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Clickatell Announces World’s First Chat Commerce Platform as a Service (CCPaaS)

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Clickatell

Brands utilizing CCPaaS can provide rich commerce experiences for consumers in any mobile messaging channel

SAN FRANCISCO, United States of America, April 18, 2023/APO Group/ — 

Clickatell (https://apo-opa.info/3UKhn92), a pioneer in mobile messaging and Chat Commerce innovation, today announced the launch of the world’s first Chat Commerce Platform as a Service (CCPaaS) (https://apo-opa.info/3L9mmNk) that empowers brands to capitalize on the opportunity of chat commerce, the emerging next wave of digital commerce. This ground-breaking platform enables businesses to seamlessly connect, interact and transact with their customers on the messaging platforms they already use. Clickatell’s April 2023 release of the first Chat Commerce Platform as a Service delivers full, authenticated commerce experiences within the most widely adopted mobile messaging environments, such as WhatsApp, Apple Messages, SMS and USSD.

This next evolution of Clickatell’s Chat Commerce Platform allows businesses to create chat commerce experiences that drive sales and increase customer satisfaction. Businesses stay ahead of the conversational commerce trend by conducting commerce in the world’s largest messaging apps. Clickatell’s CCPaaS also allows businesses to save time and reduce costs by providing relevant, in-context brand experiences and secure payment capabilities to their customers through the convenience of messaging. New platform features include card tokenization and integration with WhatsApp Commerce (https://apo-opa.info/41zI5Dn) functionalities that allow the display of product information and images in the brand’s WhatsApp channel.

New Innovative Payments in Chat

CCPaaS is the first SaaS solution to provide secure payment processing by integrating with leading payment gateways, allowing businesses to efficiently process transactions within the chat interface. With card tokenization, consumers can securely pay via a link in any messaging channel, leading to a Clickatell-hosted checkout that tokenizes the user’s payment information and saves it for future use — making subsequent purchases streamlined for the consumer with ‘one tap pay.’ The platform is PCI-DSS, ISO27001 and SOC2 compliant, ensuring the highest security standards for data protection and privacy.

“The launch of Clickatell’s Chat Commerce Platform as a Service marks a significant milestone in our company’s mission to revolutionize customer engagement and facilitate frictionless commerce within messaging apps,” said Pieter de Villiers, CEO and Co-Founder at Clickatell. “We run our lives within messaging apps; whether arranging a lunch with a friend or scheduling a school drop-off, messaging is convenient and simple.

‘Our new platform enables our favorite brands to serve us in these same messaging platforms with a full commerce experience, such as checking into your next flight and paying for a seat upgrade. As the first of its kind, CCPaaS sets a new standard for the future of chat commerce and reinforces Clickatell’s pioneering position in the industry. We made history in 2000 when we became the first company to connect the world’s fastest growing commerce platform – the internet – with the world’s fastest growing communications platform – the mobile phone – via our SMS Gateway. I am proud to see our team continuing the innovation and executing on the vision.”  

Simple CCPaaS Packaging for Customers’ Needs

Clickatell’s CCPaaS is offered through three distinct packages:

Connect is the foundation package that enables businesses to send and receive enterprise-grade mobile messages over multiple messaging channels via a RESTful API or a web-based campaign management tool. This package delivers high-volume services and campaigns, adhering to strict security and compliance requirements, delivering billions of messages reliably to customers all over the world. Key features include high volume queuing and routing, message encryption, anonymous messaging and number management.

Businesses drive sales and increase customer satisfaction in mobile messaging with Clickatell’s Chat Commerce Platform

Adding to Connect, the Interact package enables businesses to have meaningful conversations with their consumers delivering the kind of digital experiences that today’s mobile-first consumers have come to expect. Brands can now easily and quickly build messaging workflows to deploy chatbots and mini-apps from a low/no-code web interface. Interact allows an instantaneous response to the customer through a chatbot with powerful features including keyword management, assets library and integrations with leading CRM and OMS solutions. Interact also includes live agent enablement through an advanced web-based application that provides real time sentiment insights, agent assist, chat transfers and agent performance metrics, all designed to improve agent performance and drive better customer experience.

Transact enables businesses to sell products and services directly within messaging channels by sending the customer a payment prompt that initiates a secure and simple payment experience. Transact builds on the foundation of Connect and Interact, allowing businesses to create full commerce experiences within messaging. Businesses can accept payments on the Clickatell Platform with no development required, and with secure link and OMS integration, businesses can provide unparalleled check out experiences that are fully cloud native and turnkey. State-of-the-art payment capabilities include tokenization for frictionless user experience, PCI-DSS security and GDPR and local privacy compliance and legacy processes integration.

“As commerce continues to evolve yet again, we are helping brands to engage with their customers in this emerging chat commerce space,” said Jeppe Dorff, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Clickatell. “Our vision has always been to create a chat commerce platform that is focused and built around the key performance metrics that matter most to our customers, performance and operational efficiencies, customer satisfaction and increased business improvements. Our Chat Commerce Platform as a Service not only achieves that vision, it also provides an unparalleled user experience for both brands and their consumers, while fostering digital transformation and in context communications with the click of a button. With our innovative low/no-code platform, businesses may rapidly implement and customize their chat commerce solutions, regardless of technical expertise.”

To address this emerging chat commerce opportunity, Clickatell’s CCPaaS includes several powerful features designed to transform customer engagement into delightful commerce experiences and drive brand loyalty:

Customizable chatbots (https://apo-opa.info/3MPQHBI): Capabilities to develop and deploy chatbots to automate conversations, handle customer inquiries and drive sales.

Live agent chat (https://apo-opa.info/43FkCm6): Smooth escalation from chatbots to live agents, enabling brands to offer personalized and efficient customer support when needed. Live agents can access conversation history and customer information for a seamless transition and enhanced customer experience.

Real-time analytics and reporting: Access to valuable insights into customer behavior, chatbot performance and transaction data, enabling data-driven decisions and optimization of chat commerce strategies.

Easy integration with existing systems (https://apo-opa.info/40hj3YP):  A point and click embedded solution for seamless integration with CRM, ERP and other business systems. The platform comes pre-integrated with popular solutions like Shopify, Zendesk and Salesforce, ensuring a faster time to market for businesses.

Embedded payments (https://apo-opa.info/3GSIhWJ): Embedding payments into chat allows brands to engage in transactional commerce as easy as a reply to pay. The feature comes with a secure link, hosted order pages, check out with Order Management integrations and a rich user experience in available channels.

For more information about Chat Commerce Platform as a Service and Clickatell visit www.Clickatell.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Clickatell.

Business

$2.1 Billion and Counting: African Real Estate Is Executing

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Africa

Ahead of the 17th Africa Property Investment (API) Summit in Cape Town, investment pipelines are converting into a record number of transactions as the continent’s real estate and hospitality sectors move from potential into real momentum

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 21, 2026/APO Group/ –Verified data gathered from across Africa’s real estate investment landscape reveals that the continent’s leading property and hospitality roleplayers completed more than $2.1 billion worth of transactions over the past 18 months, representing one of the most concentrated periods of institutional real estate deal activity in the continent’s history.

 

Download Document: https://apo-opa.co/3TraTiH

The 28 transactions (across nine countries and eight asset classes) were closed by API Summit stakeholders from across the institutional property ecosystem – spanning listed capital markets, commercial, residential, hospitality, logistics and alternatives.

The full African Deals Index report – compiled in collaboration with Broll, the data and insights partner for API Summit 2026 – will be unveiled on the opening day of the event, taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 17 and 18 September.

Talk turning to investment action

The deal-making activity is a signal of the much-spoken-about potential for Africa converting into tangible action, driven by enhanced investor confidence.

“This isn’t a forecast – it’s a balance sheet. $2.1 billion in completed transactions tells you African real estate has moved past the conversation about potential and into the discipline of execution,” said Malcolm Horne, Group CEO of Broll Property Group.

Horne highlighted several key shifts reflected in the data.

“What’s notable is where the conviction is coming from: domestic pension capital acting as a structuring investor, not a passive landlord, and green-linked financing becoming a board-level decision, not a marketing line. At Broll, we see this in our own data every day – across the assets we manage, the cost of capital is increasingly tied to the quality of the asset, not just its location.

“That’s the market maturing in real time, and it’s exactly the momentum my team and I are looking forward to presenting and unpacking at API this year.”

The 17th Annual API Summit takes place under the theme Bold Capital. Real Momentum. and is expected to attract over 600 delegates from more than 30 countries.

Niyi Adeyele, Head of Real Estate Finance, Africa Regions at Standard Bank Group, commented on the evolution of real estate sector funding across Africa.

“It remains interesting to track the resilience and the evolution of activities in the sector, from growing capital market activities, to the rapidly increasing participation of domestic capital sources within the African continent from domestic focused institutional capital sources such as pension funds and family offices to pan-African investor platforms that tend to operate across multiple countries.”

He said that accordingly, sectoral activity levels remain positive, with the “growing pace of green field projects in key markets” providing “early indications of a new growth cycle for the sector”.

Investors now have listed, liquid exposure to African real estate, and issuers have a repeatable route to permanent capital

Major moves from domestic capital and DFIs

Domestic pension capital has moved decisively beyond its traditional role as a passive landlord, emerging as an active, structuring investor in African real estate – a shift that will be central to discussions at the summit.

The charge was led by South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund (through the Public Investment Corporation and retail property powerhouse Pareto), which concluded commercial, residential and industrial transactions valued at over $343.5 million since the start of 2025.

“Through the Standard Bank Group’s franchise operations across multiple countries, there are observed increase deployment of institutional capital to across key markets driving increased primary and secondary market activities,” said Adeyele, pointing to examples such as Grene Capital’s raising of $100 million from Nigerian pension for property investments in Nigeria and beyond.

Sustainability-linked deal leads the way

Sustainability remains a critical factor in real estate financing considerations – evidenced by the largest transaction completed over the past 18 months.

Standard Bank and its African Regions brand Stanbic (along with Rand Merchant Bank) acted as co-lender on a $300 million green financing facility to facilitate Lango’s bid to become Africa’s first Green Pure Play real estate company, with 90% of its portfolio certified according to international standards.

Amongst several other milestones, the Africa Logistics Property (ALP) Industrial REIT listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange in March 2026 was notable as East Africa’s first listing featuring entirely IFC EDGE-certified green buildings.

Listed capital makes major moves

REIT capital markets were the second largest asset class by value across the period, accounting for $568.5 million of activity, with the action extending well beyond South Africa’s established counters.

East Africa welcomed ALP’s Industrial REIT (marking the region’s first industrial and first USD-denominated security); Centum’s TRIFIC Dollar I-REIT (the first green, income-distributing USD-denominated) and Acorn Holdings’ build-to-rent D-REIT.

On Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, the Pfuma Fund REIT and Eagle REIT both listed, deepening a hard-currency capital market that scarcely existed five years ago.

“Seeing multiple REITs listing on exchanges in one cycle tells you the asset class has crossed from novelty to norm. Investors now have listed, liquid exposure to African real estate, and issuers have a repeatable route to permanent capital,” said Raghav Gandhi, CEO of ALP.

API Summit 2026 – ushering in the next wave of deals

The unprecedented commitment of capital into Africa’s real estate sector takes centre stage when the 17th Annual API Summit convenes. Welcoming the investors, developers, financiers and policymakers behind the continent’s most prominent deals, this year’s event features a new Multifamily Forum alongside the popular Hospitality and Proptech Forums; an impactful main plenary, workshops, deals and meetings rooms and investment showcases, and the 10th edition of the prestigious API Awards.

For more information and to register, visit www.APISummit.co.za

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of API Events.

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ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Delivers on Responsible Scaling, Surpassing 2028 Carbon Intensity Target Three Years Early with Renewables at 83.2%

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ST Telemedia

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 21 July 2026 – ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) today published its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, setting out how the Singapore-headquartered global data centre provider is meeting accelerating demand, including from AI-driven workloads, through infrastructure that is more resilient, efficient and sustainable by design. The report highlights 83.2% renewable energy usage, a 70.5% reduction in carbon intensity from its 2021 baseline, 41.2% improvement in water usage effectiveness (WUE) from the 2020 baseline, and continued progress in embedding ESG considerations into how STT GDC designs, builds, finances and operates its data centres at scale.

The report positions responsible growth as a core business discipline for STT GDC, linking sustainability performance to long-term asset resilience, customer trust and operational excellence. Across its global platform, STT GDC is integrating ESG considerations into capital allocation, site selection, design, operations, risk management and workforce development to support reliable digital infrastructure at scale.

Bruno Lopez, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, says, “The next phase of digital growth will be defined by how the industry resolves the tension between rising demand — particularly from AI — and the finite nature of energy, water and land. Responsible scaling is therefore not a sustainability commitment alone; it is a commercial and operational imperative that shapes where we build, how we design, and how we run our data centre platform. Our 2025 progress reflects disciplined execution of a strategy we have been advancing for years, delivering meaningful improvements in energy efficiency, emissions and resource management across our global platform. As we scale further, we will continue to advance with the same discipline — in the infrastructure we build, the governance that underpins it, and the positive impact we create for the communities and ecosystems we are part of.”

Scaling efficient, lower-carbon infrastructure

STT GDC continued to advance its decarbonisation strategy in 2025, delivering measurable reductions in emissions and improvements in resource efficiency while scaling its global data centre platform to meet rising digital demand. The Group’s approach focuses on embedding sustainability into the design and operation of its infrastructure, enabling long-term performance while managing growing energy and resource requirements. Key environmental achievements include:

Furthered renewable energy adoption, with 83.2% of electricity consumption sourced from renewables, supporting STT GDC’s transition towards carbon-neutral operations by 2030.
Reduced carbon intensity by 70.5% from the 2021 baseline, surpassing STT GDC’s 2028 target three years ahead of schedule, alongside a 15.2% year-on-year reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Improved energy efficiency across operations, achieving an average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.44, a 13.0% improvement from the 2020 baseline, reflecting continued optimisation of data centre design and operations.
Enhanced water stewardship, with Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) improving by 41.2% from the 2020 baseline, supported by a balanced approach to managing energy and water use in cooling systems.
Continued progress in sustainable infrastructure, with 48% of its data centres achieving green building certification, reflecting the integration of sustainability considerations across the lifecycle of its facilities.
Building a safe and future-ready workforce

As STT GDC continues to scale its global data centre platform, investing in people, safety and workforce capabilities remains central to delivering reliable and sustainable operations. In 2025, the Group maintained a strong focus on safeguarding its workforce, strengthening organisational capability and supporting the development of future-ready talent to meet the growing demands of the digital economy. Key social achievements include:

Maintained strong safety performance, with zero work-related fatalities and a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0.1 across more than 41 million hours worked, reflecting robust health and safety management across construction and operations.
Strengthened workforce capability, with an average of 18 training hours per employee, supporting the development of technical, operational and leadership skills across the organisation.
Advanced diversity and inclusion, with 21.7% women representation across the Group, reinforcing ongoing efforts to build a more inclusive and balanced workforce.
Expanded talent development initiatives, including the DC Power Up programme and partnerships with 10 Institutes of Higher Learning across our markets, helping to build a pipeline of industry-ready talent for the growing digital infrastructure sector.
Deepened community and workforce engagement, through skills development programmes and industry-academic partnerships that support long-term talent development and contribute to local economic growth.
Strengthening Governance and Resilience at Scale

Strong governance, disciplined risk management and robust operational controls underpin STT GDC’s ability to scale responsibly in an increasingly complex digital environment. In 2025, the Group continued to strengthen its enterprise-wide approach to governance, embedding ESG considerations into decision-making, risk management and day-to-day operations to support long-term resilience and performance. Key achievements include:

Strengthened governance and ethical business practices, with 100% of employees completing anti-corruption training, reinforcing STT GDC’s commitment to integrity and accountability across its global operations.
Enhanced enterprise-wide risk management, incorporating climate, cybersecurity and operational risks into planning and decision-making, ensuring infrastructure resilience as the Group scales.
Advanced cybersecurity and operational resilience, including strengthened governance, technical controls and preparedness through initiatives such as executive-level cyber exercises and risk assessments across key facilities.
Improved supply chain governance, embedding ESG criteria into procurement processes and reinforcing responsible sourcing practices across its global vendor network.
Strengthened organisational alignment and execution, through the inaugural Group ESG Summit, supporting capability building and consistent application of ESG priorities across markets.
These efforts come as data centre operators face growing expectations to deliver capacity while managing energy, water, climate and cybersecurity risks with greater transparency and accountability.

STT GDC’s 2025 ESG Report reflects a continued evolution in how the Group approaches sustainable growth, with a stronger focus on disciplined execution, operational resilience and long-term performance as it scales its global platform. As digital infrastructure becomes increasingly critical to economies and societies, STT GDC will continue to embed sustainability, risk management and governance into how it designs, builds and operates its data centres.

By working closely with customers, partners and communities, the Group aims to deliver infrastructure that is not only efficient and resilient, but also capable of supporting the next phase of digital growth, including AI-driven workloads, in a responsible and sustainable way.

The full 2025 ESG Report is available at https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/about-us/our-esg-progress

About ST Telemedia Global Data Centres
ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) is one of the fastest-growing data centre providers with a global platform serving as a cornerstone of the digital ecosystem that helps the world to connect. Powering a sustainable digital future, STT GDC operates across Singapore, the UK, Germany, Italy, India, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, providing businesses an exceptional foundation that is built for their growth anywhere. For more information, visit https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/

 

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London Showcase to Bring Venezuela’s Energy Opportunities to Global Investors Ahead of 2026 Summit

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A high-level London industry showcase on July 30 will bring together UK and European investors, financiers and energy leaders to explore emerging opportunities across Venezuela’s oil, gas and power sectors ahead of Venezuela Energy Week 2026

LONDON, United Kingdom, July 17, 2026/APO Group/ –As Venezuela accelerates efforts to revitalize its energy sector and attract international investment, Venezuela Energy Week 2026 will host an exclusive Industry Showcase in London on July 30, bringing together investors, financial institutions, international oil companies, commodity traders and energy executives for market intelligence, networking and partnership development ahead of the flagship conference taking place this October in Caracas.

 

Designed as a strategic preview of the main event, the London showcase will provide UK and European stakeholders with first-hand insight into Venezuela’s evolving investment landscape while creating opportunities for commercial dialogue with industry leaders, potential partners and key decision-makers.

Home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves and significant natural gas resources, Venezuela is entering a new phase of energy development focused on increasing production, expanding gas commercialization and modernizing critical infrastructure. Ongoing reforms and renewed international engagement are creating opportunities for companies able to provide capital, technology and technical expertise.

The timing is particularly significant as several UK and European energy companies continue to strengthen their presence in Venezuela. UK-based majors Shell and BP are advancing key natural gas developments, with Shell preparing for 2027 drilling at the Dragon offshore gas project and BP signing agreements in April to develop the Cocuina-Manakin offshore gas field, marking its return to the Venezuelan market. Spain’s Repsol recently announced plans to increase production from its Venezuelan assets, while Italy’s Eni is relaunching a heavy crude project in the Orinoco Belt. France’s Maurel & Prom, meanwhile, remains a key partner in strategic assets such as the Urdaneta Oeste field. On the trading and commercialization front, Geneva-headquartered energy trader Vitol has renewed its engagement with Venezuelan crude exports, reflecting broader international interest in reconnecting the country’s resources with global markets.

Against this backdrop, the London Industry Showcase will highlight Venezuela’s re-emerging investment potential while creating a platform for strategic networking and direct engagement with government leaders, national energy companies, regulators and private sector partners.

The event is expected to attract representatives from investment funds, export credit agencies, commercial banks, private equity firms, commodity traders, engineering companies, technology providers and UK-based independent energy companies exploring opportunities across Venezuela’s energy value chain.

The showcase will also provide an exclusive preview of Venezuela Energy Week 2026, including ministerial dialogues, executive forums, technical conferences and dedicated business-to-business networking sessions designed to connect international investors with the decision-makers shaping the country’s energy future.

Taking place on October 26–29, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela Energy Week serves as the country’s premier platform for advancing investment across the oil, gas and power sectors. By bringing the conversation to London – one of the world’s leading financial and energy centers – the Industry Showcase builds momentum ahead of the flagship event while strengthening ties between international capital and one of the world’s most resource-rich energy markets.

To participate in the London Industry Showcase on July 30 or secure your place at Venezuela Energy Week 2026 in Caracas this October, contact info@venezuelaenergyweek.com to learn more about delegate, sponsorship and partnership opportunities.

Supporting Venezuela’s Earthquake Recovery

 

Our thoughts are with the people and communities affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela. As the country begins the long process of recovery, we encourage members of the global energy community to support relief and reconstruction efforts through the CAF Recovery and Reconstruction Fund for Venezuela, which channels contributions from individuals, companies and organizations to emergency assistance, essential services and long-term rebuilding efforts.

 

To learn more or make a contribution, please visit the CAF Recovery and Reconstruction Fund for Venezuela (https://apo-opa.co/3RKKqfz).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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