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Four Indian startups feature in the coveted longlist for Aurora Tech Award

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-Indian startups making to the Aurora Tech Award longlist include Aica Health, Dzylo, MAMMA-MIYA and Tech4Good Community
-A non-profit initiative of inDrive, the annual award saw a record-breaking 2,018 applications from 116 countries, doubling last year’s submissions

NEW DELHI, Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Four Indian startups – Aica Health, Dzylo, MAMMA-MIYA and Tech4Good Community have made it to the longlist of the coveted Aurora Tech Award. The Aurora Tech Award is an annual award and a non-profit initiative of inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform, spotlighting the boldest and most ambitious female founders in emerging markets. The longlist featured a total of top 120 founders for 2025. The number of top finalists is set to be announced in February 2025, with winners celebrated at a global ceremony later in the year.

Founded by Manishaa Soin, Aica Health is a health-tech startup leveraging AI-powered assistance to manage chronic medical conditions and enable coordinated geriatric care at home. Dzylo, with Anita Tailor as one of Co-Founders, is an all-in-one AI- powered SaaS platform to empower interior designers and build businesses. Similarly, MAMMA-MIA also leverages AI-powered co-pilot to bridge moms’ productivity and well-being needs. Tech4Good Community featured in the list for developing Flake, an open-source data management platform for non-technical users, enhancing NGO tech capabilities.

This year, the award saw a record-breaking 2,018 applications from 116 countries, doubling last year’s submissions. The initiative also garnered increased support from venture capital firms, with the number of VC partners rising from 23 to 35. Notably, this year’s list includes new partners from Egypt, Brazil, and Pakistan, underscoring the growing global recognition of the award and its mission.

“The Aurora Top 120 is a first for us this year, created from a three-month open call that attracted over 2,000 applications from female founders. Through a rigorous selection process, we’ve identified 120 standout women entrepreneurs who are building bold and innovative businesses in emerging markets. These founders are poised to shape the future of their industries and countries, making them the ones to watch in 2025,” said Head of the Aurora Tech Awards, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith.

Healthtech emerged as the leading sector among Aurora’s Top 120, showcasing a global emphasis on innovation in healthcare, with 30 startups operating in this field.

Additionally, agritech and edtech remained highly relevant, while the e-commerce landscape appears to be evolving into more dynamic marketplace models. There are only a few startups in the renewable energy sector—one from Colombia and another from Iraq. Most of the HR tech startups come from Brazil, followed by Singapore in second place, with one from the UK.

The growing participation of women in entrepreneurship marks a significant global trend. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), women’s startup activity rates rose from an average of 6.1% (2001-2005) to 10.4% (2021-2023) across 30 countries.

Emerging markets demonstrate even stronger momentum. Research by WE-FI reveals that 17% of working-age women in developing economies are already entrepreneurs, with 35% aspiring to join them. In contrast, high-income countries report just 9% engagement and 14% aspiration rates. This shift has attracted global VC interest in emerging markets. In 2023, emerging economies received 17% of global VC investment, underscoring their resilience. Firms such as Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital continue to invest in startups across India, Latin America, and beyond, driving substantial growth.

Startups founded or co-founded by women also outperform their male-led counterparts in revenue efficiency. Research by BCG shows that female-led startups generate 78 cents of revenue per dollar of funding, compared to just 31 cents for male-led ventures. Over a five-year period, they also achieve 10% higher cumulative revenue—$730,000 versus $662,000 (MassChallenge 2019).

On a local scale, women-owned businesses fuel economic development and inspire future generations. Reports from ProMujer highlight the critical role female entrepreneurs play in strengthening communities and breaking barriers, reinforcing their long-term societal impact.

The Aurora Tech Award celebrates the boldest and most ambitious female founders in emerging markets, offering more than just recognition. It provides access to expertise, resources, and transformative opportunities to scale their businesses and shape the future. Award applicants gain mentorship, guidance on fundraising and pitching, support in preparing pitch decks, and validation of their efforts. They also connect with investors, VC funds, and PR support, opening doors to valuable networks and resources to drive their success.

About the project

Aurora Tech Award is a non-profit initiative of inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform. The Aurora Tech Award is an award for women tech startup founders whose projects have had a profound impact on global development. The objective is to support women in the field of advanced technologies, especially women entrepreneurs

inDrive is a global mobility and urban services platform. The inDrive app has been downloaded over 200 million times, and was the second most downloaded mobility app in 2023. In addition to ride-hailing, inDrive provides an expanding list of urban services, including intercity transportation, freight delivery, task assistance and  courier delivery. In 2023, inDrive launched New Ventures, a venture and M&A arm.

inDrive operates in over 700 cities in 46 countries. Driven by its mission of challenging social injustice, the company is committed to having a positive impact on the lives of one billion people by 2030. It pursues this goal both through its core business, which supports local communities via a fair pricing model; and through the work of inVision, its non-profit arm. inVision’s community empowerment programs help to advance education, sports, arts and sciences, gender equality and other vital initiatives.

For more information visit www.inDrive.com

 

 

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CCBank Launches Quill Bank to Deliver Banking Expertise to Fintechs

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Quill Bank delivers decades of banking expertise directly to fintechs seeking a credible, consistent, and experienced bank.

PLEASANT GROVE, Utah, June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CCBank is excited to announce the launch of Quill Bank, a distinctive, modern brand designed to serve the fintech banking vertical and bring innovative financial products to market with efficiency and broad appeal. Quill Bank is created specifically to meet the needs of tech-forward financial companies seeking a trusted brand backed by the bank’s regulatory, operational, and relationship-banking expertise.

Quill Bank is designed around the proposition that technology with a human touch ensures the best products and services are delivered to consumers in a safe and compliant manner. The name Quill, a reference to an antique writing instrument, reflects our intention to emphasize thoughtful, relationship-driven banking within a high-tech digital fintech space. The brand’s positioning, “Your fintech, our banking backbone,” also shows our commitment to providing fintech companies with a seasoned, dependable partner standing with them.

“The fintech space is driven by innovation, but innovation without a solid banking backbone can be a liability. Quill Bank exists because the fintechs we work with deserve a brand that reflects the institution standing behind them, one with tested experience, real relationships, and know-how. We’re delivering Quill to be the type of bank that makes fintech programs not just possible but credible,” said Andrew Cusick, CCBank’s Chief Development Officer.

“We’ve always believed that banking done right is built on relationships and reputation. Quill Bank is our way of bringing that philosophy to the fintech sector,” added Mike Watson, CCBank’s Chief Executive Officer. “As we grow and evolve, Quill gives our fintech programs a dedicated identity that speaks their language while drawing on everything we’ve built over the last few decades. We’re thrilled about the future the Quill brand makes possible for us.”

Quill Bank’s launch is effective on June 30, 2026, when the Quill.Bank website will go live. Fintechs interested in learning more about Quill Bank can contact Andrew Cusick at (801) 705-4383 or andrew.cusick@ccbank.com

About CCBank –

Founded in 1993, CCBank is a community-focused financial institution with branch offices located in Salem, Provo, Orem, Pleasant Grove, Sandy, Spanish Fork, and St. George to serve the banking needs of Utah residents and businesses. The bank prides itself on being a longstanding community bank headquartered in Pleasant Grove and focused on Utah communities’ financial and social health through its industry-leading rates, personalized service, financial technology, and quick decisions made at the local level. CCBank is an Equal Housing Lender | Member FDIC. Online: https://ccbank.com.

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SOURCE Capital Community Bank

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Spenn, Norwegian Reward and Strawberry Successfully Go Live on GRAVTY® to Power the Nordics’ Next-Generation Loyalty Ecosystem

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The launch establishes a new benchmark for loyalty ecosystems in the Nordics, connecting millions of members across leading travel, hospitality, and retail brands.

LONDON, June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Loyalty Juggernaut, creator of GRAVTY®, the world’s leading cloud-native, enterprise growth platform, today announced at the Loyalty Summit EMEA the successful go-live of Spenn, Norwegian Reward, and Strawberry on GRAVTY®, enabling one of the most ambitious loyalty ecosystem initiatives in the Nordics. The milestone underscores GRAVTY®’s position as a leading loyalty platform in Europe’s hospitality, travel, and retail sectors.

Spenn was launched with the ambition of creating a shared loyalty points system designed to make earning and using rewards simpler, more flexible, and more relevant across brands, beginning with Norwegian and Strawberry, and expanding to additional ecosystem partners over time. Together, the programs serve millions of members across the Nordic region and reflect a broader industry shift toward interconnected loyalty ecosystems that create value for both consumers and participating brands.

Built on GRAVTY®, the platform enables real-time loyalty transactions, ecosystem-wide engagement, partner-led innovation, personalized experiences, and scalable growth across multiple brands and industries. The implementation provides the technological foundation required to support the continued expansion of the Spenn ecosystem and its growing network of partners.

“Spenn was created to challenge traditional loyalty models and give customers greater flexibility, simplicity, and value across the brands they engage with every day,” said Christoffer Sundby, CEO of Spenn. “Launching on GRAVTY® gives us a highly scalable technology foundation that enables us to accelerate innovation, expand our ecosystem, and create richer experiences for participating brands’ customers.”

“Our vision has always been to make our loyalty programme as relevant and valuable as possible for our Norwegian Reward members. By modernising our technology platform, we are taking an important step towards providing an even better and more flexible offering. This strengthens the connection between travel and everyday rewards, and gives us the flexibility needed to continue developing the experience with new benefits for the years to come,” said Cecilie Nybø Carlsen, Vice President Products & Customer Experience, Norwegian. 

“Strawberry has consistently focused on creating exceptional guest experiences and building deeper relationships with our members,” said Håvard Hovdahl, VP Spenn & Partnerships, Strawberry. “With GRAVTY® powering our loyalty operations, we are well positioned to expand the possibilities of Spenn and deliver greater value, flexibility, and personalization to our guests across the Nordic region.”

“The launch of Spenn required a platform capable of supporting complex ecosystem dynamics, high transaction volumes, real-time interoperability, and rapid partner onboarding,” said Kristian Kolstad, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Spenn. “GRAVTY® provided the architectural flexibility, scalability, and modern capabilities necessary to bring our vision to life and support our future growth ambitions.”

“We are honored to partner with Spenn, Norwegian Reward, and Strawberry on one of the most innovative loyalty transformations in the industry today,” said Shyam Shah, CEO of Loyalty Juggernaut. “The future of loyalty lies in ecosystems, interoperability, intelligent engagement, and customer-centric value creation. The successful launch of these programs on GRAVTY® demonstrates the power of modern loyalty technology to enable entirely new business models and customer experiences.”

About Loyalty Juggernaut

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with subsidiaries in India, the UAE, China, and Canada, Loyalty Juggernaut serves leading brands across 110 countries. Its flagship platform, GRAVTY®, is an award-winning, AI-enabled, patented enterprise growth platform that powers over 80 loyalty programs across airlines, hospitality, retail, financial services, telecommunications, multi-brand business conglomerates, and other industries. Rated a Strong Performer in the Forrester Wave™ for Loyalty Technology Solutions, Q4 2025, GRAVTY® enables organizations to build, manage, scale, and monetize modern loyalty ecosystems while delivering highly personalized customer experiences.

About Spenn Group

Spenn Group is a technology company building and operating a loyalty platform with flexible points, jointly owned by Norwegian Air Shuttle, Strawberry Hotel Group and Reitan Retail. Spenn Group provides shared, flexible points that flow freely across a range of leading consumer brands, including Norwegian, Strawberry Hotels, Uno-X, 7-Eleven, Narvesen, and REMA 1000, enabling cross-brand earn and redemption while preserving each brand’s individual loyalty program. Spenn Group’s founding partners collectively represent over $20 billion in Nordic turnover.

About Norwegian Reward

Norwegian Reward is the loyalty program of Norwegian, a leading Nordic aviation company. The group includes two prominent airlines in the Nordics: Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian) and Widerøe’s Flyveselskap (Widerøe). Members of Norwegian Reward earn benefits when flying with either Norwegian or Widerøe, and also from a growing ecosystem of lifestyle and travel partners. The Norwegian Group operates an extensive network of domestic routes across the Nordic countries, in addition to connecting the region with key destinations all over Europe.

About Strawberry

Strawberry is one of the largest hotel groups in the Nordic countries, operating more than 250 hotels across the Nordics under brands including Clarion, Quality, Comfort, Stopover and Home Hotels, in addition to a portfolio of independent brands. Strawberry’s loyalty program rewards members for stays, dining, and experiences across its portfolio, with a vision to build lasting relationships that extend far beyond the hotel stay.

Media Contact:

media@lji.io

www.lji.io

#FFP #TravelLoyalty #LoyaltyEcosystems #CustomerLoyalty #Spenn #LoyaltyJuggernaut #GRAVTY

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BlockBooster Digital Venture Fund I Invests $10 Million as Anchor Investor in SignalPlus’ $50 Million Series B1 Round

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ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — BlockBooster, a full-stack alternative asset management firm, announced today that its Digital Venture Fund I invested $10 million in SignalPlus, an institutional-grade crypto derivatives infrastructure platform, anchoring the company’s $50 million Series B1 financing round, with Goldman Sachs serving as sole financial advisor.

SignalPlus operates the industry’s leading trading terminal for institutional digital asset options and derivatives, trusted by the largest market makers, exchanges, and trading institutions worldwide. The company is now extending its institutional-grade infrastructure into traditional finance and preparing to launch SignalPlus 2.0, a platform upgrade that brings agentic AI into the trading workflow.

“This investment reflects our conviction that institutional capital will flow into digital assets through credible, institutional-grade infrastructure,” said Samuel Gu, Founder and CEO of BlockBooster. “SignalPlus is one of the most established teams in digital asset derivatives, and we are excited to support their next stage of growth.”

The investment in SignalPlus is aligned with BlockBooster’s strategy of backing category-defining infrastructure at the intersection of AI and digital asset markets, with a focus on trading, asset management, and tokenization primitives that can scale across both crypto-native and traditional financial institutions.

“SignalPlus has built the leading institutional infrastructure for digital asset derivatives, and we are now expanding globally and into traditional finance. We’re pleased to welcome BlockBooster, a full-stack alternative asset manager with deep institutional reach and expertise across tokenization and on-chain finance, and we look forward to working closely as we enter our next phase,” said Chris Yu, Co-Founder and CEO of SignalPlus.

BlockBooster is investing from its first fund, a $50 million Digital Venture Fund I focused on four core verticals: AI infrastructure, on-chain trading ecosystems, on-chain asset management, and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.

About BlockBooster

BlockBooster is a next-era alternative asset management firm for the digital age. The firm leverages blockchain technology to invest in, incubate, and manage the core assets of this new era, from Web3-native projects to real-world assets (RWA). As value co-creators, BlockBooster is dedicated to unlocking the long-term potential of these assets, capturing exceptional value for its partners and investors in the digital economy.

About SignalPlus

Headquartered in Hong Kong, SignalPlus builds institutional-grade derivatives trading infrastructure for the converging capital markets. Its platform provides professional options analytics, real-time risk management, and execution tools to hedge funds, market makers, proprietary trading desks, and asset managers across digital and traditional financial markets. The company partners with the industry’s leading exchanges and trading institutions, and is backed by HashKey Capital, AppWorks, Tencent, and other prominent technology and financial investors.

 

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SOURCE BlockBooster

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