Technology

Fairtrade Unveils First-Ever ‘Non-Fungible Banana’ Amid Rising Climate Threat to Global Agriculture

Published

3 years ago

November 3, 2022

At COP27 Climate Conference, The Last Banana will warn delegates and governments alike that the future survival of the world’s most popular fruit is at risk

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Fairtrade International, the leading certification for social justice and sustainability, is set to launch the world’s first Non-Fungible Banana, or NFB, in an effort to spotlight the increasing threat climate change poses to the planet’s most beloved food products and the livelihoods of the farmers and agricultural workers who grow them, the organization announced today.

Dubbed The Last Banana, Fairtrade’s NFB, which differs from a Non-Fungible Token in that it is not commercially accessible and does not rely on energy-intensive processes for production, will be unveiled on 10 November at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, where it will be on view at the FAO Pavilion as a definitive warning to visiting delegates that the future of the global food system hangs in the balance. The Last Banana will also be accessible to audiences in over 21 Fairtrade markets as Fairtrade organizations around the world encourage viewers to visit the NFB’s virtual gallery space online.

“The Last Banana is Fairtrade’s call to the world that if we don’t step up and achieve inclusive and equitable climate solutions with farmers and agricultural workers at the centre of climate action, we risk losing our favourite food products forever,” said Melissa Duncan, Executive Director at Fairtrade International.

Bananas are hands down the world’s most popular fruit. And with an estimated global export value of $7 billion dollars per year, they are also likely one of the most essential, as the banana trade remains the cornerstone of many countries’ economies.

For more than 450 million people around the world, bananas and plantains are vital staple crops. But amid the impact of climate change and the threats posed by plant diseases like Fusarium TR4, the future of bananas is increasingly at risk – a frightening reality brought out in the Fairtrade and Climate Change study released in late 2021.

According to the study’s findings, dramatic weather patterns spurred by climate change will likely deliver severe blows to agricultural production in key regions around the world, from Latin America to the Asia-Pacific. Banana producers in the Caribbean and in Central America, for instance, are expected to face less rainfall and more extreme temperatures, while those in Southeast Asia and Oceania will see an increased risk of tropical cyclones.

“Farmers and workers are not only on the frontline of the climate crisis, they also have critical know-how that can mitigate and address climate risks for the benefit of humanity,” Ms. Duncan continued. “If governments fail to include them in the COP27 outcome and empower them to be the custodians of our planet’s food supply, the only future for one of the world’s most popular fruits may very well be a digital NFB.”

Representing more than 1.8 million farmers worldwide, Fairtrade’s delegation will be active at COP27 calling on leaders of government and the private sector to immediately deliver on climate targets by meeting the $100 billion USD climate aid commitment promised by the end of 2022; ensuring climate finance delivers for small holder farmers and workers by including them in the design of climate programmes; agreeing on regulations that tackle the root causes of environmental degradation, such as deforestation, by penalising non-compliance; and supporting farmers and workers with the costs of adaptation and mitigation.

“We already know that the impacts of the climate crisis are being felt by local communities in low-income countries through unprecedented heatwaves, calamitous droughts, intensified hurricanes and destructive downpours,” noted Juan Pablo Solis, Fairtrade International’s Senior Advisor for Climate and Environment.

“The unveiling of a Non-Fungible Banana is a powerful way for us to remind everyone – from global leaders to consumers – that they cannot take their favourite foods for granted. The current climate crisis could very well mean that the last banana is not too far away.”

Visit The Last Banana in Fairtrade’s Virtual Gallery Space

About Fairtrade America

Fairtrade America works to rebalance trade, making it a system rooted in partnership and mutual respect rather than exploitation. It’s about businesses, shoppers, farmers and workers all partnering so we can all experience the benefits of trade. Fairtrade America is the US chapter of Fairtrade International, the original and global leader in fair trade certification with more than 30 years of experience working for fair trading practices in more than 30 countries across the globe. A non-profit 501(c)3 organization, Fairtrade America is the world’s largest and most recognized fair trade system—part of a global movement for change. Learn more at fairtradeamerica.org, and by connecting with Fairtrade America on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Emily Rado
954-592-2003
emily@schroderhaus.com

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SOURCE Fairtrade America

Technology

Wondershare to Showcase AI-Powered Business Workflows with PDFelement at Microsoft AI Tour Hong Kong

Published

24 minutes ago

April 21, 2026

HONG KONG, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wondershare, a global leader in productivity and creativity software, will participate in the Microsoft AI Tour Hong Kong on April 22, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. At Booth E10, the company will showcase its AI-powered business workflow solutions across its product portfolio, highlighting Wondershare PDFelement as a key focus, and inviting attendees to experience how intelligent workflows can transform modern business operations.

As Microsoft’s flagship global AI event, the Microsoft AI Tour brings together industry leaders, partners, and innovators to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping business landscapes. At the Hong Kong stop, Wondershare will highlight its deepening collaboration with Microsoft, showcasing how its product ecosystem works seamlessly within Microsoft’s AI and cloud technologies to enable more efficient, secure, and scalable workflows.

This collaboration comes at a pivotal time for Hong Kong’s rapidly evolving AI landscape. Hong Kong is rapidly emerging as a key AI innovation hub, driven by strong policy support and accelerating enterprise adoption. Despite this momentum, many organizations still face challenges such as fragmented AI adoption, integration complexity, and data security concerns. In collaboration with Microsoft, Wondershare addresses these challenges by enabling connected, end-to-end AI workflows that deliver practical and measurable productivity gains.

Under the theme “Streamline Workflows. Power Content with AI.”, Wondershare presents a unified approach to AI-driven productivity. At the center of this ecosystem is Wondershare PDFelement, enabling smarter and more efficient document workflows within enterprise environments and helping businesses adopt AI in practical, everyday scenarios. Supporting this vision, Wondershare’s broader product portfolio—including EdrawMax, EdrawMind, Filmora, and Reelmate—extends AI-powered capabilities across diagramming, mind mapping, video creation, and premium comic content creation, forming a connected, end-to-end workflow, all of which will also be showcased on-site at the event.

Through live, interactive demonstrations, attendees visiting Booth E10 will be able to explore Wondershare’s full product ecosystem and gain hands-on insight into how AI can enhance productivity across a wide range of business scenarios.

Wondershare warmly invites all participants to visit the booth and discover how AI-powered workflows can unlock new possibilities for business growth.

About Wondershare:

Wondershare is a globally recognized software company founded in 2003, known for its innovative solutions in creativity and productivity. Driven by the mission “Creativity Simplified”, Wondershare offers a range of tools, including PDFelement for document management; EdrawMax, EdrawMind for diagraming, Filmora and SelfyzAI for video editing. With over 2 billion cumulative active users across all products and a presence in over 200 countries and regions, Wondershare empowers the next generation of creators with intuitive software and trendy creative resources, continually expanding the possibilities of creativity worldwide.

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SOURCE Wondershare Technology

Technology

Cohesity Appoints Nigel Lee as Technical Sales Leader, Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ)

Published

24 minutes ago

April 21, 2026

SINGAPORE, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cohesity, today announced Nigel Lee as Technical Sales Leader for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). Based in Singapore, Lee will lead the company’s technical sales strategy, pre-sales organisation, and solution engineering execution across the region, reporting to Mark Nutt, SVP & GM, International at Cohesity, and reflects Cohesity’s increased investment in the region as a strategic priority.

In this newly created role, Lee will strengthen technical engagement with customers and partners, and drive adoption of Cohesity’s AI-driven data security and cyber resilience platform across APJ.

Lee brings 29 years of experience leading pre-sales, sales engineering, and go-to-market changes across Asia Pacific. He has a strong record of building high-performing teams, driving enterprise growth, and engaging C-level stakeholders in complex markets.

“APJ is a strategically important region for Cohesity, and Nigel’s leadership, passion and deep expertise make him exceptionally well positioned to lead our technical sales organisation,” said Mark Nutt, SVP & GM, International, Cohesity. “As we continue to invest in the region, his ability to align technical strategy with the rapidly developing customer requirements caused by the ever-changing threat and compliance landscape will be critical to accelerating our growth and ensuring our customers’ ongoing business resilience.”

Previously, Lee was Director of Data Storage Solutions, Asia Pacific at Lenovo, where he led the regional business and transformed the go-to-market to drive growth. He also held senior regional and global roles at NetApp.

“Across the region, organisations are under increasing pressure to secure, manage, and unlock value from their data as AI adoption accelerates and cyber threats evolve. Cohesity is uniquely positioned to simplify this complexity through a unified, AI-driven data security platform,” said Nigel Lee, Technical Sales Leader, Asia Pacific and Japan at Cohesity. “Having spent my career scaling organisations and embedding solution expertise early in the customer journey, I’m excited to join at this pivotal time and look forward to working with our teams, partners, and customers to drive meaningful, outcome-led growth.”

Lee holds an Executive MBA from Kellogg-HKUST and a Bachelor of Computer Science.

About Cohesity

Cohesity protects, secures, and provides insights into the world’s data. As the leader in AI-powered data security, Cohesity helps organisations strengthen resilience, accelerate recovery, and reduce IT costs. With Zero Trust security and advanced AI/ML, Cohesity Data Cloud is trusted by customers in more than 140 countries, including 70% of the Global 500. Cohesity is also backed by industry leaders such as NVIDIA, Amazon, Google, IBM, Cisco, and HPE.

Cohesity is certified as a Great Place to Work in multiple countries. Follow Cohesity on LinkedIn and visit www.cohesity.com to learn more.

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SOURCE Cohesity

Technology

EcoMatcher Unveils Tree Personas

Published

24 minutes ago

April 21, 2026

A New Nature Interface for Engaging with Your Trees, in Any Language

HONG KONG, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EcoMatcher, a Certified B Corporation that enables companies to plant and track trees transparently, today announced Tree Personas, a new Nature Interface designed to make tree gifting and sustainability engagement more personal, interactive, and memorable.

With Tree Personas, companies can assign a distinct digital personality to each gifted tree, enabling recipients to virtually visit their tree in TreeTracker 3D, chat with it through TreeChat+ in their own language, and learn about its growth, local environment, and real-world impact.

Tree Personas build on EcoMatcher’s earlier TreeChat, which introduced chatbot-powered conversations with trees, only in English. While TreeChat enabled interaction, Tree Personas shape how a tree communicates in any language – from curious and playful to calm and reflective – while all environmental data, location, and impact metrics remain authentic and unchanged.

EcoMatcher describes Tree Personas as a Nature Interface — a new category of digital interface that allows people to interact with real ecosystems through digital companions connected to living trees. The company believes Nature Interfaces can help reconnect people with nature in an increasingly digital world.

Rather than passively receiving information about a planted tree, users can build an ongoing relationship with it — asking questions, learning about its ecosystem, and following its growth over time. Even when users are away, Tree Personas continue to evolve digitally, encouraging people to return and discover new reflections, observations, and updates.

“Trees are essential for life on Earth, yet most people rarely have a personal connection with them,” said Bas Fransen, CEO of EcoMatcher. “Tree Personas turn planted trees into interactive companions that help people learn about nature and build deeper connections with the ecosystems that support us.”

Meet the First Tree Personas

EcoMatcher introduces three Tree Personas available to companies gifting trees, all inspired by real ecological stages and behaviours of trees:

Twiggles: A young, curious tree highlighting small discoveries in nature.Oakly: A grounded, thoughtful tree sharing ecosystems insights.Seren: A calm, reflective tree encouraging deeper connections with nature.

Companies can also collaborate with EcoMatcher to create custom Tree Personas aligned with their brand values, sustainability goals, or storytelling needs.

EcoMatcher will share more about the background and opportunities of Tree Personas during its upcoming Demo Day on April 27. To sign up, visit www.ecomatcher.com/demo.

About EcoMatcher

EcoMatcher is a Certified B Corporation that enables companies to integrate transparent tree planting into their business. Through its technology platform, organizations can plant trees, track them digitally, and engage employees and customers in sustainability. EcoMatcher’s customers include Dubai Islamic Bank, Grab, Infosys, and Singlife.

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SOURCE EcoMatcher