Category: Press Release

Global audiences can catch Riaad Moosa alongside Joey Rasdien, Schalk Bezuidenhout and a bevy of stellar South African talent in much-anticipated film release

In a first for South Africa, international audiences will be able to watch ‘New Material’, the much-anticipated sequel to the hugely popular, award-winning ‘Material’ (2012) featuring acclaimed comedian & actor, Riaad Moosa, as a virtual cinema offering. The film will be available from 30 November worldwide on the streaming platform, Eventive, excluding South Africa, where ‘New Material’ is currently playing in cinemas exclusively.

After what has been a very difficult year for most people, New Material offers battle-weary South Africans and the global community a good laugh and a little respite from the gloom of the pandemic.  “I think comedy is a great way to defuse pain and anguish,” says Riaad Moosa. “When we laugh together with family or friends or with strangers in a cinema, we are able to find release”.

In ‘New Material’, the much-loved character, Cassim Kaif (Riaad Moosa) is back and, together with his best friend Yusuf (Joey Rasdien) and opening act, Hendrik (Schalk Bezuidenhout), the three blaze a trail of mayhem across South Africa, with every stop of their comedy tour delivering a laugh-a-minute.  While international fame beckons in the distance, Cassim has to deal with the immediate complications of the national tour all while balancing the demands of a marriage, a young child and living with his ageing parents. 

‘New Material’ also stars Vincent Ebrahim (The Kumars at No 42, Material), Denise Newman (Material, Disgrace), Carishma Basday (Deep End, Material), Zakeeya Patel (The Girl from St Agnes, Material), Kurt Schoonraad (Tali’s Baby Diary, Skeem), Rajesh Gopie (Mayfair) and Shashi Naidoo. The film is directed by award-winning director Craig Freimond and produced by Robbie Thorpe. The film is produced by Ochre Moving Pictures and Blu Blood Africa and is distributed by Indigenous Film Distribution.

“Eventive is a technology platform designed specifically to enhance the film screening experience, and was built by independent film lovers,” says Helen Kuun, MD of Indigenous Film Distribution. “It is keeping the indie film ecosystem thriving. It’s great virtual solution during the pandemic, and also for the future. We are delighted to be able to make New Material available to a global audience and we urge people to take the opportunity to see some of South Africa’s best comedians in action in this wonderfully heartwarming film.”

The global smart parking systems market size is expected to reach USD 16.06 billion by 2028 according to a new study by Polaris Market Research. The report “Smart Parking Systems Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Hardware; By Software (Guidance System, Analytics Solution); By Service; By Application; By Region; Segment Forecast, 2021 – 2028” gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.

The key factors favoring the global market growth include the increasing rate of adoption of vehicles with an ever-increasing level of urbanization, surge in concerns related to space worldwide, particularly in developing economies, and the substantial growth in demand for advanced technologies, such as IoT, in the automobile industry is one of the integral factor accelerating the market growth. Furthermore, automakers’ increasing investments in driverless vehicles globally, along with the rise in government initiatives to build intelligent city projects, are driving the market forward.

Based on software, the guidance system is the dominating segment in the global industry. It proactively delivers information on unfilled spaces, guidelines, and duration of availability that will boost the segment. Whereas analytics solutions are projected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the overall industry, owing to the increasing capability of the sensors installed on numerous structures, such as light poles.

With a significant surge in the number of intelligent city projects over the past decade, smart systems have witnessed a higher demand. According to the Consumer Technology Association, the spending on intelligent city projects reached almost USD 35.35 billion in 2020, globally.

With the rising rate of intelligent city spending, consumers are shifting their interest towards digital solutions for vehicle parking; thereby, the adoption of intelligent systems is growing worldwide.

Industry participants such as Amco S.A., Altiux Innovations, BMW AG, CivicSmart, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Deteq Solutions, INDECT Electronics, gtechna, Meter Feeder, Inc., Kapsch TrafficCom, Mindteck, SKIDATA AG Municipal Parking Services, ParkHelp Technologies, Flowbird, ParkJockey, Siemens AG, ParkMe Inc., Nedap N.V., are some of the key players operating in the global industry.

In March 2021, RR Parkon deployed a multi-level car system at South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (SDMC). Similarly, in July 2021, Delhi Metro introduced FASTag based intelligent facility at Kashmere Metro Station. This project is a substantial step as a significant part of the Indian government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative, which drives the market forward.

Polaris Market Research has segmented the smart parking systems market report on the basis of hardware, software, service, application, and region:

Smart Parking Systems, Hardware Outlook (Revenue – USD Billion, 2016 – 2028)

• Pucks (wireless sensors)
• Cameras and LPRs
• Smart Meter
• Signage
• Parking Gates

Smart Parking Systems, Software Outlook (Revenue – USD Billion, 2016 – 2028)

• Parking Guidance System
• Analytics Solution

Smart Parking Systems, Service Outlook (Revenue – USD Billion, 2016 – 2028)

• Consulting Service
• Engineering Service
• Mobile App Service

Smart Parking Systems, Application Outlook (Revenue – USD Billion, 2016 – 2028)

• Commercial
• Government
• Transport Transit

Smart Parking Systems, Regional Outlook (Revenue – USD Billion, 2016 – 2028)

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • France
  • Germany
  • UK
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Spain
  • Austria
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Malaysia
  • South Korea
  • Indonesia
• Latin America
  • Mexico
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
• Middle East & Africa
  • UAE
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Israel
  • South Africa

About Us

Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semiconductor.

“Matthews” started July 5 th , 1978.

His name was Matthew A Collura he died in February 2002, but the impact of his life would be eternal. Matthew would make an impact on countless lives who never knew him.

It was an important message that we feel at this time needs to be shared. A question that needs an answer. Why? Why did we start Matthews Healthcare Education? Matthew was everything you hope to have in a Brother. Someone that is caring of others, fights for what is right, has impeachable integrity and above all else inspires others without effort. Matthew the boy grew into Matthew the man and embodied everything that was good in a person. He was the best of us, and his life was tragically lost just as it began.

In 2008, Michael A Collura Matthews eldest Brother, finally had the chance to properly say goodbye to his younger sibling. He built a one of a kind training program that, like Matthew himself, embodied everything that was good about people. Matthews Healthcare Education was created, and, in that moment, Matthew was part of Michael’s life again.

Today Matthews is among the first and only programs approved to operate by the Private Business and Vocational Schools Division of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Aside from being just as unique as the man himself, Matthews has set out to develop and deliver a training program allowing its students to obtain real world, high demand and employment ready skills in the health care industry, specifically focusing on the most in demand of our time, caregivers.

The program, now approved by the Board of Higher Education, is the embodiment of the spirit of Matthew and over the past decade plus of operation it has developed a reputation for producing some of the best caregivers in the market. It now readies itself to launch in all 50 states by January 2022!

Matthews Healthcare Education is intended to do good, and it does. It provides training, skills and continuing education at a low cost and fast pace allowing its participants to join a growing job market that is in high demand and with secure income potential.

“This is not a celebration of an achievement for the business. This is a celebration of what has been achieved in the name of a young man that mattered. My Brother, who I miss every day, and who I hope is proud of what has been created in his name.” -Michael A Collura, President Matthews Healthcare Education

Matthews Healthcare Education is on the frontline of rebuilding the local community, the job market and the healthcare system. It is achieving these milestones in the midst of a pandemic. Why? Because Matthew himself cared for people, he would fight for what is right, his integrity was beyond reproach and he inspired. As such, so do we.

More breaking news on Matthews! Now until July 5th, 2022 the entire online catalog and courses offered through Matthews in all 50 States is FREE to everyone and anyone in celebration of the life and inspiration behind this mission and brand.

For more information visit us at: https://matthews.education/

Media contacts: general@matthews.education      877.499.0066

Mumbai, India – 25^th  March, 2021 : U GRO Capital, a BSE listed, sector focused small business lending fintech platform, today announced the appointment of Pia Shome as Chief People Officer. In this role, she will be in charge of In her role, Pia instrumental in building a quality talent pool across the nation as we ramp up our geographical reach and expand our physical presence to 100 GRO Micro Branches in the coming year. She will also augment the culture of high performance and meritocracy and will also setup up clear career progression programs for U GRO Capital employees.

Pia is an INSEAD alumnus and has over 16 years of experience in the BFSI sector. Prior to joining U GRO Capital, Pia was Head – Human Resources at SMEcorner. She brings extensive experience, having worked in organisations like IDFC First Bank, RBL Bank, DBS Bank, Barclays Bank and TCS eServe International. She has played crucial roles in not only scaling up start-ups but also managing mergers of multiple financial institutions. Pia has served in leadership positions across various verticals like Business Partnering, Recruitment, Rewards and Recognition, Campus Relations, Talent Management and Learning & Development.

Announcing the appointment, Mr. Shachindra Nath, Executive Chairman and Managing Director of U GRO Capital stated, “It gives us immense joy to welcome Pia Shome as Chief People Officer. The realization of U GRO Capital’s aspiration to solve the unsolved credit gap of MSMEs depends heavily on the existence of a coherent, competent, passionate, and agile leadership team. We are confident that Pia’s addition to the team will stimulate a culture of meritocracy and ownership among our employees as we chart out their career progression with us.  We look forward to Pia’s contribution to help build scale as we spread across the country to help MSMEs. I wish her all the very best and a long and illustrious stint with U GRO Capital.”

On her appointment, Pia Shome said, “I am thrilled to be a part of the U GRO Capital team, which has a distinguished structure built upon the founding pillars of knowledge and technology. I firmly believe that people as well as technology shall be our biggest differentiators. In our journey ahead, our focus will be to build strong people capabilities and a culture driven by meritocracy. I am heartened by U GRO Capital’s aspirations of ongoing nationwide expansion and working towards a larger cause of solving the unsolved credit gap of MSMEs. I look forward to joining the team on this enthralling journey.”

About U GRO Capital Ltd.:

U GRO Capital limited is a BSE listed, small business lending fintech platform. The Company is focused on addressing capital needs of small businesses operating in select eight sectors by providing customized loan solutions.

U GRO Capital’s mission is ‘Solve the Unsolved’ – Small Business Credit Need. U GRO Capital believes that the problem of small businesses can be solved by building deep expertise around core sectors of SMEs in India coupled with a data centric, technology-enabled approach.

The Company has raised ~INR 920 crore of capital from a diversified set of private equity funds like institutional investors and well-known family offices.

The Company strives to build a strong SME financing platform based on sectoral understanding supplemented by a fully integrated technology and analytics platform.

Mumbai, India – 2nd March, 2021: U GRO Capital, a BSE listed, sector focused small business lending fintech platform, today, announced the appointment of Mr. Amit Gupta as Chief Treasury Officer. In this role, he will build long term partnerships with Public & Private Sector Banks, Capital Market linked borrowings, Development Financial Institutions and Banks for Co – Lending.

Prior to joining U GRO Capital, Amit served as the Head of Investment and Acquisition at Shapoorji Real Estate Fund where he deployed more than USD 300 Million of capital from the fund. With over 17 years of experience, he is a seasoned financing professional who has worked with large multinational & domestic banks, global real estate consultancy and marquee real estate fund. His rich experience includes exposure to the entire range of wholesale banking products including Rupee Loans, Foreign Currency Loans & related Hedging solutions, Working Capital Solutions, Transactional Banking Products, among others.

Announcing the appointment, Mr. Shachindra Nath, Executive Chairman and Managing Director of U GRO Capital stated, “We are glad to welcome Amit in our team, as the Chief Treasury Officer. NBFCs business model is going through an exciting phase of transition wherein the liability side for next decade would be driven more by off balance sheet partnership. Given Amit’s experience, he would be an invaluable addition to the organization, considering the depth of his knowledge and expertise as a financial professional. The entire management team wishes him a successful journey at U GRO Capital.”

On the appointment, Mr. Amit Gupta said, “I am delighted to join U GRO Capital which is closely working on a mission of solving the unsolved credit needs of small businesses through its unique initiatives. I look forward to leverage my domain knowledge in further strengthening the existing and prospective industry associations as well as supporting the growth of treasury business of the organization.”

About U GRO Capital Ltd.:

U GRO Capital limited is a BSE listed, small business lending fintech platform. The Company is focused on addressing capital needs of small businesses operating in select eight sectors by providing customized loan solutions.

U GRO Capital’s mission is ‘Solve the Unsolved’ – Small Business Credit Need. U GRO Capital believes that the problem of small businesses can be solved by building deep expertise around core sectors of SMEs in India coupled with a data centric, technology-enabled approach.

The Company has raised ~INR 920 crore of capital from a diversified set of private equity funds like institutional investors and well-known family offices.

The Company strives to build a strong SME financing platform based on sectoral understanding supplemented by a fully integrated technology and analytics platform.

Trivandrum, February 18: Technopark-based Toonz Media Group, one of the world’s leading entertainment companies specializing in animation content production, has launched an exciting new OTT platform for kids and family entertainment called MyToonz. Toonz has tied up with multiple app stores, telecos, OTTs and connected TV companies around the world to make MyToonz available for consumers across platforms. The MyToonz app is now available on iOS, Android and Android TV playstores, as well as the Roku Video-on-Demand platform, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

Toonz has also inked deal with telecommunication giant Airtel in India to integrate MyToonz on their app store. Airtel subscribers in India will be able to access the MyToonz digital library using the Airtel Xstream app. Besides this, the animation major has tied up with mobile tech services company U2opia Mobile to integrate MyToonz on various telco platforms in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

A first-of-its-kind exclusive kids OTT platform to be launched by an Indian entertainment company, MyToonz originates from the compelling need to create a safe and engaging entertainment destination for kids and families in the digital landscape.

“MyToonz will be a space where the whole family can come together to enjoy world-class content. We have envisaged MyToonz as the go-to destination for kids to watch safe, fun and nutritious content, which will be available in multiple global languages. All MyToonz programming is compliant with international safety standards for child viewing. We have also given a conscious thrust to co-viewing, to encourage families to watch and enjoy together,” said Toonz Media Group CEO P. Jayakumar.

“Kids are emerging as the fastest growing audiences in the OTT ecosystem, it only becomes imperative that we have content that is highly engaging juxtaposed with safety and education on Airtel Xstream. Our partnership with MyToonz  will help us in bringing more of such responsible content for our young audiences.” said Sudipta Banerjee , Chief Product and Technology Officer, Wynk. Wynk is Airtel’s streaming app.

“We are excited to partner with Toonz Media Group to take their unique genre of universal animation content, My Toonz, to our global telecom partners. At U2opia Mobile, we aim to drive great value to our customers through bundling and other creative distribution opportunities,” said Sumesh Menon, Co-founder and Managing Director of U2opia Mobile.

Toonz Media Network, the digital division of the company, already has a formidable digital presence with a bouquet of 18 YouTube channels, 15 million+ subscribers & 350 million+ viewership per month on YouTube alone. Besides this, the division is also live on multiple Video-on-Demand (VoD) platforms as well as the platforms of various Smart TVs & Telcos.

With MyToonz, the company seeks to take its impressive catalogue of premium content, including international co-productions with the top studios and productions houses in the world, to kids and families across the globe.

The MyToonz library will launch with over 1500 half hours of content, with new content being added every week. The library includes movies and episodic content across different genres. Besides English, there are dedicated playlists in Spanish, Russian and Hindi languages. The content on platform has been categorized to be targeted at pre-schoolers, upper pre-schoolers and early teens. The programming is also carefully curated to provide quality entertainment to kids and families through fun, educational, safe, non-violent and environmentally sensitive content that celebrates diversity. The MyToonz library can also be accessed online over the website www.mytoonz.com.

About Toonz Media Group

Toonz is a 360-degree media powerhouse with over two decades of unparalleled experience and one of Asia’s most active animation production studios (over 10,000 minutes of 2D and CGI kids and family content per year). Having worked with the world’s leading entertainment studios, channels and networks including Marvel, Nickelodeon, Turner, Disney, Netflix, Dreamworks, Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, BBC, Amazon, Google, Hulu, HBO and Exodus Film Group, Toonz has to its credit several animation and live action series, as well as feature films.