى مثل المملكة المتحدة والولايات المتحدة وروسيا والصين.

تتميّز برامج الحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار في دول منطقة البحر الكاريبي بإجراءاتها السريعة والبسيطة التي تُتيح للمتقدمين الحصول على جواز السفر الكاريبي خلال ثلاثة أشهر تقريبًا؛ ويُتيح لهم هذا الجواز السفر بدون تأشيرة إلى أكثر من 200 دولة إضافة إلى العديد من المزايا الأخرى.

كما يُتيح جواز السفر الكاريبي لحامليه من المستثمرين الحصول على إعفاءات ضريبية متعدّدة؛ فليست هناك ضرائب مفروضة على الدخل أو الهدايا أو الميراث أو الثروة، كما يمكّنهم من إلحاق أبنائهم بأفضل المؤسسات التعليمية. ويُعدّ الحصول على هذا الجواز فرصة رائعة لأيّ مستثمر إفريقي يرغب في الوصول بسهولة إلى الأسواق العالمية.

أسباب أخرى

هناك العديد من الأسباب الأخرى التي جعلت من منطقة البحر الكاريبي وجهة مفضلة للأثرياء في جميع أنحاء العالم، ومن بين هذه الأسباب:

البيئة الآمنة

تتمتع جميع دول هذه المنطقة بمعدّل نمو اقتصادي مستقر يبلغ 5٪ سنويًا تقريبًا ويعتمد بشكل رئيسي على قطاع السياحة؛ وهو ما يجعل منها وجهة مثالية للمستثمرين.

السياسات الضريبية المرنة

لا تفرض دول منطقة البحر الكاريبي مثل “غرينادا – دومينيكا … الخ” على المستثمرين ضرائب على الدخل المكتسب من دول أجنبية أخرى أو على الممتلكات أو الهدايا أو الثروات أو الميراث. كما تُقدّم هذه الدول حوافز ضريبية للشركات لجذب المزيد من المستثمرين، بالإضافة إلى إعفاءات ضريبية على الواردات. ولا تضع هذه الدول حدًا معينًا لتدفقات رؤوس أموال المستثمرين أو أرباح مشاريعهم المرسلة إلى دولهم الأصلية؛ وهذه عروض جذابة بالفعل للمستثمرين.

نوعية الحياة الممتازة

تسمح برامج الحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار في منطقة البحر الكاريبي للمستثمرين الاحتفاظ بجنسياتهم الأصلية. وتتميّز بعض دول هذه المنطقة، مثل غرينادا ، بانخفاض تكاليف المعيشة فيها، كما تُتيح هذه الدول للمستثمرين الحاصلين على جنسياتها الهجرة إلى الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية باستخدام تأشيرة E2؛ والتي تُمكّنهم من تأسيس أعمال تجارية في الولايات المتحدة وتطويرها وإدارتها. وبالإضافة إلى ذلك، سيكون لزوجات المستثمرين الحق في الحصول على وظائف، كما سيتمكن أطفالهم من الذهاب إلى المدارس التي يختارونها في حال حصلوا علي تأشيرة الهجرة المذكورة.

الخلاصة

تُعدّ برامج الحصول على الجنسية عن طريق الاستثمار في منطقة البحر الكاريبي فرصة ممتازة للأثرياء الذين يرغبون في الحصول على فرص استثمارية أفضل؛ حيث تُطبّق دول هذه المنطقة سياسات أكثر شمولًا ورواجًا لجذب الاستثمار الأجنبي المباشر مقارنة بأيّ منطقة أخرى في العالم؛ وتُسهم هذه السياسات في استقرار النمو الاقتصادي لهذه الدول، وتوفير بيئة مثالية للمستثمرين؛ وهو ما يُفسر اهتمامهم الكبير بالاستثمار في هذه المنطقة.

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Luxcore, Inc. Announces Production Release of LambdaXchange™ Cloud Data Infrastructure Platform

– Signs 3-year exclusive agreement with the State of the African Diaspora (SOAD) to provide cloud data infrastructure platform, products, and services

– LambdaXchange™ will support SOAD’s digital mobile banking services, central bank digital currencies, derivative cryptocurrencies and exchanges, mobile and e-commerce services to their potential global market of 1.7 billion people

– Company to access private capital markets to further scale cloud data infrastructure platform

ATLANTA, Feb. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Luxcore, Inc., an early-stage cloud data infrastructure provider, announced today the production release of its LambdaXchange™ cloud data infrastructure platform, an AI-enabled distributed ledger technology platform for the intelligent routing, switching and transport of data with exchange points in Miami, Dallas and Atlanta.

Luxcore

In conjunction with this initial production release, on January 8, 2022, Luxcore signed its first multinational enterprise customer with the Government of the State of the African Diaspora (SOAD). SOAD is a Treaty Member of the Economic Community of States, Nations, Territories and Realms of the 6th Region of Africa. Through this exclusive three-year agreement, Luxcore will provide its LambdaXchange™ cloud data infrastructure platform, products, and services in support of digital mobile banking services, central bank digital currencies, derivative cryptocurrencies and exchanges, mobile and e-commerce services to SOAD’s global market of potentially 1.7 billion people.

“Our Parliament recently passed a law establishing our Code of Nationality and Citizenship: thus, the African Diaspora and also the Africans on the continent shall be eligible for SOAD’s digital ID,” said Dr Louis-Georges Tin, Prime Minister of SOAD. The ID Card will function as a Multi-Card. This historic initiative will provide digital services such as giving access to elections, our education system, banking and crypto services, e-commerce and more. We are excited to partner with Luxcore as our exclusive cloud services technology provider to help SOAD fulfil its goals and to enhance the lives of potentially 1.7 billion people globally.”

Luxcore’s Cloud Data Infrastructure Platform and core services will enable SOAD’s Global Data Infrastructure with dedicated physical and virtual data computing, storage, and transport technologies to support the SOAD and its forthcoming digital ecosystem. These worldwide applications and services include:

  • Internet Network Access Points (NAPs) globally (for broadband Internet access)
  • SOAD Citizenship ID App
  • SOAD Digital Passports
  • Mobile Digital Wallet(s)
  • Access to Centralized and Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchange services
  • Access to payments-processing platforms and transaction settlement services
  • Support for Merchant Exchanges for e-commerce and m-commerce
  • Future DApp and App Development

“Luxcore is one of the first cloud computing service providers whose core cloud data infrastructure platform is vertically integrated, from our photonic integrated circuit processors, redefined as layer one, through the higher integrated network layers to the application stack, which provides enhanced speed, scalability, and security for future Web3 digital apps and services,” said Gerald Ramdeen, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Luxcore, Inc.

Capital Raise to Scale Cloud Data Infrastructure Platform

In a return to the private capital markets, Luxcore has announced a capital raise to scale its cloud data infrastructure platform from supporting 2 million Monthly Average User (“MAU”) subscriptions and 2,000 concurrent transactions per second today to 50 million global MAU’s, using its digital ID tokenization and digital wallet services at higher performance and transaction speeds. As a private secondary market transaction, interested accredited, institutional investors can find more information on the Company’s website and its electronic data room, facilitated by Nasdaq Private Market.

Luxcore, Inc. has long been a pioneer of optical semiconductor and optical switching technologies with their trademarked LambaRouter™ and LambdaXchange™ Decentralized Network Architecture, uniquely positioning them to introduce an emerging cloud data infrastructure model.

About Luxcore, Inc.

Luxcore is an early-stage, next-generation cloud data infrastructure provider. Since 2001, we have been a leading innovator in all-optical, photonic integrated circuit and optical routing, switching and transport technologies. Starting with our award-winning LambdaRouter™, a core optical routing, switching and transport system, the Company is designing the LambdaRouter G7 – an even more radical core optical routing, switching and transport system powered by a proprietary quantum multicore all-photonic processor. Luxcore is introducing an innovative, different cloud data infrastructure business model for the automated, provisioning of data transport, data storage and data computing resources in an open, decentralized network of edge-to-core Data Center provisioned Optical Exchange Points (OIX’s). The LambdaXchange™ Decentralized Network Architecture (LXE DeNA) will provide unprecedented speed, scalability, security, and availability to support the world’s most advanced Web3 and digital asset exchange ecosystems. We are Luxcore – Architects of the next Internet for the future of Finance, Commerce, Mobility and the Metaverse.

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LeddarTech Announces 140 Million USD in Series D Financing Combined With Debt Facility

The latest financing supports LeddarTech’s accelerated growth and development efforts for its unique proprietary sensor fusion and perception automotive solutions.

QUEBEC CITY, Feb. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LeddarTech®, a global leader in providing the most flexible, robust and accurate ADAS and AD sensing technology, is pleased to announce a successful financing round with an investment of US$ 140M, which comprises a Series D first close of US$ 116M and debt facility of US$ 24M.

FS Investors led the financing round with the participation of Investissement Québec, BDC Capital, Go Capital, certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Export Development Canada, ams OSRAM, Desjardins Capital, UI Investissement, Cowen Investment II LLC and other LeddarTech management. The debt facility was secured with Desjardins Group.

This investment will accelerate the development and commercialization of LeddarTech solutions. In addition, LeddarTech will use the funds to augment engineering resources to meet the demands from global OEM and Tier 1-2 automotive customers actively engaged with the company for sensor fusion and perception sensing solutions.

“Our decision to partner with LeddarTech began with our introduction to the corporate senior management team. Individually, the senior team possess decades of experience in the technology industry. In addition, many have worked with major global automotive and sensing technology companies,” stated Nick Stone, founder and partner of FS Investors. “An extensive due diligence process coupled with strong customer validation confirmed that LeddarTech’s unique solution is the best positioned in the market to unlock mass adoption of ADAS and AD by breaking typical software dependency on hardware in sensing,” according to Mr. Stone, concluding that: “The LeddarTech solution, called LeddarVision™, provides customers with the flexibility to quickly scale across vehicle models and deliver faster to market with greater performance at a lower cost.”

“The success of this round is a testament to the growth and industry recognition LeddarTech has achieved. I am delighted to welcome FS Investors as our most recent investors, who bring vast experience and expertise in the deep tech sector,” stated Charles Boulanger, CEO of LeddarTech. “I was impressed by the quality and thoroughness of their due diligence and their exceptional understanding of the ADAS and AD market, which confirms the value of our unique software solution. Our team and I look forward to working with FS Investors, our other new investors and our existing partners to enable our customers to significantly deploy our reliable and cost-effective ADAS and AD solutions across their brands and markets,” Mr. Boulanger concluded.

Cowen and Desjardins Capital Markets acted as co-advisors in this investment round.

About LeddarTech

Founded in 2007, LeddarTech has evolved to become a comprehensive end-to-end environmental sensing company by enabling customers to solve critical sensing, fusion and perception challenges across the entire value chain. The company offers cost-effective and scalable solutions such as LeddarVision™, a raw-data sensor fusion and perception platform that generates a comprehensive 3D environmental model with multi-sensor configurations to support Level 2+ to Level 5 full autonomy. It is scalable to support all vehicle automation levels. In addition, LeddarTech supports LiDAR makers and Tier 1-2 automotive system integrators with LeddarSteer™, a digital beam steering device, and the LiDAR XLRator development solution for automotive-grade solid-state LiDAR development based on the LeddarEngine™ and core components from global semiconductor partners. The company is responsible for several innovations in cutting-edge automotive and mobility remote-sensing applications, with over 100 patented technologies (granted or pending) enhancing ADAS and autonomous driving capabilities.

Additional information about LeddarTech is accessible at www.leddartech.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Contact:
Daniel Aitken, Vice-President of Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations, LeddarTech Inc.
Tel.: + 1-418-653-9000 ext. 232
daniel.aitken@leddartech.com

Leddar, LeddarTech, LeddarSteer, LeddarEngine, LeddarVision, LeddarSP, LeddarCore, LeddarEcho, VAYADrive, VayaVision, XLRator and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeddarTech Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.

FloQast Celebrates 2021 as Landmark Year for Company Growth

Fueled by a Successful Series D Funding Round and Hiring Campaign, FloQast Continues Building Momentum Throughout Q4 with Massive YoY Growth Rate

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FloQast, a provider of accounting workflow automation software created by accountants for accountants, today announced its Q4 and 2021 metrics, concluding a milestone year highlighted by international expansion, new product and company initiatives, industry accolades, and the biggest growth the company has seen since its launch. The company reported 97% year-over-year growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) for the quarter, as well as 153% year-over-year growth in net new ARR for 2021. Further, with more than 1,500 customers globally, FloQast added 171 new customers in Q4. These milestones stem from the recent $110 million Series D funding, led by Meritech Capital, and further the company’s leadership role in workflow automation technology.

“This past year, FloQast experienced exceptional growth across the board – including funding, product and platform launches, customer acquisition and more – making this one of the most important and successful years for the company since we were founded,” says Mike Whitmire, inactive CPA, co-founder and CEO at FloQast. “This growth is a testament to the critical advances taking root across the accounting industry and highlights FloQast’s ability to deliver next-generation technology to usher in a new era of modernization and change.”

Over the course of 2021, FloQast experienced milestones in several key areas:

  • A successful $110 million Series D funding round, led by Meritech Capital, and a valuation of $1.2 billion, making the company a “unicorn workflow solution provider.”
  • The receipt of 36 G2 badges in 2021, including:
    • #1 Leader in the G2 Momentum Grid, Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 Leader, Users Love Us, High Performer in Enterprise, Leader in Mid Market, and Winter 2022 Momentum Leader.
  • Notable Q4 customer acquisition includes prominent names such as Atmosphere TV, Demandbase, Valo Health, BioLegend Inc., Black Rock Coffee, Shenandoah Valley Organic, and more.
  • The launch of several new initiatives, tools and programs, including:
    • FloQast Ops, a new workflow manager solution that addresses upstream and downstream financial functions to deliver greater control and transparency across accounting operations.
    • FloQast ReMind, a new request management workflow add-on that automates manual tasks and delivers new levels of visibility across the close process.
    • FloQast Studios, a full-scale production arm of FloQast designed to create entertaining, engaging, and educational content by accountants for accountants.
    • Partnership with Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE: DFIN) to transform the financial close and reporting processes, especially for companies planning to go public.
  • Notable growth in EMEA including:
    • The opening of FloQast’s London-based office.
    • 68 new customers – notable Q4 logos include Revolut, Babylon Health, Watches of Switzerland, and Ironsource.
  • The appointment of several new executives to drive FloQast’s success in 2022 and beyond, including:
  • The hosting of TakeControl 2021 in September, FloQast’s third-annual user conference, drawing more than 2,000 industry professionals and recognizing world-class accounting professionals and FloQast customers excelling in their pursuit of operational excellence.
  • The receipt of several high caliber awards and accolades, such as inclusion in Built In’s Best Place to Work list for the fourth year in a row, being named one of the Best Workplaces in the Country by Inc. Magazine, and one of the Best Places to Work by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
  • Reaching 1,000 users in the FloVerse, an online community platform for FloQast customers to network and collaborate.

This growth and momentum is made possible by FloQast’s community of employees who are committed to making accountants and financial leaders’ lives easier and more productive. Despite the challenges faced over the past two years during the pandemic, the company continues to excel in its performance, a credit to the team’s commitment to customer service and excellence in pursuit of FloQast’s overarching vision.

About FloQast
FloQast delivers workflow automation software enabling organizations to operationalize accounting excellence. Trusted by more than 1,500 accounting teams – including Twilio, coinbase, Los Angeles Lakers, Zoom, and snowflake – FloQast was built by accountants, for accountants to enhance the way accounting teams work. FloQast enables customers to streamline processes such as automated reconciliations, documentation requests, and other workflows that impact the month-end close, financial reporting, and payroll, and is consistently rated #1 across all user review sites. Learn more at FloQast.com.

Contact:
Kyle Cabodi
FloQast Director of Corporate Communications
kyle.cabodi@floqast.com

Woolpert Acquires eTrac Inc., a Vessel-Based Hydrographic Survey Firm Headquartered in California

This merger combines complementary marine technology products and services to better serve U.S. and international clients with integrated capabilities.

DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Woolpert has acquired eTrac Inc., a vessel-based hydrographic survey and marine technology firm that conducts custom and integrated marine services for projects across the U.S. and its territories. These services include collecting and processing hydrographic survey and bathymetric mapping data for coastal mapping, navigation safety and nautical charting, high-resolution multibeam sonar data for shipping channel dredging and pipeline inspections, underwater imagery and aerial lidar data for change analysis, and vessel positioning and monitoring.

This acquisition combines the hydrographic survey and multibeam sonar expertise of eTrac with Woolpert’s aerial topographic, bathymetric and geospatial capabilities to deepen service offerings, leverage inherent synergies, achieve operational efficiencies and extend geographic reach. It also unites eTrac’s fleet of survey vessels with Woolpert’s 49 manned and unmanned aircraft.

eTrac is headquartered in San Rafael, Calif., and has offices in Texas, Washington and Alaska. eTrac will become part of Woolpert’s geospatial sector and will expand to serve clients throughout the U.S. and around the world.

About Woolpert
Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. Woolpert is an ENR Top 150 Global Design Firm, recently earned its sixth-straight Great Place to Work certification and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been America’s fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. The firm has more than 1,600 employees and 60 offices on four continents. For more, visit woolpert.com.

About eTrac Inc.
eTrac Inc. was established in 2003 as a hydrographic survey, vessel positioning and marine instrumentation firm. eTrac has quickly grown to include over 40 employees in several offices along the coastal United States. The firm has earned a strong reputation among many sectors of the hydrographic industry, including government agencies and private industry. Its equipment fleet has also grown to include geophysical survey vessels as well as several ultra-portable, shallow water survey craft. eTrac is committed to continual reinvestment in industry leading equipment and knowledgeable staff to complete multibeam, singlebeam, sidescan, subbottom, mobile lidar and water-level surveys required by our clients. For more, visit etracinc.com.

Media contact: Woolpert PR Manager Jill Kelley; 937-531-1258, jill.kelley@woolpert.com

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knDzoTW7-kA

HEVĒ, Part of [INVNT GROUP], to Launch “ORIGINS” A Division Dedicated to Accelerating Growth for Start-Ups

The Global BrandStory Creators appoint SVP of Growth Strategies, Bill Stump, to lead “ORIGINS by HEVĒ” to launch, accelerate or reboot emerging BrandStories in the innovative health, wellness, and fitness industry

New York, NY, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HEVĒ, pronounced “heavy”, is a global and specialized creative agency and production studio built to create BrandStories. Since its launch 3 years ago, HEVĒ has experienced rapid growth across industry sectors taking BrandStories to new heights. Today, they announce the launch of a new agency focus “ORIGINS by HEVĒ” dedicated to innovative start-ups in the health, wellness, and fitness space. Why ORIGINS? Because every great story starts at the beginning.

The 2021 market closed with a record-breaking $44 Billion raised globally in health innovation, doubled funding year-over-year, and a 20x increase in the last ten years (Source: Startup Health Insights). Digital health has been experiencing historic growth as a category, but there is an agency gap. In response, HEVĒ developed a dedicated solution for early-stage companies to enter the market in a meaningful way.  An agency that serves as Brand Guardians to develop the identity, craft the story, and buy effective media, and an in-house studio that serves as Brand Creators to produce premium, yet efficient, original content for these companies.

ORIGINS by HEVĒ will be headed up by seasoned health and wellness expert, Bill Stump as Senior Vice President of Growth Strategies. Stump has over 20 years of deep media and agency experience, and an extensive background representing clients through his role as CEO and board member for digital physical therapy brand Egoscue Inc. In three years, Stump led the company through a complete rebranding process that doubled revenue and increased valuation +500% without outside investment. Through this experience, Stump gained invaluable knowledge of the challenges and opportunities early-stage health tech companies face and what they need in order to grow.

“Joining the HEVĒ team to pursue this growth venture with founder-led businesses is exactly what emerging health, wellness and fitness brands need today. HEVĒ is extending their historic storytelling expertise with iconic brands to smaller businesses with big aspirations, which could be a pivotal game changer for these emerging brands”, said Bill Stump.

Previously, Stump held senior positions at Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and Prevention. He developed and launched 26 international editions of Men’s Health in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Stump also inaugurated and operated Rodale Inc.’s first-ever New Product Development team to incubate, build, test, and bring new brands and products to market – successes included YogaLife and Women’s Health.

On the new focus, CEO of HEVĒ, Chris Hercik, states “As individuals and brands, our origin story is the one thing that is unique and original to us. HEVĒ’s origin story began with the idea that great stories carry great weight, and if you have the right trifecta of talent, you can truly focus on telling BrandStories less told and create meaningful impact for your business. Now, we are extending that same method to the origin stories of new entrants in the digital health market.”

#####

About HEVĒ

HEVĒ, The Global BrandStory Creators, is part of [INVNT GROUP]™. Pronounced “heavy”, HEVĒ is a small but mighty creative agency and production studio built specifically to be the creators and guardians of your BrandStory. As Brand Guardians, HEVĒ Agency shows partners that anything imagined can be real if it led by a story, powered by strategy, and grounded in expertise. As Creators, HEVĒ Studios is on a mission to create the uncreated and ensure its well-made because Great Stories Carry Great Weight. HEVĒ is known for its innovative approach to telling BrandStories for valued partners such as SHRM, L’Oréal, FOX, Sports Illustrated, PatientPoint and many more. For more information visit www.hevestudios.com

About [INVNT GROUP]

[INVNT GROUP] was established in 2020, as an evolution of the founding global live brand storytelling agency INVNT in 2008, with a vision to provide consistent, meaningful, well-articulated BrandStory across all platforms. With offices in New York, Sydney, London, Singapore, San Francisco, Sydney, Stockholm, Detroit, and Washington D.C.; headed by President and CEO, Scott Cullather, [INVNT GROUP], THE GLOBAL BRANDSTORY PROJECT™ represents a growing portfolio of complementary disciplines designed to help forward-thinking organizations everywhere, impact the audiences that matter, anywhere. The GROUP consists of modern brand strategy firm, Folk Hero; creative-led culture consultancy, Meaning; branded content studio and content marketing agency HEVĒ, INVNT Higher Ed; events for colleges and universities, and the original live brand storytelling agency, INVNT. For more information about [INVNT GROUP], visit: www.invntgroup.com.

Attachment

Jhonathan Mendez de Leon
[INVNT GROUP]
1.347.819.2089
jmendezdeleon@invnt.com

Shendi Katro
HEVĒ
1.857.237.6565
skatro@hevestudios.com

Synchronoss Reports Accelerated Cloud Subscriber Growth in the Fourth Quarter of 2021

Increased Adoption from New and Existing Customers Drove 18% Year-Over-Year Subscriber Growth for Synchronoss Cloud in Q4 2021

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (“Synchronoss” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: SNCR), a global leader and innovator in cloud, messaging and digital products and platforms, today reported an 18% year-over-year increase in subscribers within its Synchronoss Cloud business for the fourth quarter of 2021. The 18% increase represents an acceleration from 16% growth in the prior quarter and 15% growth in the same period in 2020.

The key drivers behind the Company’s continued cloud subscriber growth include further adoption by existing customers, such as Verizon, AT&T, Tracfone, and Assurant, as well as the signing of new Synchronoss Cloud customers in its largest and most strategic business segment. In 2021, Synchronoss secured cloud contracts with four (4) new customers, including Allstate Protection Plans, Telkomsel, TelkomSigma and Kitamura. Allstate Protection Plans launched last year while the other three new customers are scheduled to roll out cloud offerings in 2022.

“The strength of our cloud subscriber performance in Q4 2021 reflects our commitment to Synchronoss Cloud as the future growth driver of our business,” said Jeff Miller, President and CEO of Synchronoss. “We are continuing to place greater focus on this strategic platform, delivering new offerings, feature enhancements, and user experiences to support our global expansion. We entered the new year with strong operating momentum giving us confidence in our ability to deliver healthy, double-digit subscriber growth in 2022, which should translate to greater topline expansion over time as new customers launch and existing customers ramp their cloud offerings.”

Synchronoss Cloud is a white-label platform that enables users to backup, sync, and organize photos, videos, contacts and more between any device and the cloud. The Synchronoss Cloud offering is currently integrated into a range of mobile and wireline service plans as well as other bundled offerings. The platform provides an easy way to securely manage, share, and safeguard all types of digital content. A feature-rich personal cloud offering gives service providers the opportunity to create new services, provide more value for subscribers, build brand loyalty and bolster their bottom lines.

Synchronoss will provide more detail on its cloud subscriber metrics when it reports complete financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021 in March. The details of the conference call will be provided prior to the event in the coming weeks.

About Synchronoss
Synchronoss Technologies (NASDAQ: SNCR) builds software that empowers companies around the world to connect with their subscribers in trusted and meaningful ways. The company’s collection of products helps streamline networks, simplify onboarding, and engage subscribers to unleash new revenue streams, reduce costs and increase speed to market. Hundreds of millions of subscribers trust Synchronoss products to stay in sync with the people, services, and content they love. That’s why more than 1,500 talented Synchronoss employees worldwide strive each day to reimagine a world in sync. Learn more at www.synchronoss.com.

Media Relations Contact:
Domenick Cilea
Springboard
dcilea@springboardpr.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Glover and Tom Colton
Gateway Group, Inc.
SNCR@gatewayir.com