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Friends, family and neighbours of a woman who was killed by her partner earlier this year are calling for more to be done to address intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia. Dozens of people participated in a walk on Friday in Enfield, N.S., where Brenda Tatlock-Burke was killed by her husband in October. Her death was one of three fatal cases of intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia over a three-week period . "We knew Brenda and we had no idea she was living in silence," said Noreen Corkum, the walk organizer and a friend of Tatlock-Burke. Corkum and her daughter, Natacha Provost, said they wanted to put on the event to support everyone suffering from intimate partner violence, encourage people to talk about it and highlight the need for more help for individuals in these situations. "We need more programs," Corkum said. "We need more voices coming out and saying, 'This is what I've lived through and these are the steps that we need to take in order to get the help that people need.'" Noreen Corkum and her daughter, Natacha Provost, helped organize the walk. (Patrick Callaghan/CBC) Some people who showed up only knew Tatlock-Burke through others, but wanted to participate in the walk because of their own experiences with intimate partner violence. Caet Moir said she's a longtime friend of Tatlock-Burke's sister. She said she's had several family members affected by domestic violence and it's typically someone you don't expect who is being hurt by a loved one. "I want to see us get away from the idea that victims have to prove themselves," Moir said. "The very idea that you have to prove that [you're a victim] puts you in danger. It's the very reason people don't say anything." Brenda Tatlock-Burke, 59, was killed by her husband on Oct. 18. (Tara Graham) Nova Scotia politicians passed a bill in September declaring domestic violence an epidemic in the province . The Mass Casualty Commission report said intimate partner violence played a role in the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia. The head of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia said she canvassed political parties during last month's provincial election campaign to see what they would do to address intimate partner violence. Premier Tim Houston said during the campaign that government and organizations have been working to implement recommendations from the commission's report. "Domestic and gender-based violence is an issue our government takes very seriously," Houston said in a statement at the time. MORE TOP STORIES N.S. university students propose revamped colon cancer screening kits Documentary examines the life and murder of Mi'kmaw activist Violent sex offender reaches statutory release Death of second homeless man in N.S. in last two weeks leads to calls for changeDrink for a charitable cause this winter on the Tri-Valley Beer Trail
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KUWAIT: Zain, Kuwait’s leading technology innovator, announced its platinum sponsorship of NEXUS—the largest technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship gathering of its kind. The three-day event was held at The Arena Kuwait, featuring participation from over 100 entities from the public and private sectors, under the patronage and presence of Minister of State for Communications Affairs Omar Al-Omar. Zain took part in the exhibition’s opening ceremony, which was attended by officials, executives, and experts representing a wide range of industries. The company’s support to this event aligns with its strategy to contribute to the national economy, emphasize the private sector’s role in supporting the country’s digital transformation plans, accelerate the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and empower Kuwaiti talent. How technology shapes future During the event, a panel discussion titled “How AI, data, and IoT will shape the future” was held, joined by Hamad Al-Marzouq, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at Zain Kuwait and Abdullah Al-Ajmi, Acting Chairman of the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), along with other experts. During the panel, Al-Marzouq highlighted Zain’s leading role in digital transformation and how the company employs IoT and AI technologies to enhance customer experience and promote digital lifestyles. He also discussed some of Zain’s innovative solutions to integrate data analytics in smart city projects. He also discussed key projects in collaboration with government and private institutions to advance smart city initiatives and explored the opportunities that 5G and IoT technologies bring to Kuwait’s digital future. “At Zain, we take pride in being pioneers in adopting AI solutions and new technologies. We extend our gratitude to CITRA for their role in supporting our initiatives and facilitating the necessary licenses for launching technologies such as 5G, data centers, and cloud services in the market,” said Al-Marzouq during the panel discussion. “On the consumer side, we were the first to introduce AI-powered customer service solutions, such as our interactive smart platform, zBot, that we launched years ago. We also offer a comprehensive portfolio of IoT solutions that enrich our customers’ smart home experiences.” Al-Marzouq talked about Zain’s contributions in the enterprise sector. “We have numerous success stories where we empowered public and private sector entities to adopt the latest solutions such as 5G and 5G Advanced connectivity, and we’ve worked to enhance the smart city ecosystem by deploying 800,000 smart meters in collaboration with the Ministry of Electricity and Water,” he said. The discussion also touched on Zain’s collaboration with international tech companies. “Our solid partnerships with global technology giants such as Microsoft, Amazon (AWS), Google Cloud, and others have strengthened our digital infrastructure to provide the best services and solutions for business clients in the Kuwaiti market, including large corporations, SMEs, and the public sector,” said Al-Marzouq. He also highlighted a recent AI-driven platform developed by Zain for enterprise clients to help track project progress using data-driven insights. Among the notable success stories was the partnership with the Kuwait Credit Bank to provide an engineering inspection platform using drones, significantly enhancing citizens’ experiences. Discussing the significance of data in decision making, Al-Marzouq stated: “Data has become one of the most valuable resources today. At Zain, we recently launched the Zain Data Office, which assists us in making data-driven decisions. We harness the power of data to offer solutions that help overcome societal challenges and create exclusive offerings tailored to our customers’ unique needs.” Zain had an engaging presence at NEXUS, showcasing its leading experience in digital transformation, support for Kuwaiti entrepreneurs, and the latest fintech solutions, through its dedicated booth and by sharing expertise during engaging panel discussions and specialized workshops throughout the three-day event. Exclusive bundles for SMEs During its participation at NEXUS, Zain launched all-new exclusive bundles tailored for SME customers. Designed specifically for startups, these packages include a variety of offerings from Zain’s business portfolio, such as cloud solutions, 5G services, IoT, 5G connectivity, and more. The new plans provide customized and integrated solutions specifically designed for SMEs, helping them manage and operate their businesses seamlessly. The plans are cost-effective by bundling several services at a competitive price, with flexibility to customize the plans and opt in for add-ons as needed, ensuring small businesses have the tools and support needed for success and sustainable growth. The bundles target SMEs looking to enhance operational efficiency by providing reliable and fast 5G internet connectivity, hosted collaboration services, access to the latest productivity tools, high-level security, and flexible payment options. Additionally, Zain’s booth featured a notable contribution from FOO, Zain’s fintech partner, showcasing cutting-edge fintech solutions for institutions, including digital wallets, digital banking, banking-as-a-service, cloud-as-a-service, payment solutions, digital transformation enablement, and more. Fostering growth for entrepreneurs During the event, Haya AlManaa, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Expert at Zain Kuwait, participated in a panel titled “Ecosystem Builders and Enablers.” She highlighted Zain’s innovation strategy, which aims to support entrepreneurs and empower startups by providing world-class mentorship and acceleration resources. AlManaa spoke about Zain’s role in providing resources and mentorship to new entrepreneurs through its award-winning tech startup accelerator, Zain Great Idea (ZGI). She also discussed the challenges startups face in the tech space and how to overcome them to achieve sustainable growth, as well as Zain’s efforts to foster innovation and inclusion, especially for women in entrepreneurship. Zain’s booth featured participation from three Kuwaiti entrepreneurs from the finalists of the ZGI program, which recently concluded its global acceleration phase in Silicon Valley in the US. The participants included Faisal Tawfiqi and Fahad Alzuabi from USim — an internet roaming app, Abdullah Albusairi from EYON— an Arab live streaming platform, and Abdullah Shaban from Mawqif — a parking app. They highlighted their competitive services to visitors and shared their experiences from the ZGI program. NEXUS featured the first-of-its-kind startup challenge, where 100 startups competed for six major awards totaling KD 30,000, including a grand prize of KD 10,000. Three startups from the current ZGI cohort participated in the competition: Ghaneema Al-Mutawa, Yousur Al-Mutawa, and Yasmeen Al-Kandari from Seeds Academy; Mohammed Al-Kandari and Khaled Ibrahim from Caliery; and Abdulrahman Al-Fneisan from ADWAA. They presented their pioneering ideas and business models to the judging panel and audience. Partnership with ‘Raha’ On the sidelines of the exhibition, Zain announced a collaboration with Raha, the rapidly growing logistics technology company in Kuwait. Through this collaboration, Raha’s subsidiary, Smooth Logistics, will support Zain’s logistics operations, leveraging its expertise in advanced AI-powered robotics and automation solutions, considered to be among the best in their class in the logistics industry. The partnership was announced in the presence of Ahmad Al-Habib, Outbound Department Manager in the Channels Division at Zain Kuwait, and Saleh Al-Tunaib, co-founder and CEO of Raha. Smooth Logistics will provide support in managing Zain’s logistics operations, including transporting, storing, and shipping products and orders, following the highest standards of quality and efficiency, and utilizing AI-powered robotic solutions in its state-of-the-art facilities in Kuwait. Hamad Al-Marzouq: “Data has become one of today’s most valuable resources. At Zain, we harness the power of data to enhance customer experiences and enrich their digital lifestyle.”
Investing in private companies has long been the protected fiefdom of wealthy accredited investors, angels and venture capitalists. But no longer: It’s now becoming possible for the masses. Today, there are new platforms that connect retail investors with startups looking for seed capital, along with publicly-traded investment firms that hold stakes in private companies that are nearly ready to go public themselves. Those options are increasingly necessary for retail investors, as the number of publicly-listed operating businesses has been dwindling for decades. The number of operating businesses listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, for example, has fallen to just 712 by the end of 2023, down from 1,166 in 2002 . Virtually every major public market globally has experienced a similar decline, as ballooning sums of private capital have allowed startups to stay private for longer – denying retail investors from participating in what is often the most lucrative period of a company’s growth. When Peter-Paul Van Hoeken started his equity crowdfunding platform, FrontFundr, in 2015, his mission was to change that. “We are basically turning anyone into an angel investor,” he said in an interview. “Providing companies with the opportunity to raise capital from a much wider group of investors, and of course for the public, which has traditionally been locked out from investing in private companies, access to these opportunities, that just made a lot of sense to me.” Because the concept was novel in Canada nearly a decade ago, Mr. Van Hoeken said getting licensed to trade securities that are not listed on stock exchanges in British Columbia took about 18 months. But after that first approval, the company was able to quickly expand across the country. Today, FrontFundr is available in eight provinces and the Yukon, with plans to reach Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories soon. There are roughly 50,000 Canadian retail investors registered on the platform. Together, they have invested $200-million worth of stock in Canadian startups through 175 individual capital raises. The minimum investment for each campaign on FrontFundr is usually a few hundred dollars and can be as low as $100. “Even if the total amount you have to invest is around $5,000, you could still make 10 to 20 investments through our platform,” Mr. Van Hoeken said. Getting access to the same opportunities as angel investors, however, comes with the same limits on liquidity. “Typically you invest longer term, which could easily be five or 10 years. Of course, the desired outcome is that the company is either acquired in the future or goes public and that provides the liquidity event for those investors.” Some companies that have raised money on FrontFundr have gone public relatively quickly, though Mr. Van Hoeken said those are the outliers. Agricultural technology company Hempalta Corp. HEMP-X , for example, raised $443,494.05 on FrontFundr in 2022 and ended up debuting on the TSX Venture Exchange in March, 2024. Other notable startups that have raised money on FrontFundr include organic mushroom producer Stay Wyld Organics and ridesharing app Hovr , which recently garnered attention for going up against Uber by offering better wages for drivers. For investors looking for private company exposure with the ability to get their money out whenever they want, options such as Stack Capital Group Inc. might be more attractive. Stack trades on the TSX and invests in some of the most well-known private companies in the world. Space X, Australian graphic design software maker Canva and Montreal-based travel platform Hopper are among its largest holdings. “A lot of companies are staying private for longer and longer before they IPO and retail investors can’t get access to that value in the private markets,” said Jeff Parks, co-founder and chief executive officer of Stack, in an interview. “That is why we wanted to bring a public vehicle out there so people can put it in their personal account, an RRSP, TFSA, doesn’t matter if it is registered or not. We really tried to think about what the barriers were for people to get access to these kinds of investments.” Another difference from the FrontFundr model is that Stack only invests in later stage private companies that are between six and 36 months from going public themselves. Stack also differentiates itself from the growing number of private credit funds, according to Mr. Parks, by ensuring a consistent level of liquidity. Increasingly common redemption halts have left many investors wary of alternative funds. Mr. Parks said many alternative fund managers have been forced to tell their investors that “we can’t give you your money back” because they are often unable to quickly sell their underlying holdings to create liquidity. “You can’t do this private trading stuff within a fund,” he said. As for why private funds continue to attract so much attention relative to Stack, “I just don’t think a lot of people know that we are out there right now. They don’t know that we exist and that we have assets like Canva and Space X.” But the idea is starting to catch on, and competitors are coming. One is AIP Asset Management, a Toronto-based investment manager that has offered a private debt fund to accredited investors for more than a decade. AIP is preparing to launch a new portfolio company on the TSX Venture Exchange called Access Pre-IPOs. Set to trade under the ticker, “XIPO,” the company will seek to invest in high-profile private companies such as Open AI, Epic Games and Stubhub. As for how to acquire those stakes, AIP co-founder and senior portfolio manager Jay Bala has a plan. There are always private company employees who receive stock as part of their compensation that they need to cash out “because life happens,” Mr. Bala said. “People get married, divorced or have kids heading to medical school.” He offered the example of a 29-year-old who has been working at a private company for five years and holds a million dollars worth of stock. “Say they are getting married next year, thinking, ‘if I cash this out, I can pay off my student loans and start fresh without a mortgage.’ They are unsure when the company will go public, and then we come along with an offer of $900,000 cash today,” he said. “That’s a deal they won’t pass up.” The key differentiator for XIPO, Mr. Bala said, will be offering “daily liquidity to an illiquid asset class that is typically reserved for institutional investors and high-net-worth family offices.”Swaffar: Three observations from USD's comeback victory over NDSU