Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:10 PM on Monday, March 23rd, 2020
SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp.
aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The
company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job
industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing
an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
Lido Learning pulls in 25% new organic users amid Covid-19
Platform has observed 25% new organic users visiting the website daily since the beginning of March as well as a 2x pull in acceptability and adaptability of users
Company has also initiated a new outreach model which will provide additional data in terms of quantifying demand
Delhi: Online tutoring platform Lido Learning is gaining immense traction with students becoming more digitally inclined amid the social distancing period. Catering to the K-12 market for students from Class 5-9, Lido offers classes in Math, Science and English. The platform has observed 25% new organic users visiting the website daily since the beginning of March as well as a 2x pull in acceptability and adaptability of users. The company has also initiated a new outreach model which will provide additional data in terms of quantifying demand.
While schools, workplaces and even recreational centres have been
shut down with immediate effect, EdTech companies have filled the
education gap for students seamlessly. Hence, students as well as
parents are steering towards digital platforms to bridge the learning
gap.
Continuous learning is imperative for a child’s holistic development
and therefore Lido Learning is a no-brainer solution for students to
continue building upon their skills while also staying safe and
practising social distancing.
While individualized attention towards every student is the need of
the hour, Lido Learning has always ensured that the teacher-student
ratio is always 1:6, ensuring that each of their academic progress is
monitored and built upon individually.
With the Government also promoting online education in recent
announcements, Lido Learning aims to deliver the best learning
experience for each student with state-of-the-art technology, engaging
content involving quizzes and games, coupled with highly-qualified
faculty.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:17 PM on Friday, March 20th, 2020
Announced the launch of a curated COVID-19 Resource Toolkit to help support individuals, employees, employers and governments in managing this crisis by providing access to relevant, current and critical global information
Over the last several weeks, betterU doubled down their efforts in the development of the COVID-19 Resource Toolkit
OTTAWA, March 20, 2020Â — betterU Education Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BTRU, Frankfurt: 5OGA) (the “Company” or “betterU”) is pleased to announce the launch of a curated COVID-19 Resource Toolkit to help support individuals, employees, employers and governments in managing this crisis by providing access to relevant, current and critical global information.
The speed in which COVID-19 has hit the world, closing businesses,
cities and countries, has created a global panic and confusion that has
only been compounded by the wave of both social media and the
sensationalism of the media. betterU who is focused on education
realized that their recently launched SaaS Mobile Enterprise solution, Ready-To-Go,
could be adapted to help support the world by curating global content
into one source application that could be made available instantly
across the world in up to 20 languages. Please visit https://readytogo.betteru.ca/ to start the process of downloading the app and getting access to your COVID-19 Resource Toolkit.
Over the last several weeks, betterU doubled down their efforts in
the development of the COVID-19 Resource Toolkit. The Company added
modules into Ready-To-Go that comprised of content, links, fact sheets,
PDFs, videos and graphics to support detailed information on the virus,
live updates, risks of infection, symptoms and treatments, how to
prepare, proper hygiene, self-isolation, managing anxiety and stress,
travel advice, information for children, vulnerable populations, myths
and questions and more! The information has been curated only from
reliable sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for
Disease and Protection (CDC), the Canadian Government, many medical
professional and leading global experts.
In addition to critical information about the virus, betterU has
reached out to many of their global educators and partners for
assistance in being able to provide their technology and learning
programs that could support a free solution supporting people now
working from home, to help deal with financial management, their home
working environment, support risks and fear management, effective
communication virtually and much more. The goal is to provide a fully
comprehensive resource toolkit that provides an all-in-one solution that
informs, supports and helps advance personal and business successes in a
time of critical need.
“When betterU approached us about working together on this
important issue, we had already been thinking about the how we could
create something similar, so it was a no brainer for us to join
betterU’s efforts. Our customers, their employees and their families are
very important to us and we are working hard to support them all in
this time of need.†Said Dan Belhassen, President of Neovation Learning Solutions – creators of the OttoLearn Agile Microlearning platform (Ottolearn.com)
betterU, Ottolearn and their education partners are providing these
services and content for free to ensure we can help everyone,
everywhere. betterU is continuing its efforts to bring together global
educators, influencers and more to help support the world.
“These times are not easy, and we are all facing our own
challenges. We need to come together as a community, a country and a
world to support each other the best we can. This is what we thought
could help, and while we know it is not enough, we hope it does support
you.†Said Brad Loiselle, President and CEO of betterU.
About betterU Education Corp.
betterU is an education-to-employment technology company offering an
end-to-end solution leveraging business intelligence to automate
skilling, reskilling and upskilling for companies operating on domestic
and global scales.
betterU has integrated into its platform the content, technology and
support for tailored skills assessments, learning pathways and training
modules from 100+ of the world’s leading online education providers.
betterU’s eco-system includes detailed job, skill, employer, and
educational profiles spanning 3,000+ standardized jobs. betterU’s
integrated platform is the most efficient solution to address evolving
skilling challenges for employers and employees through the employment
lifecycle from entry level to executive. We don’t sell content, we help
build better people.
Led by award-winning Winnipeg entrepreneur Dan Belhassen, the
Neovation Learning Solutions team is committed to providing over 500
clients worldwide (representing nearly a million learners) with “best-in
class†L&D services. Clients reap the benefits of Neovation’s
leading-edge software platforms (SmarterU.com and OttoLearn.com) and
content creation services (Flarelearning.com.) Since 2012, Neovation has
built a diverse and growing team of software developers, instructional
and graphic designers, client care specialists and a sales and marketing
team united with one purpose – to make learning magical for
their clients. OttoLearn.com is Neovation’s agile microlearning platform
that delivers knowledge retention and learner engagement to help
companies improve their training KPIs.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
COVID-19 Resource Toolkit is comprised of content, links, fact
sheets, PDFs, videos and graphics to support detailed information on the
virus, live updates, risks of infection, symptoms and treatments, how
to prepare, proper hygiene, self-isolation, managing anxiety and stress,
travel advice, information for children, vulnerable populations, myths
and questions and courses with more to come.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:12 PM on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
With 165,000 patients, Empower Clinics (CBDT:CSE) (EPWCF:OTCQB)
has a database that almost every medical cannabis and CBD company would
kill for. Patient visits increased 351% in Q4 and 800% in February.
But would Coronavirus social gathering imitations put the clinic network
at risk?
No. In fact, it has had the opposite effect, with the clinics being designated an essential service. Moreover, Empower has had to actually increase operating hours.
Watch this interview with the Company’s CEO, Steven McAuley, who is Six Sigma certified under the quality initiative of legendary GE chairman Jack Welch. We’ve never seen a Six Sigma certified CEO in the Canadian small cap markets. Never …. which also explains how McAuley has been able to guide Empower Clinics through the most disruptive retail environment in recent history. Â
Grab your favourite beverage and settle in to watch what may be your next great small cap investment.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:00 PM on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited
(TSX-V: DM) A revenue generating small cap A.I. company that NATO and
Canadian Defence are using to fight fake news & social media
threats. The company announced three $1M contacts in Q3-2019. Click here for more info.
How Coronavirus is Impacting Cyberspace
Hackers were also strategizing to spread fake news to create further confusion
By investigating the dark web marketplace, CYFIRMA uncovered illicit groups selling organic medicine claiming to cure and eradicate the COVID-19 virus
These discussions in the hackers’ communities were carried out in Mandarin, Japanese and English
These are interesting times – the world is witnessing an
unprecedented onslaught of upheavals not just in the ‘real-world’ but
also in the cyber world. We greeted 2020 gingerly knowing the trade war
between the U.S. and China was going to bring about economic uncertainty
but little did we know a global pandemic was upon us, with the
Coronavirus having an impact even on cyberspace.
By CYFIRMA RESEARCH
While healthcare workers are battling the COVID-19 virus, countries are in lockdown mode, and the global economy hangs in the balance, another war is raging in cyberspace.
Cyber risks and threats have multiplied with many more attack
vectors, and hackers’ techniques evolving faster than ever, blending
technical prowess with sophisticated social engineering. The current
challenge with the virus pandemic is a test of nations’ and businesses’
preparedness and resiliency on all fronts.
CYFIRMA’s threat visibility and intelligence research
revealed a massive increase of over 600% of cyberthreat indicators
related to the Coronavirus pandemic from February to early March.
Threat indicators are made up of conversations observed and uncovered
in the dark web, hackers’ forums, and closed communities. What our
researchers have seen and heard in these communities do not bode well
for governments and businesses – hackers are hard at work, actively
planning how to leverage this climate of fear and uncertainty to attain
their political and financial objectives.
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has
sent out alerts on scams tricking people into revealing personal
information or donating to fraudulent charities, all under the pretext
of helping to contain and manage the coronavirus. The Federal Trade
Commission has also warned about similar scams.
CYFIRMA’s research team and
multiple security vendors have reported that threat actors have used
fear tactics to spread malware, including LokiBot, RemcosRAT, TrickBot,
and FormBook.
These hackers’ communities span far and wide, communicating in
Cantonese, Mandarin, Russian, English, and Korean, unleashing campaigns
one after another to wreak havoc on unsuspecting nations and
enterprises.
On Dark Web
forums, a group from Hong Kong hatched a plan to create a new phishing
campaign targeting the population from mainland China. The group aimed
to create distrust and incite social unrest by assigning blame to the
Chinese Communist Party.
A deeper analysis of hackers’ conversations also revealed groups from
Taiwan discussing similar phishing and spam campaigns, specifically
targeting influential persons in mainland China to cause further unrest.
Korean-speaking hackers were planning to make financial gains using
sophisticated phishing campaigns, loaded with sensitive data
exfiltration malware and creating a new variant of EMOTET virus (EMOTET
is a malware strain that was first detected in 2014 and is one of the
most prevalent threats in 2019). These hackers were planning to target
Japan, Australia, Singapore, and the U.S.
CYFIRMA’s researchers also observed North Korean hackers targeting
South Korean businesses. The phishing email had the Korean language
title “Coronavirus Correspondenceâ€, tricking recipients into opening
them and launching malware into machines and networks.
With COVID-19, many hacker groups were observed to be using brand
impersonation with fake emails claiming to represent authoritative
bodies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World
Health Organization (WHO). The subject line and content of these emails
were very enticing, offering news updates and cures to the ailment.
We also noticed coronavirus-themed emails designed to look like
emails from the organizations’ leadership team and sent to all
employees.
Embedded with malware that would infect corporate networks, these
phishing attacks deploy social engineering tactics to steal data and
assets.
Other than unleashing cyberattacks to steal data, we also witnessed
the planning of fake websites to sell face masks and other health
apparatus using bitcoin in China, Japan, and the US.
To aggravate matters, hackers were also strategizing to spread fake
news to create further confusion. By investigating the dark web
marketplace, CYFIRMA uncovered illicit groups selling organic medicine
claiming to cure and eradicate the COVID-19 virus. These discussions in
the hackers’ communities were carried out in Mandarin, Japanese and
English.
A
new malware called ‘CoronaVP’ was being discussed by a Russian hacking
community; this could lead to a new ransomware or EMOTET strain,
designed to steal personal information.
Hackers leveraging on the COVID-19 pandemic are motivated by a
combination of personal financial gain as well as political espionage to
cause social upheavals. Threat actors in the world of cybercrimes are
well-equipped with tools, technology, expertise and financing to further
both commercial and political agendas. In our hyper-connected digital
world, cyber-crime is a lucrative business, and we should expect attacks
to be more frequent and more sophisticated as the pandemic continues to
cast a shadow over the global economy.
What we have witnessed in the field of cyber-intelligence has taught
us the importance of staying vigilant, and frequently, the most
dangerous forces at work are those we cannot see.
The importance of relevant and timely threat intelligence cannot be
over-emphasized as early detection of cyber threats could save
organizations from hefty financial penalties and irreversible brand
damage.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:45 PM on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
SPONSOR: CardioComm Solutions (EKG: TSX-V)
– The heartbeat of cardiovascular medicine and telemedicine. Patented
systems enable medical professionals, patients, and other healthcare
professionals, clinics, hospitals and call centres to access and manage
patient information in a secure and reliable environment.
The Tech That Could Be Our Best Hope for Fighting COVID-19—and Future Outbreaks
Battling a pandemic as serious as COVID-19 requires drastic responses, and political leaders and public-health officials have turned to some of the most radical strategies available.
The key to early response lies in looking beyond centuries-old strategies and incorporating methods that are familiar to nearly every industry from banking to retail to manufacturing, but that are still slow to be adopted in public health
Smartphone apps, data analytics and artificial intelligence all make finding and treating people with an infectious disease far more efficient than ever before
What began with a lockdown of one city in China quickly expanded to the quarantine of an entire province, and now entire countries including Italy. While social isolation and curfews are among the most effective ways to break the chain of viral transmission, some health experts say it’s possible these draconian measures didn’t have to become a global phenomenon. “If health officials could have taken action earlier and contained the outbreak in Wuhan, where the first cases were reported, the global clampdown could have been at a much more local level,†says Richard Kuhn, a virologist and professor of science at -Purdue University.
The key to early response lies in looking beyond centuries-old
strategies and incorporating methods that are familiar to nearly every
industry from banking to retail to manufacturing, but that are still
slow to be adopted in public health. Smartphone apps, data analytics and
artificial intelligence all make finding and treating people with an
infectious disease far more efficient than ever before.
“The connectivity we have today gives us ammunition to fight this
pandemic in ways we never previously thought possible,†says Alain
Labrique, director of the Johns Hopkins University Global -mHealth
Initiative. And yet, to date, the global public–health response to
COVID-19 has only scratched the surface of what these new containment
tools offer. Building on them will be critical for ensuring that the
next outbreak never gets the chance to explode from epidemic to global
pandemic.
Consider how doctors currently detect new cases of COVID-19. Many
people who develop the hallmark symptoms of the -disease—fever, cough
and shortness of breath—-physically visit a primary-care doctor, a
health care provider at an urgent-care center or an emergency room. But
that’s the last thing people potentially infected with a highly
contagious disease should do. Instead, health officials are urging them
to connect remotely via an app to a doctor who can triage their symptoms
while they’re still at home.
“The reality is that clinical brick-and-mortar medicine is rife with
the possibility of virus exposure,†says Dr. Jonathan Wiesen, founder
and chief medical officer of MediOrbis, a telehealth company. “The
system we have in place is one in which everyone who is at risk is
potentially transmitting infection. That is petrifying.†Instead, people
could call a telemedicine center and describe their symptoms to a
doctor who can then determine whether they need COVID-19
-testing—without exposing anyone else.
In Singapore, more than a million people have used a popular
telehealth app called -MaNaDr, founded by family physician Dr. Siaw Tung
Yeng, for virtual visits; 20% of the physicians in the island country
offer some level of service via the app. In an effort to control
escalating cases of coronavirus there, people with symptoms are getting
prescreened by physicians on MaNaDr and advised to stay home if they
don’t need intensive care. Patients then check in with their telehealth
doctor every evening and report if their fever persists, if they have
shortness of breath or if they are feeling worse. If they are getting
sicker, the doctor orders an ambulance to take those people to the
hospital. Siaw says the virtual monitoring makes people more comfortable
about staying at home, where many cases can be treated, instead of
flooding hospitals and doctors’ offices, straining limited resources and
potentially making others sick. “This allows us to care across
distance, monitor patients across distance and assess their progression
across distance,†says Siaw. “There is no better time for remote care
monitoring of our patients than now.â€
Other at-home devices and services currently being used in the U.S.
allow patients to measure dozens of health metrics like temperature,
blood pressure and blood sugar several times a day, and the results are
automatically stored on the cloud, from which doctors get alerts if the
readings are abnormal.
Telemedicine also serves as a powerful communication tool for keeping
hundreds of thousands of people in a specific region up to date with
the latest advice about the risk in their communities and how best to
protect themselves. That can go a long way toward reassuring people and
preventing panic and runs on health centers and hospitals.
Beyond individual-level care, the data gathered by telemedicine
services can be mined to predict the broader ebb and flow of an
epidemic’s trajectory in a population. In the U.S., Kaiser Permanente’s
tele-medicine call centers are now also serving as a bellwether for an
anticipated surge in demand for health services. Dr. Stephen Parodi,
national infectious–disease leader at Kaiser Permanente, was inspired by
a Google project from a few years ago in which the company created an
algorithm of users’ flu–related search terms to determine where clusters
of cases were mounting. Parodi started tracking coronavirus–related
calls from the health system’s 4.5 -million members in Northern
California in February. “We went from 200 calls a day to 3,500 calls a
day about symptoms of COVID-19, which was an early indicator of
community–based transmission,†he says. “Our call volume was telling us
several weeks before the country would have all of its testing online
that we have got to plan for a surge in cases.â€
On the basis of the swell in calls nationwide, the hospital system is
considering suspending elective surgeries based on local circumstances,
in part to ensure that ventilators and other critical equipment would
be available for an anticipated influx of COVID-19 patients with severe
symptoms. Kaiser doctors also postponed appointments for routine
mammograms and other cancer–screening tests and cut back on in-person
appointments by turning most noncritical visits into virtual visits.
The COVID-19 pandemic may be the trial by fire that telemedicine
finally needs to prove its worth, especially in the U.S. Despite the
fact that apps and technology for virtual health visits have existed for
several decades, uptake in the country has been slow. Medicare only
recently began reimbursing for telemedicine visits at rates comparable
to in-person visits, and states have just begun to relax licensing
regulations that prevent doctors in one state from -remotely treating
patients in another state. “This -pandemic is almost like us crossing
the Rubicon,†says Wiesen of MediOrbis. “It’s a clarion call for America
and for the world on how important telemedicine is.†Parodi agrees. “I
think this pandemic will bring in a fundamental change in the way we
practice medicine and in the way the health care system functions in the
U.S.,†he says. “We’re going to come out of this and -realize a lot of
health care visits don’t have to be in person.â€
Other tech innovations that haven’t fully made their way to the
public-health sector could also play a critical role in controlling this
-pandemic—and future outbreaks. Taking a closer look at health-related
data, such as electronic health records or sales of over-the-counter
medications, can provide valuable clues about how an infectious disease
like COVID-19 is moving through a population. Retail drugstores track
inventory and sales of nonprescription fever reducers, for example, and
any trends in those data might serve as an early, albeit crude,
harbinger of growing spread of disease in a community. And given the
proliferation of health–tracking apps on smartphones, analyzing data
trends like a rise in average body temperature in a given geographical
area could provide clues to emerging clusters of cases.
Geotracking on phones, while controversial because of privacy issues,
can also streamline the tedious task of contact tracing, in which
scientists try to manually trace infected patients’ whereabouts to find
as many people with whom they had direct contact and who could have been
infected. In South Korea, this strategy helped identify many of the
contacts of members of a Seoul church that formed the first major
cluster of infections in the country. In countries with a less robust
health care infrastructure, smartphones can be critical for gathering
information about emerging infections on the ground. In Bangladesh, says
Labrique, programs created to canvass for noncommunicable diseases like
hyper-tension and diabetes are now being modified to include questions
about COVID-19 symptoms. These types of real-time data can rapidly
provide a snapshot of where and how fast the disease might be spreading,
to distribute health care workers and -equipment where they’re needed
most.
It’s all about catching these cases as early as possible, to minimize
the peak of a pandemic so the health system doesn’t get overwhelmed.
But it’s not just about seeing the trends. Flattening the surge of an
infectious disease also requires action, and that’s where the advice
gets -muddier—but also where Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI)
can provide clarity.
By deeply analyzing the care that every COVID-19 patient receives,
for example, AI can tease out the best treatment strategies. Jvion, a
health care analytics company, is using AI to study 30 million patients
in its data universe to identify people and communities at highest risk
of COVID-19 on the basis of more than 5,000 variables that include not
just medical history but also lifestyle and socioeconomic factors such
as access to stable housing and transportation. Working with clients
that include large hospital systems as well as small remote health
centers, Jvion’s platform creates lists of people who should be
contacted pro-actively to warn them about their vulnerability so health
providers can create a care plan for them.
In the case of COVID-19, that might include social distancing and
avoiding large public gatherings. To help public-health departments
better prepare communities for this and future outbreaks, the company
has communicated with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to share what it has learned.
Privacy issues, however, nest in every single byte of data about a
person’s health. So the power of AI methods in controlling outbreaks
depends on how effectively data can be anonymized. Only when people are
assured of privacy can algorithms help to navigate the next big hurdle:
predicting surges in cases that strain health care personnel and
availability of supplies like ventilators, masks and gowns.
If COVID-19 teaches public-health officials one thing, it’s that
there are now tools available to help contain an infectious disease
before radical measures like quarantines and curfews are needed. “What
we were doing 10 years ago and what we are doing now is vastly
different,†says Wiesen. “There is a tremendous opportunity here, and
hopefully by [the next pandemic], the use of technology and data
analytics is going to be light-years ahead of where it is today.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 1:57 PM on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp.
aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The
company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job
industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing
an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
Focus On Survival Amid Coronavirus: Lightspeed’s Lessons From China For Indian Startup Founders
By: Bhumika Khatri
The VC’s partners from China and India suggested startups work on reducing cash burn, spending
Lightspeed China’s James Mi said the Chinese ecosystem is focussing on extending runway through cost-cutting
Mi advised founders to have at least six months of runway
The Indian startup ecosystem has joined the fight against the
coronavirus pandemic, as over 125 confirmed cases have emerged in India.
With three deaths so far, India has not yet seen the worst of the
outbreak. While many startups have advised employees to work from home,
some are also offering medical support, while helping employees take up
self-quarantine for Covid-19 and creating contingency plans — life has
truly changed in the age of the pandemic for many people, startup
founders included.
Many are saying that India is in the same place as China was almost
30-45 days back when the coronavirus had not yet been given the pandemic
status. So startups may have a few lessons to learn from their Chinese
counterparts. To make this happen Lightspeed India hosted a closed-door
founders-only online session recently to facilitate interactions between
Indian startup founders and venture capitalists in China so that each
group can learn from their experiences.
The discussions were led by James Mi, partner, Lightspeed China,
Udaan cofounder Amod Malviya with Lightspeed India partners’ Bejul
Somaia and Hemant Mohapatra. The VC fund received over 200 questions
from founders, with over 60 founders joining the session.
A founder who was part of the interaction told Inc42
that the session focused on fundraising, business environment and work
from home. From the experience of China, James Mi noted that the
strategy was first to focus on containment and as a result, hospitality
businesses saw decline while businesses like grocery delivery grew.
However, logistics was impacted negatively.
Other businesses that saw high adoption, traction and growth were
digital content, video streaming, edtech among others. Mi also said that
enterprise SaaS businesses saw some downturn due to the lack of
face-to-face meetings, which are crucial for large sales contracts.
Shoring Up The Runway
In terms of fundraising, Mi advised founders to have at least six
months of runway and first focus on optimising unit economics. However,
if they don’t have such a runway, they should aim to reduce burn by
cutting down unnecessary expenses on marketing and even reduce headcount
if need be. Founders were also advised to find alternative financing
options like bank loans.
Mi also urged startups to lock any existing offers and secure the
funding to support the runway as VC funding is expected to slow down in
the next quarter. He also suggested that businesses should go back to
decisions taken at earlier stages to reduce burn and work on unit
economics, rather than increasing market reach.
Lightspeed India’s Somaia shared a similar sentiment and said that
fears in financial markets are similar to the consumer market as the
capital gets scarce and selective. He said that even though financing
won’t stop, it would now be more selective, focussing on quality and
business fundamentals.
He noted that in such situations, reckless spending isn’t appreciated
and that startups should plan in a way where they can spend 2020
without external funding. Somaia advised that the startups can top-up
from the recent funding round as well if there is an interest. The trio
emphasised that founders should focus on survival on priority.
The three experienced VCs also noted that the conditions are benign
today but may become severe tomorrow. The impact on business from the
pandemic is expected to last at least two quarters. The responsibility
of businesses has changed from being equitable and fair employers to
taking precautions ranging from temperature checks to masks and
sanitisers.
Mi recollected that in China, even though factories were allowed to
work, they didn’t have the infrastructure like masks and other sanitary
needs set up to fulfil recommendations, which meant many workers
couldn’t come in. So founders need to provision for all manner of things
that they had not earlier.
Udaan cofounder Malviya shared the experience of work from home
saying that it needs a planned approach and should be embraced
correctly. He said that it becomes important to document decisions and
startups should have well-defined touchpoints on a daily and weekly
basis for different groups.
He said that work from home requirements are different for teams
which are in operations and are on managerial work etc. Among the
challenges with work from home for operational teams that Malviya noted
was a drop in productivity. He advised founders to rely on products like
Notion for documentation, Kettle.ai to track daily productivity and
Hangouts and Zoom for video collaboration.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:11 AM on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
Announced the reinstatement of BTRU to trading effective as of March 23rd , 2020
Company is providing an update on the business and notice of the Annual General Meeting of shareholders
OTTAWA, March 19, 2020 – betterU Education Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BTRU, Frankfurt: 5OGA) (the “Company” or “betterU”) has been working with the TSX Venture Exchange to file all necessary outstanding filings and is now pleased to announce the reinstatement of BTRU to trading effective as of March 23rd , 2020. The Company is providing an update on the business and notice of the Annual General Meeting of shareholders.
Message from the CEO –
“Our company has gone through a lot of turmoil over the last
year, and I want to thank all of you – our shareholders and extended
stakeholders – for weathering this storm with us. The good news is that
we are emerging stronger – more operationally and commercially focused –
than ever. While the company’s trading was suspended over the last
six-months we redoubled our efforts to build value for the Company and
our shareholders.
I am pleased to announce the official launch of our enterprise
B2B SaaS platform for skills development called ‘Ready-To-Goâ€, which is
the first mobile platform on the market to bring together everything an
employer needs to continually assess and skill any employee from entry
level to executive in an integrated manner. Ready-To-Go is proving
valuable to corporate customers globally, and we will be announcing
contracts with companies in Canada, US, India and beyond in the coming
months. Ready-To-Go completely aligns with our founding vision to
provide best in class education-to-employment solutions for individuals
and companies globally. What is different from the past was the
realization while in stealth mode over the last few months, that we are
not in the business of selling courses, we are in the business of
building better people (hence our brand ‘betterU’). As such we have
shifted our business model away from a pay-per-course (transactional)
model to a pay-per-employee (software-as-a-service) model – whereby
employers pay monthly subscriptions per employee for continual skills
improvement and tracking.
This simple shift in framing – which is both on brand and on
mission – is resonating strongly with public sector partners, private
enterprise customers, and with individuals as end-user beneficiaries.
While our focus has become more global in nature, we continue to
maintain dedicated staff and skilling platforms for India, which
inspired all of our hard work up to this point. There is still a lot of
hard work ahead of us, but we now have a solid foundation to become a
more sustainable company.†Brad Loiselle, President and CEO betterU.
Business Update – The following are additional updates on the business:
Cancelled Shares for Debt – As
previously reported on July 26th, 2019 and November 29, 2019 as part of
ongoing efforts to reduce the Company’s debt and operational liabilities
that its board of directors had approved the settlement of $125,000 of
debt through the issuance of common shares of the Company (the “Debt
Settlement”). The Company had since decided not to move forward with the
Debt Settlement due to the downward pressure of the stock price and the
level of dilution it would have created. The Company continues to look
at debt reduction options.
Board approved restructuring plan – On December 2, 2019
betterU’s board of directors approved a plan to restructure the
Company’s existing debts and liabilities in efforts to deleverage its
balance sheet. The restructuring would take place over the course of
2020 i n connection with a planned subordinated secured convertible
debenture offering and subsequent private equity placement to fund a
global rollout of the Company’s Enterprise SaaS skilling platform and
also convert or otherwise pay down the Company’s currently existing
liabilities to a sustainable level.
betterU Enterprise SaaS Platform ‘Ready-To-Go’ – is
fully operational and has been showcased to multiple corporate clients
in Canada, USA, UK and India. The Company has begun contracting with
several enterprise users, which will be announced in the week to come.
betterU has built over the last several months a database from
interested parties of 400+ Directors of Learning and Development, VPs
and HR heads from companies around the world. To support such growing
demand the Company would first have to raise additional capital through
its planned subordinated secured debenture offering. For more details
about betterU’s recently launched Enterprise SaaS ‘Ready-To-Go’
platform, please visit https://readytogo.betteru.ca/
Partnerships – Adding to our existing content
partnerships encompassing tens of thousands of courses from 100+ of the
world’s leading online education and training providers, betterU has
been expanding its offering of assessment tools required to support
employers in determining their employee skill gaps. We are pleased to
announce the Company has entered a partnership with Cyprus firm Byrq to
support betterU’s Enterprise SaaS Platform for pre-hiring candidates.
With a proven I/O psychology framework that is scientifically validated
and EEOC compliant, betterU will now be able to measure cognitive skills
including numerical, verbal, problem solving and attention to detail as
well as 16 personality traits. betterU is also pleased to announce they
have entered a partnership with USA based firm eSkill, providing
betterU with access to 600+ assessments across job roles, subject base
and modular. This partnership enables betterU to support entire
departments and job roles across organizations in determining the skills
required per employee and mapping them to their skills on betterU’s
Enterprise SaaS Platform Ready-To-Go.
Corporate Portal – betterU has developed and launched a corporate website https://corporate.betteru.ca/,
that provides access to more details about betterU’s history,
leadership, 2020 focus, Investor Relations and more information on the
Company’s ongoing activities. betterU’s corporate website will support
more visibility, transparency and access to current and relevant details
about how the business is moving forward. Please visit the site
regularly so that you are kept current.
Stock Option Grants – The following stock options were
issued to an insider on December 13th 2017, Positive Venture Group for
125,000 at an exercise price of $0.335 for a 5 year term, with 1/3rd
allowed to exercise on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd anniversary date.
AGORA Internet Relations Corp. – The Company has issued
the following number of shares in connection with settlement of $56,500
owed to Agoracom for marketing services according to the terms of the
agreement disclosed on April 12, 2017.
Marketing Services
Price per Share
Number of Shares
15-Mar-17
$11,300
0.45
25,111
15-Jun-17
$11,300
0.57
19,824
15-Sep-17
$11,300
0.38
29,736
15-Dec-17
$11,300
0.38
29,736
15-Mar-18
$11,300
0.79
14,303
Total
$56,500
118,710
Annual General Meeting (“AGMâ€) Notice – Take notice that the annual general meeting (the “Meetingâ€)
of shareholders of betterU Education Corporation (the “Corporationâ€)
will be held at 1 Hunt Club Rd, Ottawa, ON K1V 1B9 on Thursday May 28th,
2020 at 11:00 a.m. (Ottawa time) for the following purposes:
To receive the financial statements of the Corporation for its
fiscal year ended March 31st 2019 and the report of the auditor thereon;
To elect directors of the Corporation for the ensuing year;
To appoint an auditor of the Corporation for the ensuing year;
To consider and if thought fit to pass, with or without variation,
an ordinary resolution to approve the Corporation’s Stock Option Plan
allowing the granting of up to 10% of the Corporation’s issued and
outstanding common shares at any time; and
To transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.
The Corporation has elected to use the notice-and-access
(“Notice-and-Accessâ€) provisions under National Instrument 54-101
Communications with Beneficial Owners of Securities of a Reporting
Issuer and National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations
to distribute Meeting materials to shareholders. Notice-and-Access is a
new set of rules that allow issuers to post electronic versions of
proxy-related materials on SEDAR and on one additional website, rather
than mailing paper copies to shareholders. Shareholders have the right
to request hard copies of any proxy-related materials posted online by
the Corporation under Notice-and-Access.
Meeting materials, including the Circular, will be available under the Corporation’s profile at www.sedar.com and also at https://corporate.betteru.ca/
by April 29th 2020. The Corporation will provide to any shareholder,
upon request to the Corporation’s transfer agent, a paper copy of the
Circular and any financial statements or management discussion and
analysis of the Corporation filed with the applicable securities
regulatory authorities during the past year. In order to allow
reasonable time for you to receive and review a paper copy of the
Circular or other document prior to the proxy deadline, you should make
your request for a paper copy by April 13th 2020.
A shareholder who is unable to attend the Meeting in person and who
wishes to ensure that such shareholder’s shares will be voted at the
Meeting is requested to complete, date and sign the form of proxy for
the Meeting, or voting information form (“VIFâ€), and deliver the form of
proxy, or VIF, in accordance with its instructions.
About betterU Education Corp.
betterU is an education-to-employment technology company offering an
end-to-end solution leveraging business intelligence to automate
skilling, reskilling and upskilling for companies operating on domestic
and global scales.
betterU has integrated into its platform the content, technology and
support for tailored skills assessments, learning pathways and training
modules from 100+ of the world’s leading online education providers.
betterU’s eco-system includes detailed job, skill, employer, and
educational profiles spanning 3,000+ standardized jobs. betterU’s
integrated platform is the most efficient solution to address evolving
skilling challenges for employers and employees through the employment
lifecycle from entry level to executive. We don’t sell content, we help
build better people.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 7:24 AM on Thursday, March 19th, 2020
Empower Clinics adapts operational processes to manage continued record patient counts during COVID-19 outbreak
Patient visits in corporate clinics continue at record pace, with patients demonstrating an even greater need for plant-based medicine, as the impact of COVID-19 becomes more pervasive
State’s of Arizona and Oregon have declared a State of Emergency over the novel coronavirus outbreak therefore, as a medical service provider, Empowers corporate medical clinics are considered an essential service and are not subject to certain mandated closures
VANCOUVER, BC / March 18, 2020 / EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE: CBDT) (OTC: EPWCF) (Frankfurt 8EC) (“Empower” or the “Company“), a vertically integrated and growth-oriented life sciences company, announces that patient visits in corporate clinics continue at record pace, with patients demonstrating an even greater need for plant-based medicine, as the impact of COVID-19 becomes more pervasive.
“The coronavirus crisis is impacting all aspects of our lives, but
our clinics remain incredibly busy, as patients show how important their
medical cannabis treatment options are to manage increased levels of
anxiety, stress, chronic pain and PTSD” said Steven McAuley, Chairman
& CEO of Empower. “We had to quickly adapt clinic operating
procedures to ensure optimum safety for employees and patients, updated
cleaning and sanitation protocols, and provided extensive new
communications to our team and patients.”
The State’s of Arizona and Oregon have declared a State of Emergency
over the novel coronavirus outbreak therefore, as a medical service
provider, Empowers corporate medical clinics are considered an essential
service and are not subject to certain mandated closures.
The Company has made changes to clinic operations and patient
management based on the most recent recommendations from the (CDC)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and their guidance for
healthcare facilities.
Empower is a vertically-integrated health & wellness brand with
it’s first hemp-derived CBD extraction facility under development, the
Company produces its proprietary line of cannabidiol (CBD) based
products and distributes products through company owned and franchised
clinics, with wholesale partnerships, online channels and with new
retail opportunities nationwide in the U.S. The company is a leading
multi-state operator of a network of physician-staffed wellness clinics,
focused on helping patients improve and protect their health, through
innovative physician recommended treatment options. The company has
commenced activity on how to connect its significant data, to the
potential of the efficacy of alternative treatment options related to
hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapies.
For French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc., E: [email protected], T: (888) 585-MARI
DISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain “forward-looking statements”
or “forward-looking information” (collectively “forward looking
statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.
All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are
forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and
projections as at the date of this news release.Forward-looking statements
can frequently be identified by words such as “plans”, “continues”,
“expects”, “projects”, “intends”, “believes”, “anticipates”,
“estimates”, “may”, “will”, “potential”, “proposed” and other similar
words, or information that certain events or conditions “may” or “will”
occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include
statements regarding; the Company’s intention to open a hemp-based CBD
extraction facility, the expected benefits to the Company and its
shareholders as a result of the proposed acquisitions and partnerships;
the effectiveness of the extraction technology; the expected benefits
for Empower’s patient base and customers; the benefits of CBD based
products; the effect of the approval of the Farm Bill; the growth of the
Company’s patient list and that the Company will be positioned to be a
market-leading service provider for complex patient requirements in 2019
and beyond. Such statements are only projections, are based on
assumptions known to management at this time, and are subject to risks
and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or
developments to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, including; that the Company may not open a
hemp-based CBD extraction facility; that legislative changes may have an
adverse effect on the Company’s business and product development; that
the Company may not be able to obtain adequate financing to pursue its
business plan; general business, economic, competitive, political and
social uncertainties; failure to obtain any necessary approvals in
connection with the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; and other
factors beyond the Company’s control. No assurance can be given that any
of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur
or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking
statements in this release, which are qualified in their entirety by
these cautionary statements. The Company is under no obligation, and
expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any
forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by
applicable laws.
Tags: CSE, Hemp, Marijuana, small cap Posted in Empower Clinics Inc., Featured | Comments Off on Empower Clinics $CBDT.ca Daily Patient Count Continues at Record Pace with Medical Cannabis Certifications Deemed an Essential Service $WEED.ca $CGC $ACB $APH $CRON.ca $HEXO.ca $OGI.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 5:23 PM on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
First Class CBD has launched a new “immune support” product that has generated significant demand since it was released
This is the first of a number of new CBD products aimed at promoting personal immune health that First Class is developing
During the first four days, company acquired over 1,000 customers and will be scaling rapidly
VANCOUVER, BC / March 18, 2020 /Mota Ventures Corp. (CSE:MOTA)(FSE:1WZ1)(OTC:PEMTF) (the “Company“) announces that First Class CBD has launched a new “immune support” product that has generated significant demand since it was released. This is the first of a number of new CBD products aimed at promoting personal immune health that First Class is developing.
One of our primary competitive advantages as a business is our
ability to adapt to market changes. With the immense demand in the
market for products to promote personal immune system health, we
launched a First Class immune product; during the first four days, we
acquired over 1,000 customers and will be scaling rapidly. Next week we
will be launching a complete line of immunity products, including a CBD
oil plus B-vitamins, Vitamin C and Zinc.
Our mission is to provide pure and efficacious products to our
customers that depend upon us throughout the United States and Europe.
Our supply chain is functioning uninterrupted. The Company has
personally met with suppliers in the United States and are confident in
its ability to continue to meet the demands of the current sales volume,
and new product lines for March 2020 and beyond.
“I am extremely pleased with the success of our launch of our new
product line. Our ability to adapt and innovate is stronger than ever.
Demand for our new immune category has been exceptional and I believe
this will be a significant driver to revenue in 2020,” stated Ryan
Hoggan, CEO of the Company.
About Mota Ventures Corp.
Mota is seeking to become a vertically integrated global CBD brand.
Its plan is to cultivate and extract CBD into high-quality value-added
products from its Latin American operations and distribute it both
domestically and internationally. Its existing operations in Colombia
consist of a 2.5-hectare site that has optimal year-round growing
conditions and access to all necessary infrastructure. Mota is looking
to establish sales channels and a distribution network internationally
through the acquisition of the Sativida and First Class CBD brands. Low
cost production, coupled with international, direct to customer sales
channels will provide the foundation for the success of Mota.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MOTA VENTURES CORP. Ryan Hoggan Chief Executive Officer
For further information, readers are encouraged to contact the
President of the Company, Joel Shacker, at +604.423.4733 or by email at [email protected] or www.motaventuresco.com
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian
Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy
of this press release, which has been prepared by management.
All statements in this press release, other than statements of
historical fact, are “forward-looking information” with respect to the
Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including with
respect to the business prospects of First Class CBD and its new
product lines, its plans to become a vertically integrated global CBD
brand, its plans to cultivate and extract cannabis to produce CBD and
high-quality value added CBD products in Latin America for distribution
domestically and internationally. The Company provides forward-looking
statements for the purpose of conveying information about current
expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned
that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its
nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties
that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility
that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions
will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and
that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved.
These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited those
identified and reported in the Company’s public filings under the
Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from
those described in forward-looking information, there may be other
factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information
will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company
disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise unless required by law.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:22 PM on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
Closed a $903,000 non-brokered secured convertible loan at 12% per annum, with a related party
Loan is secured by a subordinated Hypothec on the Universality of Movable Property over all of the present and after acquired moveable property and assets of the Company.
MONTREAL, March 18, 2020 – PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR) (OTCQB: PYRNF) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company, (the “Company”, the “Corporation†or “PyroGenesis”) that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch systems, is pleased to announce today that it has closed a $903,000 non-brokered secured convertible loan at 12% per annum (the “Loanâ€), with a related party.
The Loans bears interest at the rate of 12% per annum, with interest
payable in cash on a quarterly basis in arrears and matures September
17th, 2021. The Loan is convertible into common shares of the Company
(each, a “Common Share”) at a conversion price of $0.28 per Common Share
(the “Conversion Price”). The Common Shares issuable on conversion of
the Loan will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and
one day from the closing date.
The Loan is secured by a subordinated Hypothec on the Universality of
Movable Property over all of the present and after acquired moveable
property and assets of the Company.
PyroGenesis intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for
general corporate purposes. The Offering is subject to the final
approval of the TSXV.
P. Peter Pascali, CEO and President of PyroGenesis, provides the following situation update:
“As a global Covid-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, it would be
an understatement to suggest that these are trying times. The world
finds itself in uncharted and precarious territory, a show that has no
script. What is certain is that the future is not as certain as we
thought it was mere weeks ago. At PyroGenesis, the health, safety and
wellbeing of our people, and community, is our number one priority. As
such, we immediately implemented an emergency work-from-home policy and,
as such, work continues without material interruption. We have also
secured our supply lines which, to date, seem to be in order. As a
cautionary second step, we managed to secure this loan which we
announced today, from a related party, to shore up any unforeseen events
that may arise from the current situation. We thought this to be
prudent under the circumstances.
Current events are presenting a unique set of challenges to
businesses. The economic and social impact is already on a scale not
seen in the post war era. This uncertain future is leading companies to
have to make difficult decisions. At PyroGenesis, we will do our part
to ensure all our employees are employed, safe, and healthy. We are
also doing our part to source limited supplies from our international
contacts to augment the needs of our community health care system.
Times like these require us as entrepreneurs and businesses leaders
to come together to help our communities assist each other. After all,
we are skilled leaders and decision makers having operated in this type
of arena all our live; making decisions on limited information,
ascertaining risk, executing and adjusting as the case may be.
It is not business as usual, that is for sure. However, a measure of a
team is how they manage crisis. At Pyogenesis, we have a seasoned team
of business veterans when it comes to innovation and crisis
management. I am proud of my team in how they handle challenges, and
never more than I am these days.
Be safe and we will keep you up to date with any material developments.â€
The Corporation did not file a material change report more than 21
days before the excepted closing of the Offering as the details of the
participation therein by related parties of the Corporation were not
settled until shortly prior to the closing of the Offering.
The securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the
United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), or
any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United
States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined
in Regulation S under the 1933 Act), except pursuant to an exemption
from the registration requirements of those laws. This press release
shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to
buy securities in the United States, or for the account or benefit of
U.S. persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the 1933
Act).
About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a high-tech company, is the world leader in
the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced
plasma processes and products. We provide engineering and manufacturing
expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process
equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced
materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental
industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and
technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2
manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage
by remaining at the forefront of technology development and
commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the
way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes,
high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to
the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D
certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded
Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR)
and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”,
“plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”,
“expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which
constitute “forward- looking information” within the meaning of
applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the
Corporation’s current expectation and assumptions and are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited
to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the
market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the
capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research
and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new
product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory
approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the
Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in
the Corporation’s ongoing filings with the securities regulatory
authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com, or at
www.otcmarkets.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ
materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements either as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture
Exchange, its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
SOURCE PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
For further information please contact: Rodayna Kafal, Vice President Investors Relations and Strategic Business Development Phone: (514) 937-0002, E-mail: [email protected]
