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Standard Chartered and Dun & Bradstreet launch Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index

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MUMBAI, India, March 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Standard Chartered Bank and Dun & Bradstreet, a global leader in business decisioning data and analytics, today released the first-ever edition of Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index (WEOI). The composite Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index for Q4 2024 stood at 68.93 (up by 97 basis points from 67.90 in Q3 2024), indicating that women entrepreneurs had anticipated improved prospects in the last quarter of 2024.

The WEOI has been launched as part of the SC WIN – the Women’s International Network programme of Standard Chartered Bank that supports women-led businesses with funding, cash management, dedicated managers, and a community for supporting them in their growth journey.

This first-of-its-kind index is based on a survey of more than 200 women entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries and cities, and presents effective insights into the outlook, opportunities and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. It focusses on five key dimensions that shape women entrepreneurs’ confidence: business performance, access to finance, skill development, digital adoption, and support of government policies along with personal and professional networks.

Some of the key findings of the survey are:

Thriving business confidence among women entrepreneurs can be attributed to the projected increase in domestic orders, which in turn reflects buoyant demand for their products and services in domestic markets.Women entrepreneurs in Tier 1 cities were more optimistic than those in Tier 2 cities, especially regarding digital adoption and confidence in their skills.Entrepreneurs in health services and those engaged in production of basic and intermediate goods exhibited lower optimism, and those in consumer goods sector seemed to be most optimistic about Q4 2024.In Q4 2024, 64% of the women business owners surveyed expressed interest to digitise their business operations – including Financial Management – to modernise processes and improve efficiency.With the goal of expanding customer base, they also displayed strong preference towards investing in tech tools, with 70% women entrepreneurs planning to invest more on digital tools and processes for customer acquisition in Q4 2024.For growing their business, women business leaders placed topmost importance on leadership and management skills, along with an entrepreneurial mindset.There is also a growing demand for government-backed skill development programs and support initiatives, with 2 in every 5 conveying optimism about the value of these resources.71% women entrepreneurs did not expect to find access to finance easy.

Launching the WEOI Q4 2024 report, Aditya Mandloi, Managing Director, Head, Wealth and Retail Banking, India and South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank, said, “Women entrepreneurs are a powerful force in India’s business landscape, yet systemic barriers continue to hinder their progress. SC WIN reflects Standard Chartered’s commitment to breaking these barriers by equipping women with the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. The Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index further reinforces this commitment, providing data-driven insights to shape policies and initiatives that drive meaningful change.”

Avinash Gupta, Managing Director & CEO – India, Dun & Bradstreet, said, “The Women Entrepreneurship Optimism Index is an essential resource for policymakers, financial institutions, and other key players to create strategies that help women entrepreneurs thrive as it pinpoints factors that either boost or hinder growth. The Index is expected to serve as a barometer to gauge the tone and direction in which our women entrepreneurs perceive their business would grow.”

To download the report for free, log on to the SC-WIN website: https://www.sc.com/in/business/sc-win/You can also download it from the Dun & Bradstreet India website: https://www.dnb.co.in/perspective/reports-and-insights

About Standard Chartered:

Standard Chartered Bank has been operating in India with a continuous presence of over 165 years making it one of the oldest foreign banks in the country. The Bank has a network of 100 branches across 42 cities. Key business segments include Corporate and Investment Banking and Wealth and Retail Banking. For more information, visit https://www.sc.com/in/

Globally, we are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 52 of the world’s most dynamic markets. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

For more stories and expert opinions, please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

About Dun & Bradstreet: 

Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, enables companies around the world to improve their business performance. Dun & Bradstreet’s Data Cloud fuels solutions and delivers insights that empower customers to accelerate revenue, lower cost, mitigate risk and transform their businesses. Since 1841, companies of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to help them manage risk and reveal opportunity. For more information on Dun & Bradstreet, please visit www.dnb.com

Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited is headquartered in Mumbai and provides clients with data-driven products and technology-driven platforms to help them take faster and more accurate decisions across finance, risk, compliance, information technology and marketing. Working towards Government of India’s vision of creating an Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) by supporting the Make in India initiative, Dun & Bradstreet India has a special focus on helping entrepreneurs enhance their visibility, increase their credibility, expand access to global markets, and identify potential customers & suppliers, while managing risk and opportunity. 

Visit www.dnb.co.in for more information. Click here for all Dun & Bradstreet India press releases. 

 

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Gelion plc Announces Strategic Partnership with Max Planck Institute

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Company to leverage MPI’s breakthrough in Next-Generation Sulfur Batteries

SYDNEY, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Gelion plc (AIM: GELN), the global energy storage innovator, is pleased to announce a strategic cooperation agreement with the Max Planck Institute (MPI), Potsdam, to develop high-power, high-cycle life sulfur batteries with high energy densities.

 

 

Highlights

The partnership brings together Gelion’s advanced battery technology designs with MPI’s breakthrough nano-confined carbon/sulfur composite cathode[#] and anode material technologies;The novel sulfur composite technology has been successfully tested by MPI in sodium-sulfur (Na-S) cells, demonstrating both long cycle life (many hundreds of cycles) and high-power capabilities (10C), highlighting its potential for use in long duration stationary storage as well as EVs, leveraging off its low-cost materials and its fast-charging characteristics (below 10 minutes);Initial testing relevant to Gelion’s lithium-sulfur (Li-S) technology (energy density of +400 Wh/kg) has also shown great promise and the technology is expected to make a substantive positive contribution to cycle life and power characteristics;The agreement enables Gelion to integrate the technologies, designs and expertise of both parties to fully demonstrate MPI’s nano-confined materials – initially in coin and then in larger, commercially relevant pouch cell formats – for both Na-S and Li-S batteries;The board of Gelion believes that this collaboration aligns seamlessly with Gelion’s sulfur battery strategy and significantly accelerates its pathway to commercialisation.

MPI’s data has demonstrated charge and discharge rates down to below 10 minutes, with Na-S batteries at lifetimes well in excess of many hundreds of cycles and at capacities that suggest achievable energy densities of the best current Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries. The first phase of testing has already commenced at Gelion’s facilities, with promising early results that validate the main elements of MPI’s testing and signal a bright future for this pioneering technology.

This collaboration aligns seamlessly with Gelion’s sulfur battery strategy and significantly accelerates its pathway to commercialisation.

A New Era for Sulfur Batteries

The Board of Gelion believes that the MPI technology represents a major leap forward for sulfur-based energy storage. It combines power, energy density, and long cycle life, three essential characteristics previously difficult to achieve in a single cell. Notably, it addresses key challenges in sulfur battery development by providing a path towards rapid charge and discharge rates with outstanding stability, while utilising low-cost, abundant materials like carbon, sodium, and sulfur.

Partnership for Progress

The collaboration will also focus on scaling anode technologies that improve safety and durability, addressing industry concerns around metal dendrites. By integrating MPI’s novel nano-confined anode materials with Gelion’s innovative battery designs, the partnership aims to create commercially viable, high-performance energy storage solutions.

Summary of Agreement between Gelion and Max Planck Institute

Under the agreement between Gelion and the Max Planck Institute, both parties will combine their intellectual property to develop new technologies, with Gelion granted an exclusive option to acquire exclusive commercial rights to any jointly developed IP and relevant background IP. This option can be exercised during the three-year collaboration period or within six months after its conclusion, with any rights acquired being subject to a licensing agreement on reasonable commercial terms. Throughout the partnership, MPI will dedicate two researchers to the project, with Gelion covering their costs, focusing on core technology development and testing while also contributing to commercialisation.

Gelion CEO, John Wood, commented: “This collaboration harnesses a unique hybrid approach that synergistically enables both conversion and intercalation on each electrode. Sulfur has always been about high energy density but struggled with power and cycle life. By merging Gelion’s and MPI’s approaches we are now demonstrating the potential to provide all three characteristics in one cell.

“This goes beyond being simply a ‘better battery’, because it conceptually re-defines some of the very essence inside the cell. 

“Gelion and MPI have set a collaboration plan utilising the best capabilities of each team to build on the positive test results already achieved and to deliver sulfur cell technology that does not compromise and delivers high performance in energy, power, and cycle life.”

Prof. Dr. Markus Antonietti, Director at MPI, added: “We are excited to partner with Gelion to commercialise our groundbreaking sulfur battery technology. Together, we aim to deliver affordable, sustainable, and high-performance energy solutions to meet global demands.”

Prof. Thomas Maschmeyer, Gelion Founder and Director, said: “Having known Prof. Antonietti and admired his work for more than two decades, it is wonderful that we are now able to join both efforts, to generate a world-leading technology package. The combined capabilities of Gelion and the MPI are exceptional and can deliver cheap and safe energy storage with highly attractive performance characteristics based on some of the most abundant and well-distributed elements imaginable – carbon, sodium and sulfur.”

[#] Ref: https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202407300.

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Contact: gelion@almastrategic.com 

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Neutech Group Limited Announces 2024 Annual Results

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Deepening the Strategic Transformation toward an Ecosystem of Education, Healthcare, Wellness, and Mind Tour, with Synergies Increasingly Materializing

HONG KONG, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On the evening of March 27th, 2025, Neutech Group Limited (Stock Code: 9616.HK) announced the annual results of 2024.

In 2024, the Group leveraged the “Education + Technology + Services” tri-engine model and pursued integrated development across education, healthcare, wellness, and mind tour to drive strategic transformation. This cross-business synergy sustained steady growth: During the reporting period, the Group achieved revenue of approximately RMB2.042 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.1%; the gross profit was RMB969 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.0%; adjusted net profit was RMB466 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.7%; adjusted net profit margin was 22.8%.

In 2024, building on its education technology foundation, the Group strategically acquired Neutech Healthcare Medical and its subsidiaries to strengthen its healthcare wellness service. Concurrently, it launched the Neuedu Phoenix College brand and introduced elderly education and mind tour services. Marking a new era of transformation, the Company completed its renaming as “Neutech Group Limited”, aligning with its integrated ecosystem strategy. This year not only initiated the Group’s strategic upgrade but also positioned Neutech as a pioneer in building a holistic “teaching, medical, health care and health tourism” ecosystem.

Strengthening Its Educational Foundation and Enhancing Its Core Capabilities

Relying on Neutech’s strong industrial DNA and technological resources, the Group’s education business has achieved accelerated growth and remarkable results. In 2024, In terms of full-time higher education, the three applied undergraduate universities under its umbrella focus on the direction of “IT + digital media + health care”, and the quality of education continues to improve. As of 31 December 2024, the three universities had a total of more than 58,000 students, an increase of 2.3% over the same period in 2023, and a record high year after year. The results of subject competitions have been outstanding. In 2024, students from the three universities won a total of more than 9,100 provincial-level third-prize or higher subject competition awards, more than half of which were national-level awards. Employment and entrepreneurship achieve new heights. As of 31 December 2024, the graduate employment rate for the 2024 cohort across all three universities exceeded 90%, once again demonstrating the strong outcomes of our deep integration between education and industry.

In the terms of educational technology research and development, the Group has built a comprehensive service and product matrix in educational technology. In 2024, we launched the metaverse creative platform openNEU, the Neuedu Smart Education Platform V3.0, and the OpenHarmony ICT Training Lab, further showcasing our commitment to empowering education through technology amid digital transformation.

In terms of educational resource development, the Group has focused on three key sectors—”IT + Digital Media + Health Care”—to establish an integrated 4S product and service system spanning professional content, management platforms, and comprehensive software-hardware solutions. In 2024, the Group provided smart education platforms, educational management software, training laboratory products and supporting teaching materials to 133 educational institutions, while establishing industry-academy partnerships and collaborative specialty programs with 62 colleges and universities, benefiting approximately 23,000 students. Its continuing education services implemented 193 training programs for 94 institutions nationwide, including corporate training, government-commissioned projects, institutional training, teacher development programs and vocational qualification certifications, reaching over 80,000 participants through both online and offline channels. Simultaneously, capitalizing on demographic aging trends, the Group innovatively implemented a  model of education for the elderly featuring “LIFECARES”, which integrates “entertainment, nursing, medicine, and learning”, and established Neuedu Phoenix College in August 2024 with simultaneous enrollment launches in Dalian and Chengdu, accumulating over 250 enrolled students.

Innovation Development in Healthcare Wellness 

To proactively address the profound impacts and unique opportunities presented by China’s increasingly prominent aging society, in 2024 the Group strategically initiated expansion and in-depth development in the silver economy market. The Group has pioneered a new integrated “education healthcare wellness” model, creating a novel ecosystem where: education supports medical care and eldercare; medical services transition to eldercare while supplementing education; and eldercare underpins medical services while assisting education—ultimately forming a stable, interconnected, mutually supportive, efficient and sustainable new industry paradigm.

In terms of the medical care, the Group established four-part integrated system of “medical, health and conservation” in 2024. Ruikang Cardiovascular Hospital handled over 44,000 outpatient and emergency cases, while exceeding 6,000 inpatient admissions and surgical procedures. Meanwhile, Ruikang Stomatolog Hospital served more than 12,000 outpatient visits. In the realm of healthcare, as of December 31, 2024, the Group’s Ruikang Home Care Certer achieved an occupancy rate exceeding 75%. By deeply integrating education, medical care, healthcare, and technology, the Group has realized mutual empowerment between education and industry in practical training bases and talent delivery, promoting efficient resource utilization and continuous value growth.

Looking ahead, the Group will uphold education as its foundation and nexus, deeply engaging in the initiative of “Empower education healthcare wellness ecosystem with technology and boost digital intelligent lifestyles with innovative education.” This entails providing digital-intelligent products and services across the entire lifecycle, encompassing education, healthcare, wellness, industry, and cultural tourism, thereby forging a new integrated development framework. The Group will persist in advancing technology-enabled education and fostering coordinated development across all educational domains. It aims to develop university-affiliated medical and wellness industries, driving the deep integration of healthcare and education through technological innovation. By establishing a digital-intelligent urban elderly care service platform, the Group seeks to offer high-quality consulting services and senior consumer products for home-based, community-based, and institutional elderly care. Additionally, it plans to integrate Neuedu Phoenix College with mind tour services, creating a comprehensive education model of “study-tour-care” model for the elderly. Through efficient sharing and utilization of human, financial, and material resources, the Group aspires to build a harmonious and prosperous ecosystem, delivering greater value to society.

Contact: weilin@neuedu.com 

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Gravity Officially Launches Mobile Version of Roguelike Deck-Building Adventure Game ‘Shambles: Sons of the Apocalypse’ Globally

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A unique blend of text-based adventure, deck-building, and roguelike gameplay featuring captivating storylines shaped by player choicesAvailable for purchase and download via Google Play and Apple App Store, with seven DLCs also launched alongside the base game

SEOUL, South Korea, March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Global gaming company Gravity has officially launched the mobile version of its new roguelike deck-building adventure game, Shambles: Sons of the Apocalypse (hereafter referred to as “Shambles”), developed by EXLIX, on March 27 across global markets.

Shambles is a game that uniquely combines elements of text adventure, card deck-building, and roguelike genres. Set in a post-apocalyptic world 500 years after its collapse, players take on the role of an explorer emerging from a bunker to journey across the surface. Along the way, they will encounter numerous choices that impact not only the storyline but also the character state, equipment, stats, and exploration paths. Each decision acts as a branching point, resulting in vastly different gameplay experiences and narrative outcomes for players.

Combat is turn-based and card-driven, requiring players to use their action points wisely while considering enemy moves for maximum strategic impact. With over 300 cards and more than 200 types of skills and equipment, players can devise different tactics for each expedition.

Prior to its official release, the game’s excellence was recognized early on, winning awards at various game showcases and ceremonies. The title has received recognition at the 2023 G-STAR Indie Game Awards, was named “Game of the Month” by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, won top honors at the Busan Indie Connect (BIC) Festival, and ranked first in user ratings and Top 10 at the Google Indie Games Festival.

The mobile version of Shambles is a paid game available for purchase on Google Play and Apple App Store. The game is priced at USD 6.99, and seven downloadable content (DLC) packs offering expanded content are also available for additional purchase within the app. A demo version is currently available on Steam, with the full version planned for release in the near future.

Yoo Joon, Head of Console Business at Gravity, said, “Shambles is a highly anticipated title that has received favourable reviews at various domestic and international gaming events and contests even before its official release. We invite players to immerse themselves in the game’s original post-apocalyptic world and enjoy the thrill of strategic card-based combat. The mobile version also introduces seven DLCs featuring new regions, stories, and content—so we hope players around the world will show their support and interest.”

For more information on the global launch of Shambles, visit the official website and community lounge:

[Gravity Official Website] http://www.gravity.co.kr[Shambles Official Website] https://www.startwithgravity.net/en/gameinfo/GC_CHAM[Shambles Official Lounge] https://game.naver.com/lounge/start_with_gravity/board/1[Shambles Animated Trailer]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeVyjkm3wdk[Shambles Launch Trailer]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA-Dt7S50Uc[Shambles Steam Page] https://store.steampowered.com/app/2289630/_/[Google Play Download Page]
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gravity.shambles.aos[Apple App Store Download Page]
https://apps.apple.com/app/id6740197039

About Gravity

Founded in April 2000, Gravity is a South Korean game company and a global gaming leader listed on NASDAQ. Its flagship Ragnarok IP has surpassed 203 million global accounts as of August 31, 2024, and has ranked as the second most preferred Korean game in the global Hallyu trend for five consecutive years. Ragnarok Online has also demonstrated its worldwide popularity, securing the No. 1 spot in the “‘Korean Game Users in Overseas Market'” category across multiple regions, including Brazil, Indonesia, the UK, and the US.

Gravity currently has a strong global network with its subsidiary ‘Gravity Neocyon (Korea)’ and overseas branches ‘Gravity Communications (Taiwan region), Gravity Game Link (Indonesia), Gravity Interactive (USA), Gravity Game Arise (Japan), Gravity Game Tech (Thailand), Gravity Game Hub (Singapore), and Gravity Game Vision (Hong Kong SAR).’ Together with the subsidiaries, Gravity is carrying out global publishing business that discovers and distributes not only Ragnarok IP games but also games on various platforms and genres such as PC, mobile, console, and IPTV, thereby expanding awareness and influence worldwide. In addition, along with the expansion into MD, animation, and screen golf business using the Ragnarok IP, content business is also currently being develop, including webtoon production and brand collaboration to discover new IP.

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